Hollywood Faces A Digital Starlet That Looks All Too Real
She has the smile, the poses, the “girl next door” charm – but Tilly Norwood is not real.
Created by Dutch comedian and technologist Eline Van der Velden, the AI-generated character was unveiled at the Zurich Film Festival last week and has since caused an uproar across Hollywood.
Norwood’s Instagram feed shows staged headshots, mock adverts, and even a comedy sketch, making her appear like any up-and-coming actress.
Van der Velden, who launched her AI-focused studio Xicoia after spinning it out of her production company Particle6, insists Tilly is not a replacement for human performers but a creative experiment.
Union Draws A Firm Line Between Human And Synthetic
SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, wasted no time in condemning the project.
In a strongly worded statement, the union declared:
“Tilly Norwood is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers—without permission or compensation.”
The guild warned studios and agencies that they cannot use synthetic performers without meeting contractual obligations agreed during the 2023 strike, which specifically addressed AI use in entertainment.
Actors Voice Alarm Over Artificial Competition
The arrival of Norwood has unsettled some of Hollywood’s most recognisable stars.
Emily Blunt reacted with disbelief when shown an image of the AI creation:
“Good Lord, we’re screwed. That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don’t do that.”
Natasha Lyonne went further, calling for an industry-wide boycott of any talent agency that works with Norwood, branding the idea “deeply misguided & totally disturbed.”
Whoopi Goldberg also weighed in on The View, arguing that the technology gives an “unfair advantage” because it can borrow traits from multiple actors at once, though she added: “You can always tell them from us.”
A Creator’s Defence Of AI In Art
For Van der Velden, Tilly is part of an artistic exploration rather than a hostile replacement.
In her own words on Instagram,
“I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush.”
She compared her work to animation, puppetry and CGI, urging audiences to view Norwood as part of “her own genre” instead of measuring her against human actors.
She explained,
“Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role, or shaping a performance.”
Industry Divided On The Future Of Digital Talent
The debate has spread beyond the guild and the actors.
At an entertainment technology panel in Los Angeles, Yves Bergquist from the University of Southern California dismissed the hype, calling AI “talent” little more than a gimmick.
“AI music has been a possibility for years and years and years, and we don’t have any major AI artists out there. Are there going to be digital characters in certain films? Yeah, of course. Are there actually going to be talent that’s digital? No, and boo.”
The Rising Debate Over AI Actors and Human Creativity
Coinlive believes the rise of Tilly Norwood strikes at the core of what audiences value in art: authenticity.
The excitement over her “perfected” digital persona is inseparable from the fear that the very imperfections of human performance – vulnerability, lived experience, raw emotion – could be sidelined.
The current debate centers on whether AI characters should be embraced as an experimental art form or restricted from competing directly with human actors.
Hollywood is now standing at a defining crossroads: protect the irreplaceable human craft of storytelling or open the door to synthetic artistry that may one day become indistinguishable.
Which side do you support?
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