Terminator creator opposes rise of AI performers in movies
James Cameron says generative AI creating actors from text prompts is the opposite of real filmmaking. Read on to know more about his thoughts, and Tilly Norwood - an AI-generated Hollywood actor.
New Delhi: James Cameron has spent decades using technology to push filmmaking forward. From The Terminator to Avatar, his movies changed how Hollywood imagines the future. But the filmmaker says today’s rapid rise of generative AI is not the future he wanted to build.
Speaking on CBS’ Sunday Morning, the Canadian director explained that even while developing the first Avatar in 2005, some people in Hollywood believed he planned to replace actors with computers. Cameron remembered being questioned about motion capture performances and CGI creatures.
Cameron says replacing actors with AI is "horrifying”
Cameron said the misunderstanding was always clear in his mind. "For years, there was this sense that, ‘Oh, they’re doing something strange with computers and they’re replacing actors,’ when in fact, once you really drill down and you see what we’re doing, it’s a celebration of the actor-director moment,” he said.
His stance has only grown stronger as generative AI systems learn to mimic faces, voices and emotions without a real performer on set.
He warned that the ability of AI to invent performers entirely from prompts creates a threat to creativity and the profession. "They can make up an actor. They can make up a performance from scratch with a text prompt. It’s like, no. That’s horrifying to me. That’s the opposite. That’s exactly what we’re not doing.”
Cameron believes films are built on human collaboration. Generating actors out of code removes that central relationship.
Enter Tilly Norwood, AI’s first Hollywood "actress”
The director’s warning comes as companies are already testing AI talent.
In September, AI performer Tilly Norwood was introduced at the Zurich Summit by Eline Van der Velden, the founder of the UK-based Particle6 production group and its AI division Xicoia. Norwood is entirely generated using multiple AI tools. She starred in a comedy sketch called AI Commissioner, released July 30, featuring AI scripted scenes powered by ChatGPT.
Van der Velden said interest is high from talent agencies. She told Variety that AI will slowly spread inside movie workflows. "I think it will be a slow progression,” she said. She believes audiences will judge films by storytelling quality, not whether a real performer acted in it.
A growing debate in film communities
The backlash from actors and filmmakers has been intense. Hollywood unions spent much of the last two years negotiating AI protections. Many creatives fear a future where likenesses can be copied and controlled without fair work or consent.
But companies building AI characters argue that cheaper and faster production will open new opportunities in animation, local language films and global streaming.