Actress Emily Blunt strongly criticized the rise of AI-generated performers, singling out an AI actress named Tilly Norwood during an interview for an upcoming episode of Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast. The interview, recorded ahead of the Los Angeles premiere of A24’s The Smashing Machine, was reported by Variety on September 29, 2025.As per the report, during the conversation, Blunt was handed a fresh headline about Tilly Norwood, who had drawn industry attention after talent agencies began expressing interest in signing her. When shown Norwood’s image, Blunt reacted with disbelief.“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,” she exclaimed.Blunt further admitted that she struggled to articulate her feelings but stressed her unease with the rise of artificial performers.“Does it disappoint me? I don’t know how to quite answer it, other than to say how terrifying this is,” she added.She also addressed Variety’s observation that Norwood was designed to resemble a blend of familiar stars and had even been described as “the next Scarlett Johansson.” Blunt dismissed the notion outright, remarking:“But we have Scarlett Johansson.”Additionally, her remarks came at a time of growing controversy over the use of AI in Hollywood, as actors increasingly called for stronger protections to safeguard their likenesses, voices, and creative work from being replicated without consent.AI actress Tilly Norwood faces strong criticism from Hollywood actors and the actors’ guildTilly Norwood (Image via Instagram/@Tillynorwood )Emily Blunt was not the first to voice concern over Tilly Norwood, the artificial intelligence “actress” who has been drawing controversy across the film industry.Tilly Norwood, the first AI-generated performer from Xicoia, was created by AI talent studio Particle6, a spin-out of Eline Van der Velden’s production company.She was unveiled at the Zurich Film Festival during the Zurich Summit, where Van der Velden announced on September 27 that agents were already circling the AI character and that her representation would be confirmed in the coming months. The launch, however, was swiftly met with backlash from several actors, including Melissa Barrera, Mara Wilson, and Ralph Ineson. As per Variety, Barrera expressed her frustration on Instagram, writing that she hoped agents supporting the initiative would be dropped, calling it “gross” and urging them to “read the room.” Mara Wilson raised a sharper ethical concern, pointing to the origins of Norwood’s image. She questioned why studios would choose to build a virtual face from fragments of real women rather than hire actual performers. “And what about the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together to make her? You couldn’t hire any of them?” she wrote (as per Variety).The strongest institutional response came from SAG-AFTRA, which issued a formal statement condemning the project. The union rejected the idea of presenting Norwood as a legitimate performer, instead labeling her a synthetic performer.“SAG-AFTRA believes creativity is, and should remain, human-centered. The union is opposed to the replacement of human performers by synthetics,” the union stated. The statement also emphasized that Norwood was not an actor in any real sense but a character created from the unpaid work of countless professionals. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostIn response to the backlash, Van der Velden shared a statement on September 28, defending her creation, saying that Tilly Norwood was not intended to replace any actor.“To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art. Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity,” Eline Van der Velden wrote in her statement Van der Velden also defended her creation by stressing that she did not view AI as a threat to actors but as an extension of creative possibility. She explained that, in her view, artificial intelligence like Tilly Norwood functioned like any other artistic medium, like “animation, puppetry, or CGI” that offered “fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting.”According to The Guardian, Tilly Norwood’s acting career so far amounted only to a single AI-generated comedy sketch titled AI Commissioner.