Ben Stiller made a big request for a guest voice role on season two of Severance.
While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the exec producer and director of the Apple TV+ series revealed that he originally asked former President Barack Obama to voice the narration of Lumon’s puppet propaganda video in season two.
“There was one person that I asked before [Keanu Reeves], and he said no: President Barack Obama,” Stiller said.
Stiller clarified that he was able to reach out to Obama via a friend who knows Obama’s lawyer. “Two days later, I get an email back from President Barack Obama,” he said of what happened after emailing his request.
Stiller recalled Obama’s message 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.”
“What’s more important than doing the voice-over for the animated building in Severance?” Stiller quipped before adding, “It was pretty cool that he responded.”
Obama has long been a dream cast addition for the Severance creators. Exec producer Dan Erickson told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022 that he hoped to pitch an undisclosed role to Obama while at the Emmys at the time.
“If he is [there] I’m going to see if he wants a role on this show,” the creator told THR. “I think he’d be really good, he’d bring some gravitas.”
Keanu Reeves eventually lended his voice for the “Lumon Is Listening” video featured in the show. Stiller praised the actor for having a “warm” and “inviting voice.”
“I don’t know if when you see the building and you hear his voice, you necessarily think immediately that it’s Keanu, but then I think you have this just innate feeling,” Stiller told Kimmel.
The second season of the Apple TV+ series premiered in January with the finale streaming on March 21.