Alan Tudyk Says He Was Cut From I, ROBOT Marketing After Testing Better Than Will Smith in Test Screenings
Alan Tudyk just revealed a wild behind the scenes story from his time on the 2004 sci-fi blockbuster I, Robot, and it explains why so many people still don’t know he was in it.
Appearing on the Toon’d In with Jim Cummings podcast, Tudyk said he was dropped from the film’s marketing campaign after test screenings showed he was scoring higher with audiences than the movie’s leading man, Will Smith.
Tudyk brought the robot Sonny to life through motion capture and voice work, but after the studio saw the test results, he claims they decided to make his involvement… vanish.
“A lot of people did not know I did Sonny the Robot in I, Robot, and there is a reason. They were doing test audiences for the movie, and they score the characters in this kind of test screening.
“I got word back: ‘Alan, you are testing higher than Will Smith.’ And then I was gone. I was done. There was no publicity, and my name was not mentioned.”
The actor admitted the move blindsided him.
“I was so shocked. I was like, ‘Wait, nobody is going to know I’m in it!’ I put a lot into [that performance]. I had to move like a robot. At the time, I was very upset.”
He totally has a right to be upset over that! What a crappy thing for the studio to do to an actor!
I, Robot was directed by Alex Proyasand is set in 2035, it follows Smith’s Chicago detective investigating the suspicious death of a robotics company founder. While society’s highly intelligent robots are meant to serve humanity, Smith’s character suspects one of them, Sonny, of murder.
The cast also featured Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, and Chi McBride.
Back in 2004, motion capture was still a relatively fresh tool in Hollywood. Aside from characters like Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars and Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, audiences hadn’t seen much of it.
Tudyk’s work as Sonny helped push that technology forward, and he later became a fan favorite as the sarcastic droid K-2SO in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and its Disney+ prequel series Andor.
It’s been over 20 years since I, Robot hit theaters, but for many fans, this might be the first time they’re realizing Sonny’s soul came from Alan Tudyk. Turns out, the reason they didn’t know… was by design. I mean, you can’t have Tudyk being better than Will Smith! Sheesh.
That movie would’ve been so much better without Smith.