Hollywood agents pursue AI teen “Tilly Norwood” despite SAG-AFTRA pushback

SAG-AFTRA has issued a sharp rebuke against AI talent studio Xicoia’s attempt to market “Tilly Norwood,” an artificial intelligence-generated performer, to Hollywood agents and producers. The union’s statement comes after reports emerged that talent agents have been quietly pursuing representation for the AI character, marking a potential flashpoint in ongoing tensions between the entertainment industry and synthetic performers.

What you should know: Xicoia, launched by Dutch technologist Emily Van der Velden through her company Particle 6 Productions, has spent five months building Norwood’s digital presence on Instagram with headshots, candids, and motion graphics.
• The AI performer is designed to appear as a teenage girl supposedly living in London, complete with a portfolio showing different film scenarios including thriller, romance, and urban settings.
• Hollywood talent agents have been circling Norwood for representation, according to reports from the Zurich Summit on September 27.

What they’re saying: SAG-AFTRA delivered an uncompromising stance against synthetic performers replacing human actors.
• “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,” the union stated.
• “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.”
• Van der Velden defended her creation, writing on Instagram: “She is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work — a piece of art. I see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush.”

Industry backlash: Several prominent actors have voiced opposition to the AI performer concept.
• Melissa Barrera posted on Instagram: “Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$. How gross, read the room.”
• Actor and model Michael Aurelio tweeted: “Pretty telling that the industries first venture into this was to create a teenage girl they could control.”

The big picture: This controversy highlights the ongoing tension between AI innovation and labor protections that drove SAG-AFTRA’s four-month strike in 2023.
• The union secured contractual protections requiring notice and bargaining whenever synthetic performers are used by signatory producers.
• The dispute reflects broader concerns about AI systems being trained on performers’ work without permission or compensation, a central issue in the guild’s recent contract negotiations.

Why this matters: The Tilly Norwood case represents the first major test of SAG-AFTRA’s AI protections since the 2023 strike, potentially setting precedents for how the industry handles synthetic performers going forward.