Talent Agencies Are Circling Tilly Norwood. She Doesn't Exist Where They Think She Does.
Hollywood assumes AI actors will replace humans in studio productions. But Tilly was built in the prosumer/creator pipeline—so the threat is democratized production capabilities
Talent agencies are “circling” to represent Tilly Norwood, an AI actress created by production company Particle6. Agents seek to make her one of the first AI-generated actresses to get traditional Hollywood representation.
Hollywood has responded with outrage—SAG-AFTRA sent Vanity Fair an angry statement warning that AI actors like Tilly threaten to put human performers “out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.” The industry sees Tilly as a replacement threat: Studios will hire AI actors instead of human talent for traditional film and TV productions.
Much like how cheaper generative AI has disrupted visual effects (VFX), AI talent is cheaper, more controllable and a seemingly infinitely replicable asset. But this concern misses where Tilly actually “lives” in the generative AI marketplace.
The Misalignment
Tilly was built by Eline van der Velden, founder of Particle6—a production company that pivoted to a Prosumer model using a proprietary mix of Open Source and Niche AI tools. Ten different AI programs working together generate her appearance, voice, expressions, and movements. Her dialogue comes from language models like ChatGPT.
