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Eline van der Velden is the CEO and founder of AI company Particle6, which is behind AI “actor” Tilly Norwood. The creation became the center of a Hollywood hailstorm in late 2025 after Van der Velden suggested on a panel in Zurich that she was set to sign with an agency. The comments prompted an immediate backlash from across the industry and beyond as actors, unions and more waded into the AI debate to condemn Tilly Norwood and question what her existence meant for the profession. With concerns over AI in film and TV growing exponentially, Tilly Norwood quickly became the very recognizable, computer-generated face of the issue. Those behind Tilly have leaned into that role — on Jan. 22 when the Oscar nominations were announced, the official Tilly Norwood Instagram posted an image of Tilly at a podium holding an award (not an Oscar), with the caption, “Congratulations to all the Oscar nominees, even the ones who hate me! You’re all my heroes and I’m sorry for scaring you so much this year. Making movies is the most important job in the world!”
In this op-ed, which comes as more than 700 industry figures have gotten behind a new anti-AI campaign calling out tech companies, Van der Velden asserts that “AI is here to stay.” But instead of pushing back, she urges actors to embrace the technology and actually develop their own “AI actor.” She also argues that, given the demands put on performers’ bodies and mental health, alongside the “constant scrutiny” of appearances and aging, AI is actually “more ethical.”
Why All Actors Should Future-Proof Themselves and Develop an AI Actor
When people talk about Tilly Norwood, they often forget one crucial detail: There’s a real person and a creative human vision behind her.
Actors have always brought characters to life, and that’s exactly what I did with Tilly. She didn’t simply appear because AI wanted her to — I wanted her to!
She came to be because of our team’s creativity, our choices and the months of hard work. I wanted to see what was possible with the technology, and what we were able to create awe-struck me. I felt obliged to bring it to the attention of the creative community. And attention she got.
But through all the noise, if we ignore her human origin, we miss the point of how AI fits into our future creative work, and that’s where most of the fear comes from.
I want to start here because the debate around AI performers too often removes the artist from the art. AI isn’t a magical entity on its own; it’s a tool that responds to creativity. A calculator for the creative mind. I’ve been working in this field for 20 years, and with AI for over three, and I can say this: It’s all about craft, authorship and ownership. This is not about replacing real performances, it’s about giving actors new opportunities in this new medium of AI film and TV that’s fast arriving.
An AI actor is a storytelling vehicle that can be used to portray many different characters. An AI actor could be a digital twin of the performer, or a bolder, more expressive version of themselves. It might even be something entirely different — wilder, more imaginative, something that would never exist physically. Or a younger and more beautiful AI actor than oneself, as in the case of Tilly Norwood. Some actors might choose to use performance capture, bringing the AI actor to life with their own face and movement. Others might prefer guiding their actor like in animation, shaping it through intention, timing and emotional framing. I use a combination of both.
That’s the beauty of AI: It’s not one-size-fits-all, it’s a tool to extend the craft we’ve practiced for centuries.
This Is Still Acting. Just With New Tools
When I created Tilly Norwood, I didn’t stop being an actor. I became an actor in a new way. Everything about Tilly, her humor, rhythm, style, comes from my own instincts and years of formal training. Tilly doesn’t exist without human guidance. She doesn’t move, speak or react without careful human direction. Crafting her personality is a creative process, just like animation, puppetry or performance capture. Think of Andy Serkis as Gollum — he was acting, even though Gollum was digital. The same goes for Zoe Saldaña in “Avatar.” She wasn’t less of an actor because her character was blue and rendered in pixels. In fact, she’s pioneered what she calls the “most empowering form of acting.”
The key opportunity now is that AI offers actors the opportunity to own their creations. Tilly, for me, is my Mickey Mouse, a storytelling vehicle that I created, that goes on to tell stories in ways we never imagined. For real actors, AI opens new doors, offering them a chance to bring their own digital characters to life through their AI actor, a true extension of their craft.
Ownership is the opportunity
There’s a lot of noise around whether we should call AI characters “actors.” The ethical issue isn’t the terminology, it’s ownership and consent. AI actors should be something performers build and control, just like writers own their scripts, or musicians own their masters. This isn’t about replacing human performers, it’s about giving actors the agency to take control of their future.
When actors create their AI actors, guided by their creative vision, they own their work. They become more than just performers; they’re intellectual property (IP) owners. In this new world, actors are empowered to take charge of their creative output in ways they’ve never been able to before. And yes, before anyone panics, agents can still take their cut, and unions can still protect their rights.
That’s why I created an AI talent studio where actors and creators can build, license and protect their own AI actors.
A More Ethical Way to Perform
Here’s a truth that’s often uncomfortable to say: traditional acting demands that performers put their bodies and sometimes their mental health on the line. Dangerous stunts, intimate scenes, extreme physical transformations and endless hours of hair, makeup and retouching are all part of the deal, not to mention the constant scrutiny if a performer’s face dares to age in the “wrong” way. And yet still, some find it more acceptable for a person to change their appearance through surgery rather than digitally.
An AI actor presents a more ethical alternative. With AI, performers can explore roles without the need for dangerous stunts, extreme beauty standards or invasive procedures. The focus can shift to what really matters: timing, emotional intelligence, intention, and expression. It’s a deeply humane approach and focuses on the real craft of storytelling.
An AI actor allows performers to continue working without sacrificing their personal lives or physical limitations. Imagine being an actor with a family or other responsibilities and still being able to work from home. Hybrid AI productions can also take place in rehearsal rooms and on minimalist sets. AI actors let performers do what they love, on their own terms.
The Puppeteer Has Always Been a Performer
We’ve seen this before: A puppet is not alive, yet no one doubts the artistry of the puppeteer. The same is true for animated characters, masks, costumes and motion-captured creatures.
An AI actor is simply a more responsive puppet — one that can learn, adapt to its creator and perform across mediums. The soul of the performance still belongs to the human behind it. Just like photography, film or digital editing, AI production requires human taste, judgment and experience.
Our AI Policy and Copyright Considerations
At Particle6, we take copyright and ethical AI development very seriously. After three years of AI experience, we’ve developed a strict AI policy to ensure our work is done responsibly. Our team is not permitted to reference any copyrighted material or upload any non-licensed content to open systems. When we make digital twins, it is always with consent and fair compensation. Our goal is clear: We want to innovate with AI while respecting intellectual property.
The creation of Tilly Norwood was driven by this policy. I specifically wanted to avoid infringing on anyone’s likeness or copyright. Our aim was to build something entirely original, fresh and new — a character born from imagination, not a replication of someone’s likeness. I wanted her to resonate with people around the world, and many people know someone who looks similar to her. Tilly was created by Particle6 using only publicly available tools and without referencing or training on the work of any specific performer. We didn’t train any systems to create Tilly.
The irony is that by wanting to create an entirely original character, I seem to have attracted more outrage than much of the deepfake work online that reproduces real people.
Reskilling and Retooling for the Future
As AI technology evolves, we believe that it’s essential to ensure that the workforce is equipped to thrive in this new landscape. It’s easy to resist change, just as the Luddites did during the Industrial Revolution, fearing that new technology would take away jobs. But history shows that fighting the wave of progress often leads to more harm than good. Instead of protesting the new industrial revolution that’s just around the corner, we’re focusing on reskilling and retooling our industry. We’re proud to help professionals, from costume designers and DOPs to editors and set designers, transition into the AI-driven world of film and television. And these professionals are testing their new skills out on Tilly. Behind the scenes, talented individuals are creating new costumes, set design, hair, make-up, and directing funny lines for her. This is about empowering creative talent to thrive in a changing industry, not replacing jobs. Everyone has a place in this new world, and we’re excited to help people tap into the vast potential that AI offers.
Don’t Lock Actors Out of the Future
AI is here to stay. The question is not whether AI actors will replace actors, it’s whether actors will own their place in this new era — or be left behind. AI actors, created and owned by performers, are not the enemy of acting. They are its next evolution.
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