Alan Tudyk claims he was removed from I, Robot promotional materials after "testing higher than Will Smith" with fans

He told the Toon'd In with Jim Cummings podcast: "A lot of people didn't know I did Sonny the robot in I, Robot, and there's a reason for that, actually.

"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'.

"And then I was gone. I was gone. There was no publicity and my name was not mentioned."

Will is yet to comment on the claims.

As well as voicing the robot, Tudyk - who has also appeared in the likes of Firefly, Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil and numerous Disney animations - shot the motion capture for the CGI character, noting he "put a lot into" the performance.

He added on the podcast - which was released in June but has only just started to make waves online: "I was so shocked, I was like, 'Wait, what? How do they - nobody's going to know that I -' and [Fox] was like, 'Mhm'.

"It was sad. I put a lot into it, because he had to move like a robot, so I had to move [like a robot].... At the time, I was very upset."

Tudyk has voiced characters in everything from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Creature Commandos to Aladdin, Moana and Superman, and he insisted the artform deserves more respect.

He said: "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."