The Surprising Reason an A-Lister's 'I, Robot' Role Was Kept Quiet 20 Years Ago
Legendary actor Alan Tudyk, 54, starred opposite Will Smith, 56, in the iconic 2004 dystopian AI film I, Robot, but most fans didn't realize he was the voice and motion capture artist behind Sonny the robot. More than 20 years later, the star is opening up about the surprising reason why his role wasn't publicized.
'A lot of people didn't know I did Sonny the Robot in I, Robot, and there's a reason for that,' Tudyk told voice actor Jim Cummings on his Toon'd Inpodcast in June 2025. 'Because they were doing test audiences with the movie, and they score the characters in this kind of test audience."
🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬
On first thought, fans might assume he simply wasn't testing well with audiences. In fact, it was exactly the opposite. "I got word back: 'Alan, you're testing higher than Will Smith,'" he explained. "And then I was gone. I was done. There was no publicity, and my name was not mentioned.' Smith was also an executive producer on the project.
The actor was "so shocked" to be ousted from the film's promotional materials and press tour. "I was like, 'Wait, nobody is going to know that I'm in it!'" he recalled thinking. "I put a lot into it, because he had to move like a robot, so I had to move… it was, whatever it was. At the time, I was very upset.'
The film, which also starred Bridget Moynahan and Bruce Greenwood, made a whopping $353,133,898 at the box office worldwide and was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects at the 77th Academy Awards.
Despite the shocking snub, Tudyk went on to have an extremely successful film career, famously portraying Hoban "Wash" Washburn in Firefly and Serenity, K-2SO in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Harry Vanderspeigle in SyFy's Resident Alien. He's also appeared in Harley Quinn, Doom Patrol, 42, Superman, and Andor, and has had voice acting roles in popular animated films like Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, and Moana.
The Surprising Reason an A-Lister's 'I, Robot' Role Was Kept Quiet 20 Years Ago first appeared on Parade on Aug 12, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
25 minutes ago
- New York Times
A Lifelong Party of ‘Puzzle-Making Tomfoolery'
Jerry Slocum likes to cause trouble — with puzzles. A celebrated collector, Mr. Slocum, 94, has so far amassed some 46,000 mechanical puzzles. He began collecting at age 8. In one of numerous books that Mr. Slocum has written on the subject (often with co-authors), such puzzles are defined as 'a self-contained object, composed of one or more parts, which involves a problem for one person to solve by manipulation using logic, reasoning, insight, luck and/or dexterity.' Mr. Slocum's favorite is the T puzzle. Also known as the Tormentor or the Teaser, it originated in the early 1900s as an advertising gimmick, and also just for fun. A big capital T is cut into four pieces. The goal is reassembly. 'It looks pretty simple, but it's not,' Mr. Slocum, a retired aerospace engineer, said on a Saturday morning last summer in downtown Houston. He had just put a T puzzle on display at the latest International Puzzle Party. Mr. Slocum first threw this party on April Fools' Day in 1978; just 10 people gathered in the living room of his Beverly Hills home, where he still lives. Now, more than 500 serious collectors are on the invitation list, and the event is organized by a rotating committee. The destination moves on a three-year cycle among the United States, Europe and Asia. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
25 minutes ago
- New York Times
Mamdani's Video Savvy: Easy to Envy, Hard to Duplicate
Zohran Mamdani used three things to catapult himself to an upset Democratic primary win in the New York City mayor's race: a viral social media presence, a laser focus on affordability and an exhaustive ground game. His opponents' immediate takeaway? They need a better video strategy. Nine days after Mr. Mamdani clinched victory, Mayor Eric Adams released an online video where he pretended to be talking to Usher — using scenes from the artist's well-known music video for 'Confessions Part II' — to announce a summer concert series. He later filmed himself doing pull-ups from a pedestrian crossing sign, and, more recently, invited New Yorkers on an 'MTV Cribs'-style tour of his home at Gracie Mansion. (As a candidate in 2021, Mr. Adams conducted a similar tour of a home he owns in Brooklyn to demonstrate that he actually lived there. It was not entirely convincing.) Not to be outdone, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the primary, has posted videos of himself jump-starting a car and opining on how to pronounce 'Kosciuszko Bridge.' using snappy music, a cinematic filter and a new clip-on microphone. How're they doin'? The consensus: not particularly well. 'Literally doing ANYTHING but his job,' one person commented on Mr. Adams's pull-up video, receiving 2,500 likes. Two comments on the Kosciuszko Bridge video derided Mr. Cuomo, whose father also served as governor, as a 'nepo baby.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Fox News
25 minutes ago
- Fox News
The Quiz #499 - In DePalma Your Hand
HINT: Say hello to my little QUIZ! Play. Share. Listen with FOX News Contributor and Comedian, Tom Shillue.
