SAG-AFTRA has stated in response to the emergence of Tilly Norwood, the AI-generated “actress”

Artificial intelligence is rapidly taking giant steps to permanently change human civilization, altering aspects of our everyday society—such as cinema and audiovisual media—at levels that once sounded like pure science fiction. This dramatic shift is now shaking Hollywood’s foundations like never before, centered around an AI-generated figure who seems startlingly real: Tilly Norwood. Promoted as the next great star in the vein of major talents like Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman, Tilly Norwood was created by Eline Van der Velden, the Dutch founder of Particle 6 Productions. Van der Velden recently sparked immediate backlash when the new talent studio Xicoia announced it was already in talks with talent agents interested in representing the AI creation.

Hollywood isn’t happy about the new “star” in town

The Hollywood community was swift to condemn the emergence of Tilly Norwood and its creators, viewing the action as an existential threat to performers. Actors publicly warned producers against dealing with the synthetic star. Melissa Barrera, known for the Scream franchise, called the move “gross,” urging actors to drop any agent who cooperates with the studio. Furthermore, Mara Wilson, known for Matilda, accused the creators of being “identity thieves” who “have stolen the faces of hundreds of young women to make this AI ‘actress.’”

Now, the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has released a statement, warning producers against using “synthetic performers” without complying with its contractual obligations.

SAG-AFTRA believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics.

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.

Additionally, signatory producers should be aware that they may not use synthetic performers without complying with our contractual obligations, which require notice and bargaining whenever a synthetic performer is going to be used.

Creator Van der Velden has insisted that Tilly Norwood is not intended as a replacement for human talent, but rather as “a creative work—a piece of art.” She views AI not as a threat, but as a “new tool, a new paintbrush.” Van der Velden argues that “Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories,” confirming that nothing can genuinely take away the craft or joy of human performance.

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