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 Bailiff
• Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel
• Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman
• Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick 
• Jen Tullock as Devon Scout-Hale
• Dichen Lachman as Ms. Casey
• Michael Chernus as Ricken Hale
• Marc Geller as Kier Eagan
• Mark Kenneth Smaltz as Judd

Season 2 welcomes eight new cast members: Gwendoline Christie, Alia Shawkat, Bob Balaban, Merritt Wever, Robby Benson, Stefano Carannante, John Noble, and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson. Details about their characters, however, remain under wraps.

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; Prime Video’s “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. “We 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. “We 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: OK, 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.”

Stiller, Tenner noted, was equally as enveloped in the casting process as the CDs themselves. “Soup to nuts. He’s so involved, from the beginning to the end. He sees everything, sees everyone. He participates in sessions when he can. We talk nonstop about everything. It’s fun. It’s so collaborative and it’s so safe to be really creative with him,” she explained. “I can come up with, like, the craziest idea and be like, OK, I have an idea for you.’ And he’ll be like, ‘That’s ridiculous.’ We get to talk things out or he’ll have ideas about things, and we’ll talk those out, too. So, it’s a really collaborative working relationship with him and he’s super involved.”

Interestingly, Tenner also revealed that when auditioning the core Lumon employees, they didn’t focus on the duality of said characters. “I’ll just leave it by saying we only auditioned people with their innie stuff,” she said. “Nothing from their outie stuff. Unless, of course, they were just outie characters, but we didn’t really have to play that duality. I think we just assumed that all of us—Bess, myself, and Ben—could make that leap that if they’re excelling at one part, we’re pretty sure they can do the other. I know, everyone’s always like, ‘Did they all test together?’ And I was like, ‘No.’ We just assumed that if everyone did one part well, it would be great.”

“Severance” Season 2 filmed from January to April 2024 following WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike delays, according to People. But now, as the show prepares for its Jan. 17 premiere, fans cannot help but wonder—will there be a third season?

Well, Stiller and Mohamad El Masri, series writer and co-executive producer, have some good news! Stiller told Collider, “You have a responsibility to the audience that you’re going somewhere with it. That’s always been a part of it for us, really understanding where it’s heading to; and Apple’s been really supportive of that and [has] been sensitive to what the story is and not saying: OK, this is something that has to keep going as long as it’s successful. It should go as long as the story goes, and that’s something we have an idea of and we’re working towards as we’re starting up our Season 3 work.” El Masri echoed the sentiment, saying, “There was always a thinking ahead to future seasons. Even in Season 2, we were talking about: What is the end game, and how does this show end? A lot of work was talking about that. I think there’s a natural overlap that happens, especially with the second season of a show, that you’ve got to keep [the momentum] going.”

So, if all goes according to plan, the Lumon Industries staff will return to the office for “Severance” Season 3.

“Severance” Season 2 is set to drop in January, and Season 3 is likely waiting in the wings. If Season 3 does get the greenlight, we should expect new casting information then. In the meantime, we suggest 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!”

Work-life balance isn’t easy. If you’re like Tramell Tillman, it’s hard to strike that work-life balance when you love your job. “It’s challenging for me to set my work down, because it doesn’t feel like work. Acting is my passion and my ministry. Gone are my days of watching television, film, or theater without a critical eye,” Tillman told us. “I notice the language, costumes, facial expressions, lighting, hair, and vocal intonations—even the level of the liquid inside the wine glass of the gentleman sitting behind the lead. Continuity is important! Much respect to those who work diligently to maintain it.”

But he also uses this fact to his advantage. “My work-life balance needs, well, work,” he shared. “But I am OK with that. I embrace my neuroses and consider them to be a formidable asset. Attention to detail makes for powerful work. Passion lends itself to opportunity, too…. Acting is so ingrained in who I am. Creating art is how I appear in the world. It’s my activism, self-expression, and way of being. So for now, I am comfortable knowing this simple truth when it comes to finding balance: I am a work in progress.”