How to Get Cast on ‘Severance’

Apple TV+’s original drama follows Mark (Adam Scott) and his team of office workers, who have undergone a procedure that literally separates their work and personal lives. When they go into the office every day at Lumon Industries, they cannot remember who they are on the outside and vice versa. But as the colleagues work together to solve the mystery of who they are beyond working hours, this extreme case of work-life balance begins to unravel.  

“Severance” Season 1 featured: 

• Adam Scott as Mark Scout
• Zach Cherry as Dylan George
• Britt Lower as Helly Riggs
• John Turturro as Irving
• Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel
• Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman
• Tramell Tillman as Milchick 
• Jen Tullock as Devon
• Dichen Lachman as Ms. Casey
• Michael Chernus as Ricken
• Marc Geller as Kier Eagan
• Mark Kenneth Smaltz as Judd

Season 2 is adding eight new cast members: Gwendoline Christie, Alia Shawkat, Bob Balaban, Merrit Wever, Robby Benson, Stefano Carannante, John Noble, and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson.

Rachel Tenner and Bess Fifer are the primary CDs behind “Severance.” Tenner is best known for her work on FX’s “Fargo,” which won her an Emmy; Amazon Studios’ “The Tender Bar;” and Netflix’s “Maid.” Fifer and Tenner previously worked together on “Escape at Dannemora" and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” which were both directed by their “Severance” collaborator, Stiller.

Tenner appreciates actors with an original point of view. “What makes it exciting to watch is when people come in with a real, specific point of view,” she said. “Whether it’s the right point of view is one thing, but that’s why we’re there, right?”

She also told Daily Actor that making a strong choice and sticking to it is a way to stand out in auditions. “I always say that it’s great if an actor just comes in with a choice, you know? Just something really specific,” Tenner shared. “And even if it’s not right, if it’s the wrong choice, obviously we can adjust. I just appreciate the specificity that people come in with, and I think that’s kind of what can elevate an audition from seeing groups of actors.”

Tenner noted that Stiller enjoys being a part of the casting process and he’s the type who knows exactly what he’s looking for. “They trust themselves as filmmakers. They know it when they see it, and they just are good to go,” she told us. “There are not a lot of steps or a lot of hoopla to the whole thing. And I think for Ben, absolutely. Ben loves actors. He loves it when he’s in the room with them.”

While casting began before the COVID-19 pandemic, Tenner and Fifer had to make some adjustments to accommodate lockdowns. But overall, most of the auditions for “Severance” took place in person. “[W]e had a table read for our first block of episodes, and then two days later, that was when everything in-person stopped in New York,” Fifer told Awards Radar. “[W]e started the process by doing one kind of work and completely changed how we do our job. It became more about getting a cast established early on and then dealing with a changing schedule every day. So the logistics on the back end were just very, very different. We usually will get scripts, and you’ll cast for an episode or two and then get new scripts and cast for an episode or two. And we ended up doing a nine-episode cross-board that we never really knew too much in advance of who would be needed and when.”

Despite the shakeup, the casting team held auditions for almost every role. “I think we knew Irving would probably be [played by John Turturro],” Tenner said. “Patricia [Arquette], obviously, we just had done [‘Escape at Dannemora’] with Patricia, so she was top of the brain already. But everything else was full-on auditions for all the other roles. I think Ben [Stiller] loves that. Ben really enjoys getting to—I mean, we’re not discovering people. These are all actors who have had jobs and worked over the years. But maybe that might not be in the consciousness of the rest of the public. So it was a great opportunity to find these amazing actors and, you know, get them in here. And everyone still felt fresh and exciting to us.”

Series creator Erickson also told IGN that he wanted to cast Christopher Walken opposite Turturro because he believed the chemistry would ignite onscreen. As it turns out, Stiller was on the exact same wavelength: "So then [Stiller] brings up Christopher Walken and I was just like, okay, this is a prank. But yeah, he came in and is just lovely. He's just so professional and personable and kind. And immediately [Walken and Turturro] just had it. They already had whatever that rapport is that you see. We had to do no coaxing to get that from them."

“Severance” Season 2 ran into delays amid the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, but People confirmed that the next installment began filming in January 2024 and wrapped in April 2024.

Because “Severance” already wrapped filming for Season 2, there are no available auditions at this time. As we await news on a potential Season 3, we recommend bookmarking our main casting call page—and checking out our guide on how to audition for Apple TV+ so you can be prepared well in advance.

Humiliation is part of the job description. “I immediately understood the general air of humiliation that comes with trying to do something as ridiculous as be an actor in Hollywood. It’s just kind of an embarrassing endeavor,” Scott said in an interview about his time on Starz’s “Party Down.” “You really do get rejected a lot.… There are certainly harder things in the world and the country to do than being an actor, but it’s a particularly emotionally humiliating thing to do, that you don’t really anticipate when you choose to do it. You don’t really think that it’s going to be quite so soul-crushing at times.”

Let your passion be your guide. As Turturro explained about auditioning, “Just do it the best that you can do it, because you can only compete against yourself, really. A lot of times, people could be cast in the role and be darn good at it, too. And that’s the reality. It’s hard when you’re trying to get a part and looking for work to understand that, especially if you gave a really good audition.”

Stiller echoed the sentiment during a Q&A session at Lincoln Center: “If you love doing it, keep doing it. You have to do it because you love it, because it’s a tough business. In my experience, there’s a lot of rejection starting out. You just have to do it because you love doing it, and have perseverance.”

Embrace your creative spirit. Arquette has enjoyed a long, storied career in entertainment—but she’d never claim to be an expert on the craft. “I don’t want to tell anyone how to do it, and I don’t think there is one way,” Arquette told us. “Part of what’s so fun with acting is not being rigid about one way to approach work. I always want to keep it alive. Sometimes you don’t know where the fuck your character is going, [but] you have to start somewhere.” She added: “This life has many facets; your work is one of them. Have fun with work.… Be open to the joy of the birth of the creative spirit—and the pain!”