Alan Tudyk Claims He Was Removed from 'I, Robot' Press Runs After Testing Higher Than Will Smith

Alan Tudyk says an early boost with test audiences came with an unexpected downside during the rollout of 2004’s I, Robot, which starred Will Smith.

While appearing on the Toon’d In with Jim Cummings podcast, the actor—who played the robot Sonny via voice and motion capture—recalled hearing from the studio that character scores out of test screenings favored him over the film’s marquee name.

“They were doing test audiences with the movie and they score the characters and I got word back, ‘Alan, you’re testing higher than Will Smith,’” Tudyk said.

What followed, Tudyk claims, was a swift disappearance from the film’s publicity plan. “And then I was gone. I was gone. There was no publicity and my name was not mentioned,” he said, adding that the shift left him “so shocked,” because “nobody’s going to know that I [play the robot].”

He emphasized the work that went into crafting Sonny—both vocally and physically—saying he “put a lot into” the performance and was “very upset” at the time.

I, Robot, directed by Alex Proyas and set in a 2035 Chicago where robots handle public-facing jobs, centers on Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) investigating the death of U.S. Robotics’ founder. Sonny, portrayed by Tudyk, is the AI at the heart of that mystery. The cast also includes Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, and Shia LaBeouf.

Despite the behind-the-scenes friction Tudyk describes, the movie was a commercial success. According to box office figures cited by Deadline on August 11, I, Robot earned $353,133,898 worldwide, with $144,801,023 in domestic and $208,332,875 in international box office receipts.

The film also scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects, ultimately losing to Spider-Man 2.

As of this writing, Will Smith has not responded to any of Alan Tudyk's claims.