Emily Blunt was left stunned after being shown a headline about a brand-new “actress” taking Hollywood by storm, only to find out she wasn’t real.
The Oscar-nominated star sat down for an episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast ahead of the Los Angeles premiere of A24’s The Smashing Machine when she was handed a story about Tilly Norwood, a digitally generated performer unveiled just days earlier.
Norwood, created by AI talent studio Xicoia, has reportedly already drawn interest from real-life Hollywood talent agents. When Blunt saw the images, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Does it disappoint me? I don’t know how to quite answer it, other than to say how terrifying this is,” Blunt admitted to Variety. “No, are you serious? That’s an AI? Good Lord, we’re screwed. That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection.”
Blunt was even told Norwood had been designed to channel elements of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Scarlett Johansson. Her response? “But we have Scarlett Johansson.”
Hollywood divided over AI stars
Tilly Norwood marks the first major push from Xicoia, which spun out of Eline Van der Velden’s Particle6 production company. The project was announced at the Zurich Film Festival, with Van der Velden warning that more AI actors could be on the way soon.
The reveal has only fueled Hollywood’s ongoing debate about AI in film and television. The use of digital likenesses was one of the biggest sticking points in last year’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, with actors demanding safeguards to prevent their voices and images being replicated without permission.
Stars including Melissa Barrera and Lukas Gage have already voiced alarm at agencies entertaining the idea of signing up AI performers.
Whoopi Goldberg weighs in
The backlash didn’t stop there. On The View, EGOT-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg gave her unfiltered take on Norwood’s debut, and she wasn’t impressed.
“The problem with this, in my humble opinion, is that you are suddenly up against something that’s been generated with 5,000 other actors,” Goldberg said, via Entertainment Weekly. “It’s got Bette Davis’ attitude, it’s got Humphrey Bogart’s lips… it’s got my humor.”
She added that, while the technology might be sophisticated, real actors still bring something unique: “You can always tell them from us. We move differently, our faces move differently, our bodies move differently.”
Meanwhile, Blunt has been busy promoting The Smashing Machine, in which she stars opposite Dwayne Johnson (who's recently gone viral for his dramatic weight loss). The gritty drama, directed by Benny Safdie, has already drawn emotional reactions on the festival circuit and is tipped for awards season buzz.
But even with the excitement surrounding her latest film, Blunt couldn’t hide her concern at the thought of an AI rival. “Please stop,” she urged. “Please stop taking away our human connection.”