Zurich presents first AI actress - Hollywood reacts in horror

Luca Fontana

1.10.2025

Translation: machine translated

The world's first AI actress takes to the stage at the Zurich Film Festival: Tilly Norwood. Hollywood reacts with shock, stars sound the alarm - and the industry discusses whether this is the beginning of a creative revolution or the beginning of the end.

It was a premiere with unexpected explosive power: at the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) at the weekend, the world's first «AI actress» was unveiled. Her name: Tilly Norwood. She was developed by Dutch entrepreneur Eline van der Velden and her studio Xicoia, a subsidiary of the AI production company Particle6.

You can see Norwood from minute 1:18 in the video below.

Norwood speaks with a British accent, looks like a digital mix of Mila Kunis, Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman - and is completely computer-generated. According to her creator, she is even set to become the next Scarlett Johansson. «Audiences are interested in the story of a film», said van der Velden back in the summer, «not whether the star is still alive».

Hollywood is up in arms

The presentation in Zurich was met with an immediate response - and a loud one at that. Acting stars such as Whoopi Goldberg and Emily Blunt reacted in horror. When the latter was shown a picture of Norwood, she is said to have exclaimed: «'That's an AI? My goodness, we're doomed. This is really very scary. Please stop taking away our humanity.»

The US actors' union SAG-AFTRA also immediately spoke out: «Tilly Norwood is not an actress, but a character generated by a computer programme - trained with the work of countless professional actors and actresses, without their consent or remuneration.»

And yet: the first agencies are said to have already signalled their interest in signing Tilly - despite all the protests.

A new chapter - or the end of an era?

Van der Velden, on the other hand, describes Tilly not as a replacement, but as a «brush» in the palette of new creative tools. Her vision: films and series should be able to be created with a fraction of the previous budgets. Critics see this not so much as a democratisation, but rather the danger of actors and actresses being displaced by cheaper algorithms.

The debate goes far beyond Hollywood. Questions are already being raised about copyright, consent and artistic integrity. Who decides whether an AI avatar «actress» may be named? And what does it mean for an art form based on human experience, empathy and improvisation if digital images are in the spotlight in future?

One thing is clear: Zurich has startled Hollywood with the introduction of Tilly Norwood. Whether she will actually make the leap from the festival stage to the big screen remains to be seen. But the starting signal for a highly controversial era has been given.

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.» more

---

News + Trends

From the latest iPhone to the return of 80s fashion. The editorial team will help you make sense of it all.

Show all

These articles might also interest you