Hollywood is no stranger to controversy, but the latest debate sweeping the industry is unlike anything it has faced before. Over the final weekend of September 2025, the entertainment world was rocked by the unveiling of Tilly Norwood, an AI-generated actress created by Eline Van der Velden’s AI talent studio Xicoia, a spin-off from her production company Particle6. The news that Norwood had already drawn serious interest from talent agents at the Zurich Film Festival quickly ignited a fierce backlash from actors, screenwriters, and fans alike.
The furor began in earnest on September 27, 2025, when Van der Velden took the stage at the Zurich Summit, a marquee event during the Zurich Film Festival. She revealed that studios and agencies were showing increasing interest in Tilly Norwood, who was designed to be hyperreal and able to star in film, television, podcasts, TikTok and YouTube content, brand campaigns, and even video games. According to Variety, Van der Velden hinted that a formal announcement about Norwood’s representation by a major talent agency could come in the following months. The prospect of an AI “actress” signing with a top agency was enough to set Hollywood’s nerves on edge.
Van der Velden’s creation, Tilly Norwood, is no mere digital avatar. Her Instagram account, launched earlier this year, boasts over 21,000 followers and features “behind the scenes” snapshots, project announcements, and carefully curated glimpses into her “daily life”—the kind of content one might expect from a real up-and-coming star. The intention, Van der Velden explained, was never to replace human actors but to push the boundaries of creativity. In a public statement posted to social media, she wrote, “She is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art. Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.”
Van der Velden continued, “I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories. I’m an actor myself, and nothing – certainly not an AI character – can take away the craft or joy of human performance.” She emphasized that creating Tilly was “an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role, or shaping a performance. It takes time, skill, and iteration to bring such a character to life. She represents experimentation, not substitution.”
Yet, for many in Hollywood, these reassurances fell flat. The backlash was swift and deeply personal. Melissa Barrera, star of the recent Scream movies, posted on Instagram, “Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$. How gross, read the room.” Mara Wilson, best known for her childhood role in Matilda, questioned the ethics behind Tilly’s creation: “And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her? You couldn’t hire any of them?” Actor Nicholas Alexander Chavez dismissed the project as “not an actress actually,” while Simu Liu, star of Shang-Chi, joked, “Movies are great but you know what would be better is if the characters in them weren’t played by actual humans but by AI replicas approximating human emotion.” Screenwriter Brian Duffield added his own critique, noting, “Pretty telling that the industry’s first venture into this was to create a teenage girl they could control.” Even Lukas Gage, known for his roles in The White Lotus and You, joined the fray with a tongue-in-cheek remark: “She was a nightmare to work with.”
The criticism wasn’t limited to social media. During an episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast recorded on September 29, 2025, Oscar-nominated actor Emily Blunt was handed the breaking news about Tilly Norwood. Her reaction was immediate and visceral. “Does it disappoint me? I don’t know how to quite answer it, other than to say how terrifying this is,” Blunt said. After being shown an image of Norwood, she exclaimed, “No, are you serious? That’s an AI? Good Lord, we’re screwed. That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection.” Blunt, visibly unsettled, pointed out that Norwood was designed to resemble a composite of familiar performers, with some in the industry reportedly wanting her to be “the next Scarlett Johansson.” Blunt’s retort was pointed: “But we have Scarlett Johansson.”
The introduction of Tilly Norwood comes at a time when Hollywood is still reeling from the aftershocks of last year’s dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, which brought the industry to a standstill over issues including the use of AI and protections against the unauthorized replication of actors’ voices and likenesses. The debate over AI in entertainment is no longer theoretical; it is playing out in real time, with livelihoods and creative futures on the line.
For agencies, the question of whether to represent an AI “actor” like Tilly Norwood is fraught with risk. While Van der Velden claims that major agencies have expressed interest, none have officially signed her creation as a client. As reported by No Film School, the fear of losing real clients and damaging reputations may be keeping agencies at bay, even as they keep a close watch on the evolving landscape. “Sign this person, and you could lose not only your reputation but also your clients,” the outlet observed.
Despite the uproar, Van der Velden remains steadfast in her vision. She sees Tilly Norwood as a bold experiment, a way to “hold up a mirror to society through satire,” and insists that her work is about expanding the toolkit of storytelling, not erasing the human element. However, the intense emotional reaction from actors and fans underscores a deeper anxiety about the future of performance and the value of authentic, lived experience in art.
As the dust settles on this latest Hollywood controversy, one thing is clear: the arrival of AI talent like Tilly Norwood has forced a reckoning in the industry. The conversation about what it means to be an actor, an artist, and a collaborator in the age of artificial intelligence is only just beginning. With further AI talent announcements expected in the coming months, according to Van der Velden, the entertainment world will have to grapple with these questions head-on—and soon.
For now, Tilly Norwood remains an experiment at the center of a storm, her digital face reflecting both the promise and the perils of a rapidly changing creative landscape.
