Ben Stiller says he tried to recruit Barack Obama for a cameo on Severance, and the former president’s response proved that he’s a fan of the hit Apple TV+ show — even if he had to turn the offer down.
During an appearance this week on Jimmy Kimmel Live (below), Stiller — who serves as executive producer and frequent director on the critically acclaimed sci-fi series — revealed that he reached out to Obama to gauge his interest in making a bit part appearance in the show’s currently airing second season. The idea was for Obama to voice the animated Lumon building in the “Lumon is Listening” video from earlier this season.
“I didn’t ask him in person,” Stiller told Kimmel. “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.’”
Obama’s response might have been a polite decline, but his appreciation of the show also won’t come as a surprise to Severance fans. Not only is the show the most-watched Apple TV+ series to date, but the darkly inventive drama also includes famous fans like Obama — as well as Keanu Reeves, who actually ended up voicing the bit that Stiller offered to Obama.
With Season 2 continuing to dig deeper into the show’s dystopian mysteries, even the former leader of the free world is apparently eager to see what’s next. From the outside looking in, just like the rest of us.
