The Surprising Reason an A-Lister’s ‘I, Robot’ Role Was Kept Quiet 20 Years Ago originally appeared on Parade.
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.”
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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.
