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AI actress Tilly Norwood is causing a significant stir in Hollywood

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London, UK
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Several talent agencies are genuinely interested in Tilly Norwood, an AI actress recently created and unveiled by the world’s first ‘AI talent studio’ Xicoia. The pushback from Hollywood has been significant.

Hollywood and controversy go together like popcorn and butter, but this latest palaver is wholly unique – in that it centres on an AI-generated actress.

Tilly Norwood is the name of the curated code that appears a lot like a mashup of Victoria Justice, Gal Gadot, and Kate Siegel. She was unveiled last night at the Zurich Film Festival by comedian and tech enthusiast Eline Van Der Velden as the coup de grâce of a new AI talent studio called Xicoia. So, we can safely infer that more Tillys are loading.

Sat on the couch at the Zurich Summit, she gave a presentation on her company’s creation and revealed that several genuine talent agencies had already shown interest in acquiring Tilly’s exports behind the scenes. She also claimed that larger media and entertainment companies were quietly embracing AI and that ‘high-profile’ projects were on the way.

The inevitable backlash ignited as soon as the chat was clipped for social media. Scream lead Melissa Berra posted: ‘Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$$,’ while Matilda’s Mara Wilson said: ‘And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her? You couldn’t hire any of them?’

My personal favourite response came from The Fantastic Four’s Ralph Ineson, whose answer was succinct and indicative of the wider attitude shared by his drama kinship. ‘Fuck off,’ he commented on X. Emily Blunt also called the project ‘really scary’ and urged agencies to ‘please stop’ in a Variety podcast.

Tilly’s body of work currently consists of a brief cameo in an AI-generated comedy sketch called AI Commissioner – which has four times as many dislikes as likes on YouTube. We all know there’s a clear societal aversion (particularly among younger people) to the use of AI in creative industries, but in the case of Xicoia, the feat isn’t even particularly impressive in a technical sense.

The dialogue in the trailer is uninspired, the delivery screams uncanny valley, and every digital avatar has that weird LA-Noire-like thing where their teeth merge into a single block like a gum shield. The viewership on the video isn’t anything to write home about, either, considering the company’s grand plans to revolutionise TV and film.

Tilly, in her current form, isn’t about to usurp anyone to a major role, but the intention of influential and credible players like Van Der Velden is cause for concern for those who cut their human teeth in the business.

‘We believe the next generation of cultural icons will be synthetic – stars that never tire, never age, and can interact with fans. But just like the best entertainment companies, the key isn’t the technology – it’s the storytelling and people behind those stories,’ Van Der Velden declared.

Given how quickly AI is reinventing itself, it’s perhaps naïve to chalk this situation off as a storm in a teacup. If Tilly and co can make a technological jump akin to the AI-generated videos of Will Smith eating spaghetti in the coming years, the notion of AI film stars becoming real isn’t that outlandish. The interest and investment appears to be real, and there’s usually no smoke without fire.

In any case, the appeal will be there for certain talent agencies and film studios. Having a fully compliant AI bot that costs less than an A-lister salary, doesn’t age, has no creative qualms, and doesn’t require 6-months to contort their body – ala Christian Bale – sounds like a pinch-me scenario for a filmmaker. But there’s one major hitch.

As we already alluded, the public is already exhausted with AI and will take serious exception to the idea of real talent being sidelined for computer code. Recent history suggests that Hollywood actors aren’t thrilled about the prospect of AI on the silver screen, either, and people quite like actors.

Ultimately, it will come down to readies. If people don’t pay up, Tilly will be thrown in the recycle bin swifter than 3D film was.

Editor in Chief London, UK

I’m Jamie (He/Him), the Editor in Chief at Thred. Keeping up with gaming, tech, and culture is my thing, but when away from my keyboard, you’ll probably find me wrapped around a large Tango ice blast at the latest mediocre horror flick. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.

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