• Tilly Norwood is a fully AI-generated actor created by the U.K.-based production company, Particle 6.
  • Real actors and celebrities, including Whoopi Goldberg and Melissa Barrera, are speaking out against her creation.
  • The creator behind Tilly, Eline Van der Velden, has released a statement in response to the backlash.

There’s a new actor on the scene…and she’s fully AI-generated. Tilly Norwood is the creation of the U.K.-based production company Particle 6. As of September 27, several Hollywood talent agencies have already expressed interest in representing her for future projects—but real actors have spoken out against Tilly’s creation.

“Where is the the ai label?! That should be on every single post,” Community actor Yvette Nicole Brown commented on one of Tilly’s Instagram posts. Melissa Barrera also slammed agencies who are looking to sign Tilly on her Instagram Stories, writing, “Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$. How gross, read the room.”

The backlash prompted Tilly’s creator, Eline Van der Velden, to issue a statement on social media on September 28.

“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of our Al character, Tilly Norwood: 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,” Eline wrote in part, later adding, “I’m an actor myself, and nothing–certainly not an Al character–can take away the craft or joy of human performance.”

She also clarified that Tilly shouldn’t be considered in awards categories with human performers, saying, “I also believe AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, on their own merits, rather than compared directly with human actors. Each form of art has its place, and each can be valued for what it uniquely brings.”

Eline, who presented Tilly in board rooms as early as February, continued, “I hope we can welcome Al as part of the wider artistic family: one more way to express ourselves, alongside theatre, film, painting, music, and countless others. When we celebrate all forms of creativity, we open doors to new voices, new stories, and new ways of connecting with each other.”

Not too long after Eline’s statement dropped, Whoopi Goldberg spoke out against AI during the September 29 episode of The View.


“After many human actors called for a boycott against agencies who sign AI actors, the studio claims Tilly is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work, and AI characters should be judged as part of their own genre, rather than compared directly with human actors,” Whoopi said.

During an interview with Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast that same day, Emily Blunt weighed in on the discourse when she was shown Deadline’s report about Tilly in real time.

“No, are you serious? That’s an AI? Good Lord, we’re screwed. That is really, really scary,” she said. “Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection.”

Most recently, SAG-AFTRA issued a statement on September 30, writing, “To be clear, ‘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.

“It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience. It doesn’t solve any ‘problem’—it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry,” the guild continued, adding that producers should still comply with contractual obligations.

Tilly has yet to weigh in with her AI-generated response.