Ben Stiller has revealed how Barack Obama responded after the actor and director offered the former president a role in his hit sci-fi series, Severance.
The Zoolander star, 59, said he approached Obama, 63, about providing the voice for the animated version of the Lumon administrative building that appears in a video shown to staff in the show. The role was eventually filled by Keanu Reeves.
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday night, Stiller said he had a “very short list of people” in mind for the unusual part: “There was one person that I asked before [Reeves], and he said no.”
When Kimmel asked who it was, Stiller responded: “President Barack Obama.”
He went on to explain: “I didn’t ask him in person. I knew someone who knew his lawyer, and his lawyer said: ‘I can relay the request if you write an email, so I wrote this email to him saying: ‘Hey, we have this show... whatever.’
“Two days later, I get an email back from President Barack Obama saying: ‘Hey Ben, big fan of the show, love season one, can’t wait for season two. Don’t think I have time in my schedule to make this happen.’”
As Stiller laughed at the memory, he joked: “What’s more important than doing the voice-over for the animated building in Severance?”
He added: “But it’s pretty cool that he responded.”
Of working with Reeves, Stiller said: “We did it like a full-on recording session. He was in LA, I was in New York, but he went into the studio and did multiple takes. He took it very seriously. He’s just like the most warm and inviting voice. I don’t know if when you see the building and hear his voice you necessarily immediately think that it’s Keanu, but then I think you just have this innate sort of feeling.”
The second season of Severance, which is directed by Stiller and airs on Apple TV+, has earned strong reviews.
Starring Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, John Turturro and Christopher Walken as Lumon employees, the psychological drama sci-fi sees staff undergo a procedure called “severance,” which divides their work and home lives completely in a daring experiment to find a work-life balance.
Seven episodes have so far been released, with the remaining three episodes dropping weekly on Fridays on the streaming platform. The finale will air on 21 March.
