SAG-AFTRA has issued a strongly worded statement in response to the emergence of Tilly Norwood, the AI-generated “actress” that has enraged Hollywood.
Tilly Norwood is a viral AI-generated creation pushed as the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman. It was created by Eline Van der Velden, the Dutch founder of AI company Particle 6 Productions. Van der Velden sparked a backlash after announcing new talent studio Xicoia, which Deadline reported was already in talks with a number of talent agents interested in signing Tilly Norwood.
The Hollywood community was quick to condemn Tilly Norwood and its creators, as well as warn producers against dealing with it. Scream’s Melissa Barrera wrote: "Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$. How gross, read the room.” Matilda’s Mara Wilson said: "Shame on these people. They have stolen the faces of hundreds of young women to make this AI ‘actress.’ They’re not creators. They’re identity thieves."
The Fantastic Four’s Ralph Ineson, who played Galactus in the MCU movie, was more direct, posting “F*** off” on X / Twitter.
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.
Here's SAG-AFTRA's statement in full:
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.
Norwood’s "acting career" thus far only comprises the showreel above and a single AI-generated comedy sketch called AI Commissioner, below. “I may be AI generated, but I’m feeling very real emotions right now,” a post on the Tilly Norwood X / Twitter page said on the day it was released. “I am so excited for what’s coming next!”
Creator Van der Velden addressed the backlash to insist Tilly Norwood “is not a replacement for a human being.”
“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,” Van der Velden said in a post released on the Tilly Norwood social media pages. “Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.
“I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories. I’m an actor myself, and nothing — certainly not an AI character — can take away the craft or joy of human performance.
"Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance. It takes time, skill, and iteration to bring such a character to life. She represents experimentation, not substitution. Much of my work has always been about holding up a mirror to society through satire, and this is no different."
Van der Velden soft-launched Tilly earlier this year, creating accounts for the character on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, complete with AI-generated selfies of Tilly alongside captions like “Hey besties.”
“We were in a lot of boardrooms around February time, and everyone was like, ‘No, this is nothing. It’s not going to happen.’” Van der Velden said on a panel at the Zurich Summit reported on by Deadline.
“Then, by May, people were like, ‘We need to do something with you guys.’ When we first launched Tilly, people were like, ‘What’s that?’ and now we’re going to be announcing which agency is going to be representing her in the next few months.”
Speaking to Broadcast International in July, Van der Velden said she wanted Tilly Norwood “to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman.”
Image credit: Particle6 TV / YouTube.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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