Barack Obama was almost part of “Severance” Season 2. Ben Stiller, who executive produces and directs the series, said during a recent appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (which you can see in the below video) that he asked former president Obama to voice the animated Lumon building in the second season. Despite Obama being a “big fan” of the series, he turned the role down.
“I didn’t ask him in person,” Stiller said of how he approached asking Obama. “I knew someone that knew his lawyer, and his lawyer said ‘I can relay the request if you write an email,’ so I wrote an email to him. Like two days later I get an email back from President Barack Obama saying, ‘Hey Ben, big fan of the show, love Season 1, can’t wait for Season 2. … Don’t think I have time in my schedule to make this happen.’”
Stiller added, “And like, come on, what’s more important than doing the voiceover for the animated building in ‘Severance’? But it was pretty cool that he responded.” Instead, Keanu Reeves voices the building in the animated “Lumon Is Listening” video in the series.
Obama is a known cinephile and also the founder of Higher Ground Productions, a banner that has “a mission to elevate stories and voices that bend the arc,” according to its logline. The company, which has a deal with Netflix, recently produced “Court of Gold,” as well as Oscar-nominated 2023 films “Rustin” and “American Symphony.”
“Severance” Season 2 does have a few other surprising collaborations, aside from the would-be Obama role: EDM artist ODESZA created an eight-hour playlist with the show as themed for a 9 to 5 office job. The set, which debuted in February, was “designed for eight hours of focus — perfect for your innie’s workday.” The ODESZA songs were promoted by Stiller, who tweeted, “Thank you ODESZA. This is taking me to another place…”
The fictional Dr. Ricken Lazlo Hale, played by Michael Chernus, and his self-help book “The You You Are” is also available for purchase in an additional crossover collab.
“Severance” Season 2 has blurred the lines between the Innies and Outies, hence the real-life marketing tie ins. As Mark (Adam Scott) uncovers even more mysteries at Lumon Industries, his colleagues are “learning the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe,” as the logline teases.
