🎬🤖 Hollywood just met its first AI superstar — Tilly Norwood. Introduced at the Zurich Film Festival, the digital actress has already landed a sitcom role, signed up thousands of fans online, and caught the attention of top talent agents.
But along with hype has come heavy backlash from actors and unions who fear AI could replace human performers.
Who is Tilly Norwood?
Created by Eline Van der Velden, actress and producer, through her AI studio Xicoia, Tilly is designed as a fully digital performer. Within weeks of her debut, she gained over 35,000 Instagram followers, rolled out “screen test” clips, and announced her first role in a comedy sketch called AI Commissioner.
Van der Velden insists the project is an art experiment, not a human replacement, comparing AI to tools like CGI or animation.
The Backlash
Reactions have been explosive — SAG -AFTRA, the U.S. actors’ union, condemned Tilly as a “computer program trained on real actors’ work without consent or compensation.”Emily Blunt, Whoopi Goldberg, Melissa Barrera, and Natasha Lyonneslammed the move, warning it devalues human talent.
Actress Briony Monroe even claimed her face may have been used to shape Norwood’s look.Others mocked the idea — actor Lukas Gage joked Tilly was “late to set,” while Toni Collette simply dropped screaming emojis.
The Creator’s Vision
Despite the outrage, Van der Velden remains confident. She wants Norwood to become “the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.”She argues AI talent can open new creative doors at a time when Hollywood is battling rising costs and limited opportunities.
What’s Next?
Tilly Norwood is just getting started. With an agency deal on the way and more AI-driven projects planned, she may mark the beginning of a new era in entertainment — whether Hollywood likes it or not.
|AI actress |Tilly Norwood | first AI actress Hollywood | Eline Van der Velden AI | AI vs actors debate | SAG-AFTRA on AI | AI Commissioner sitcom | Zurich Film Festival 2025 |