‘Severance’ Actors and Creators Discuss Fan Theories and Whether It Caused Them Big Dropout

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On AppleTV+ ReleaseEmployees of a mysterious corporation called Lumon Industries undergo a procedure that distinguishes their identities in the office from those behind work, known as “innies” and “outies”, respectively. What starts out as corporate satire takes a turn for the worse as Lumon’s team uncovers dark secrets and tries to discover who they really are. Creator Dan Erickson, director Ben Stiller, cinematographer Jessica Lee Gagne and actors Adam Scott, Brit Lauer, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Zach Cherry and Tramel Tilman sat down. THR Discuss how they approached the thriller series.

Daniel, how did the idea come about? Release Will you go with me?

Dan Erickson Like many people, I had a job that didn’t excite me. One day I went to work and wished, “God, if I could just skip the next eight hours and go home right now.” It was a horrible thing I did to myself; for example, I want less time on this precious land. Ben and I worked hard to keep the show on this central question: what is this strange desire in us that can make us want to separate parts of ourselves from our lives?

well even more That idea is really about the show. The first line of the program is “Who are you?” It’s about what creates our memories, our experiences of who we are when we’re disconnected from them and how much of them make up who we are.

What was everyone’s first reaction to the material?

Adam Scott Ben first called me in January 2017 and gave me the elevator speech, so to speak, and I couldn’t get rid of him for the next two years. That’s exactly what I want to be in and aspire to be exactly the story. It hit my entire pleasure center as an audience member.

british bass so they shot me [my character] Look directly at Hale, who is so strong and brave and rebellious, and find a way, as Ben said, to find out who I am on the inside and who I am on the outside.

zack cherries I admired Dylan’s game because it was tied to the way he handles office tasks. I’m a gamer, so I’m going to spend four hours trying to figure this out; There’s no real reason for me to do this, but I’m committed to it.

TRAMELL TILLMAN I wanted a job for myself. (laughs.) The stage was so dynamic and there are so many secrets hidden behind this corporation. The immersion in finding out what and who we are in all of this was really exciting.

patricia arqueta When I read the script, I asked, “Why do you want me to do this? Who is this lady? What is this corporation? “They answered me and it confused me even more. How you talk about who you are… is part of it [my character] Cobel, which was completely usurped by this corporation. You can hide without knowing who you are, not even wanting to ask why you’re horrible. Maybe you’re nobody below that.

Release It goes beyond genre: sometimes funny, sometimes horrible. Jessica, how did you balance these shades visually?

Jessica Lee Gany I was scared of the script. The writing is amazing, but as a cinematographer, I was too scared to deal with something that was entirely an office space. This led me to find aesthetic elements in this world. We searched many movies.

What did you use as inspiration?

Erickson at all Brazil s like John Malkovich This one Office s office space. In the late 1990s, a great deal of material related to the nature of reality, for example, Ტ Roman Exhibition s რიAtrica. We look at many real-life cults and see a strange, blurry line between what is a cult, what is a church, and what is a corporation.

What was the game like for characters who only know half of their identities at any given time?

lower We get all the scripts in advance, which is a very rare gift for television. The entire front arc was very useful to keep track of what information the character knows about himself and the company at any given time.

João Turturro Dan wrote a very generous story. [and I spent a lot of time] Think about it. It was important to me so [happens in] Irving’s life outside bleeds a little when he makes this connection with Bert.

I understand that Johnny helped Christopher Walken in the role of Bert…

torture I told Ben I only had one idea who I wanted to do this with. I appealed [Christopher Walken]I acted with him. I love working with him. The connection already exists. Ben got really excited and asked me to explain this to Chris.

Quieter When we had this meeting, Johnny still hadn’t agreed to do the show. We left thinking, “If Johnny’s going to do this, we’ve got to get Chris Walken.” I never thought about the role of Chris because I didn’t think it was possible. And now, of course, this is the kind of cast where you can’t imagine anyone else playing him.

The series premiere came at a time when many people are rethinking their relationship with work.

Erickson I made a big layoff. (laughs.) It was the middle period of the pandemic when we went into production. He was saying, “God, are we making the show less relevant? Satire in the workplace, just as the workplace disappears? But the work-life balance is now more inaccessible than ever and it’s the best time to do the show. It’s fun to be a part of this conversation in some way.

How did filming ramp up during a pandemic on set?

ARQUETE There were so many forced divisions that contributed [create] In this artificial world we were immersed in.

Scott I don’t live in NYC so I was just there for the show. In the morning I would get in the van and go to the Bronx to film. At the end of the day I would get back in the truck and go to the apartment by myself, then eat, go to sleep, wait for the truck in the morning and do the same thing again. He began to feel a world apart, this existence over these months. It was awkward and transactional, but it helped keep the show going.

Do you chase fan theories?

Erickson I’m hiding on Reddit but not really commenting.

cherries Many feared they wouldn’t be able to see Dylan dancing.

lower I’m crazy about it.

ARQUETE I think Christopher and Trammel should dance.

Finally, what does a kid have to do with it?

Erickson Only he can tell you that the conscience of the main characters will make a goat.

Quieter This is not true!

The interview is edited for length and clarity.

The story first appeared in the June 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.