Meet 'AI' actor Tilly Norwood and why are Hollywood stars like Emily Blunt outraged by her arrival

Dubai: Oscar-nominated actress Emily Blunt has joined a growing chorus of Hollywood voices outraged by Tilly Norwood, an “AI actor” developed in the Netherlands and now reportedly in talks with talent agencies.

With her glossy Instagram feed and AI-generated comedy sketches, Norwood could easily be mistaken for a rising star.

Marketed as having “girl-next-door vibes,” she has even been digitally inserted into spoofs of BBC shows.

Her creator, Dutch comedian Eline Van der Velden, has called the project “a creative work” and likened it to drawing or writing a fictional character.

But Hollywood isn’t buying it. SAG-AFTRA, the powerful actors’ union, blasted Norwood as nothing more than a “computer-generated character trained on the work of countless professional performers,” stressing that it “has no life experience, no emotion, and no human artistry.”

The union also warned studios that using the AI figure could violate protections secured in the 2023 strikes, where AI was a key flashpoint.

Stars have been equally blunt. Natasha Lyonne urged a boycott of any agency representing Norwood, calling the project “deeply misguided.” Whoopi Goldberg said audiences would always tell the difference between humans and synthetic creations.

And Blunt, speaking to Variety, called the AI actor “terrifying,” adding: “Good Lord, we’re screwed… Please stop taking away our human connection.”

Van der Velden, meanwhile, insists Norwood is not meant to replace actors but to be appreciated as “a piece of art.” Still, with Hollywood still on edge over AI’s role in film and TV, Tilly Norwood has become the industry’s latest cautionary tale.

Meanwhile, Scottish actor Briony Monroe has alleged that her likeness was used without consent in the creation of Tilly.

Monroe, who is filming the fantasy feature The Slave and the General, told The Scotsman that she suspected her face was used by AI talent studio Xicoia in developing Norwood, an actor now attracting the attention of major agencies.

“It feels like living in a real-life episode of Black Mirror,” she said, adding that an industry colleague had alerted her to a promotional image of Norwood that bore a striking resemblance to her.

Monroe, backed by her union Equity, said she is concerned her “image, performance and rights have been breached” but that a lack of transparency has left her “in the dark.” She claimed one picture promoting Norwood looked uncannily like her and even suggested her mannerisms had been copied in a scene from Norwood’s showreel.

“It’s not just myself it affects,” she said. “They’ll have used many different actresses’ faces without consent. So many people’s work has likely been exploited in this way.”