Alan Tudyk Opens Up About Why Fans Don’t Know One of His Best Roles—And It’s Because of Will Smith

Alan Tudyk recently shared why many people don’t realize he played Sonny, the robot, in the 2004 film I, Robot. In a recent interview on the podcast Toon’d In with Jim Cummings, Tudyk explained that he was completely cut from the movie’s marketing. The reason? Early test screenings showed that audiences actually liked his character more than Will Smith’s.

Tudyk said, “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.”

He also talked about how this decision wasn’t just about the promos. “There was no publicity, and my name was not mentioned,” he recalled. He was surprised and a bit hurt by this, adding, “I was so shocked. I was like, ‘Wait, nobody is going to know I’m in it!’”

Playing Sonny was a tough job. Tudyk had to use motion capture technology, combining physical movement and voice acting to bring the character to life. He put a lot of effort into the role and was upset about how things turned out. “I put a lot into [that performance]. I had to move like a robot. At the time, I was very upset.”

Tudyk’s experience also highlights a bigger issue in Hollywood: voice acting often doesn’t get the respect it deserves. With credits in projects like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Resident Alien, he knows how much work goes into this kind of acting. “I was in the room. I’m at the wheel, I was with the actor back and forth. My voice is completely attached to the world that everyone is seeing,” he said, pointing out how important voice actors are to storytelling.

Even though Tudyk was cut from the film’s marketing, he remains proud of his work. He hopes more people will recognize voice acting as an important part of bringing stories to life.

As for I, Robot itself, the movie got mixed to average reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, 57% of 222 critics gave positive reviews, with an average score of 6.1 out of 10. The site noted that while the film only loosely connects to Isaac Asimov’s original stories, it still offers a summer blockbuster that makes you think a little.

Metacritic gave the movie a score of 59 out of 100, showing mixed feelings from critics. But audiences liked it more—CinemaScore polls gave it an A− grade.

The film opened strong, making $52.2 million in its first weekend and ranking number one at the box office. It earned $144.8 million in the US and Canada and $202.4 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $347.2 million. Made on a $120 million budget, I, Robot was the eleventh-highest-grossing movie of 2004.

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