AI Actress Tilly Nowood Cast as Lead in Feature Film 'Misaligned'

Tilly Nowood is headlining a feature film. The AI-generated actress has been cast as the lead in Misaligned, a comedy-drama produced by British company Particle6.

The film follows Tilly, an AI character with no body and no childhood, who develops desires and impulses after encountering a malicious bot. Particle6, founded by Dutch actor and producer Eline van der Felten (who created Nowood in 2025), works with traditional film crew—directors, writers, editors—alongside AI technology.

Nowood, a brown-haired AI character with a British accent, was first unveiled at a side event of the Zurich Film Festival in October 2025. The announcement rippled through the industry. SAG-AFTRA responded with a statement calling her "not an actress" and warning she would "steal actors' performances, put them out of work, threaten performers' livelihoods, and damage human artistry."

Van der Felten pushed back. Audiences "will still want to see Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds," she said, drawing a comparison to directing animated characters like Elsa from Frozen. On Misaligned specifically: "It will definitely be funny, confusing, and self-aware. It will be very Tilly."

This is the exact scenario SAG-AFTRA warned about. Now it's happening.