In a town built on illusion, Tilly Norwood is keeping it real — by not being real at all in Hollywood… or in any “wood”. She was even recently immortalised in the words of British actress Emily Blunt: “Good Lord, we’re screwed.” Norwood is a doe-eyed newcomer that Hollywood is hesitant to accept.

The AI creation of Eline Van der Velden — CEO of AI-focused production company Particle6 — and the AI talent studio Xicoia, has a website, a small catalogue of videos, and even an Instagram account. She also has an address: London.

Featured in a recent comedy sketch, Norwood is aiming high. Her personality mirrors that of Gen Z-ers — complete with a messy bedroom, a soft spot for thrift shopping, and a toxic trait of “thinking iced coffee is a year-round personality”.

Norwood’s arrival marks a watershed moment for Hollywood. It’s only been a couple of years since the Writers Guild of America strike. In the words of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Norwood is a “synthetic performer”.

The AI actor’s creator — a Dutch former actress with a master’s in physics — remains steadfast in her support for Norwood. “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,” Velden said in a statement posted on Instagram. “Just as animation, puppetry or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories.”