In the days since she made her entrance during a Zurich Film Festival presentation last weekend, Tilly Norwood has been the talk of the town.
But the AI-generated actress, who is on her way to becoming a household name despite only appearing in one two-minute comedy sketch, hasn’t yet conducted an interview. Variety asked and was told by a publicist for Particle6, the company that created her, that “Tilly is not available to speak to at present.”
While the acting community has blasted Tilly, with Emily Blunt calling her “really scary” and SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin vowing to address the phenomenon with agents, the AI creation is a reality that Hollywood publicists are beginning to contemplate seriously. One rep whose roster includes A-list clients says she would be open to taking on an AI actor as a client.
“It’s so crazy but I have to look at this shift into AI like the shift into social media,” says the publicist. “I remember when social media began to boom, no one wanted to represent social media influencers, but now most of the biggest names in the industry come from having a strong social media following. Seeing that shift makes me feel that the future will include representing AI-focused talent as well.”
Another high-profile publicist scoffed at the pearl-clutching when it comes to Tilly.
“Representation isn’t about whether a client is human or AI. It’s about positioning, safeguarding reputation and ensuring the narrative remains true,” she says. “As AI becomes increasingly woven into our daily lives, representation for AI figures will become not only common but essential. At its core, the role is the same: protecting the message, preserving the brand and building a career — human or artificial — with integrity.”
But a third publicist with a clientele heavy on name actresses says emphatically, “Hell no,” and adds, “I do not think they need a publicist.”
The company that created Tilly claims the actress does not identify as a they or an it, which has been more commonly used in press coverage. “Her pronouns are she/her,” says Particle6, adding that “Everyone wants an interview with Tilly.”
And if Tilly, who was programmed with human abilities like crying in the sketch “AI Commissioner,” is going to work in television or film, she will continue to be asked to do press. That inevitability underscores her need for a personal publicist, who would dictate which outlets were most valuable to engage and perhaps keep certain topics off limits.
Tyler Merritt, chief technology officer at Austin-based UneeQ, which dubs itself as perhaps the only talent agency for AI human influencers and has booked its creations with major brands like Qatar Airways, says a backstory for Tilly is likely being created at the moment.
“It is possible to create a narrative that the character could effectively answer your questions. And continuity is a big thing with AI, getting them to remember, quote unquote, that Tilly has a sister, brother, dog, whatever for each journalist that asks the question,” Merritt says. “When we start to get continuity with the artificial intelligence, it becomes very difficult to say, ‘Aha, gotcha. You slipped up.’ But the interesting thing it reveals is the value of the humans giving these performances in these films is that sometimes they mess up, sometimes they break character. Actually what makes it authentic and genuine is not being perfect. And so the worry is that the AI can stick to the story very effectively and never mess up. And that feels itself quite icky. The beauty in humanity is the imperfection, not the perfection.”
To date, only two talent agencies have weighed in on whether or not they would represent Tilly in response to her creator claiming that an announcement on her signing with a Hollywood agency is imminent. Gersh president Leslie Siebert told Variety that she would not be surprised if the AI creation lands at an agency, “but we’re not going to be that agency.” Likewise, WME co-chairman Richard Weitz said to The Wrap that “We represent humans.”
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