Kevin O’Leary is making his opinions on the use of AI in Hollywood known.
The businessman and Shark Tank star, who makes his acting debut in the upcoming A24 film Marty Supreme, recently said on The Hill‘s World of Travel podcast that the production could have saved “millions of dollars” if AI had been used in the place of background actors.
“Almost every scene had as many as 150 extras. Now, those people have to stay awake for 18 hours, be completely dressed in the background. [They’re] not necessarily in the movie, but they’re necessary to be there moving around. And yet, it costs millions of dollars to do that,” O’Leary said. “Why couldn’t you simply put AI agents in their place? Because they’re not the main actors. They’re only in the story visually. [You could] save millions of dollars, so more movies could be made. The same director, instead of spending $90 million or whatever he spent, could’ve spent $35 million and made two movies.”
O’Leary then made an erroneous reference to the AI-generated character Tilly Norwood, which was created in 2025 by Xicoia. The character provoked controversy in Hollywood when it was reported that several talent agents were interested in signing it for representation. SAG-AFTRA issued a statement on Sept. 30 condemning the AI-generated character, saying it’s “jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.”
“I’d argue for the sake of the art, you should allow it in certain cases, and extra is a really good-use case because you can’t tell the difference. You just put 100 Norwell Tillies in there and you’re good,” O’Leary said on the podcast.
O’Leary plays the husband of Gwyneth Paltrow‘s character in Marty Supreme. The film stars Timothée Chalamet and releases in theaters on Christmas Day.
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