“Good lord, we’re screwed”: Emily Blunt begs Hollywood not to sign “terrifying” AI star Tilly Norwood

Emily Blunt is the latest Hollywood star to voice alarm over the rise of artificial intelligence in entertainment, specifically AI performers. In a recent interview, she reacted with visible unease after being shown images of virtual actress Tilly Norwood, calling the creation “really, really scary.”

Who is Tilly Norwood?

AI talent studio Xicoia AI-generated Tilly Norwood. Actress and entrepreneur Eline Van der Velden announced her creation at the Zurich Film Festival, marketing the AI-generated “actress” as a young brunette modeled from composites of Hollywood stars. They promoted it as “the next Scarlett Johansson.” Within days, several agencies reportedly showed interest.

When Blunt learned of that comparison, she cut in sharply, “But we have Scarlett Johansson.” Her frustration reflected growing fears among actors that virtual talent could replace real performers.

Unlike human stars, AI “celebrities” offer something studios find appealing: inexpensive permanence. They remain youthful, flawless, and controversy-free, and never cost any extra money for the studio.

Hollywood pushback to AI grows

Blunt’s warning wasn’t isolated. Other performers also pushed back against Norwood’s debut.

Former Matilda child star Mara Wilson raised ethical questions about how Tilly Norwood’s face was generated. She asked pointedly, “And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her? You couldn’t hire any of them?”

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or SAG-AFTRA, released a statement about the AI-generated Tilly Norwood. The statement said that it “is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers.”

“It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion, and, from what we’ve seen,” the union said, “audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience.”

Despite this criticism, Van der Velden defended her creation as art rather than a competition. In a lengthy Instagram post, she wrote, “To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work, a piece of art.” She continued, “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.”