Alan Tudyk says he was quietly erased from I, Robot’s marketing after early test screenings found his motion-capture and voice performance as Sonny connected more with audiences than star Will Smith, a decision he recalls left him “very upset.”
What Tudyk says happened
Appearing on the Toon’d In with Jim Cummings podcast, Tudyk recounted that studio feedback from test screenings told him, “Alan, you are testing higher than Will Smith,” after which he was “gone” from the campaign and not mentioned in publicity.
He explained that many viewers never realized he played Sonny because he was excluded from press and promotional materials once those audience results came in. Tudyk said he was shocked, adding that he had poured effort into both voice and motion capture for the pivotal NS-5 robot and felt deeply frustrated to lose recognition for that work.
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How outlets are covering it
Trade and entertainment outlets amplified his remarks, with Variety reporting the claim and noting it reached out to Will Smith’s representatives for comment, with no response reported in these recaps.
E! News likewise highlighted Tudyk’s account that he was cut from promotion because he “tested higher” than Smith in early screenings, emphasizing his disappointment over the lack of acknowledgment. Genre and pop-culture sites echoed the core quotes, stressing that Tudyk’s performance-capture work powered Sonny, a key character in director Alex Proyas’ 2004 film set in 2035 Chicago.
Context around the film and performance
I, Robot starred Will Smith as Detective Del Spooner, investigating the death of a robotics founder and suspecting Sonny, portrayed by Tudyk, in a future where intelligent robots serve the public.
At the time, performance capture was still relatively uncommon beyond widely cited examples, a point several write-ups reference to explain why the lack of publicity stung for an actor doing both voice and physical performance.
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Roundups reiterate Tudyk’s comments that he wanted audiences to know he was behind Sonny, but his name and presence were largely absent from marketing after the test-screening results.
