While most would have killed for any role on Apple TV‘s hit show Severance, former President Barack Obama had better things to do.
Ben Stiller revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live yesterday (March 4) that he offered Obama an uncredited cameo — a voice-over role in the animated version of the Lumon administrative building — but that he politely declined the offer.
Stiller explained how he emailed Obama using a friend who knows Obama’s lawyer, who relayed his message. According to Stiller, Obama replied two days later, writing, “Hey Ben, I’m a big fan of the show. I loved Season 1 and can’t wait for Season 2, but I don’t think I have time to make this happen.”
Stiller then joked with Kimmel, “What’s more important than doing the voice-over for the animated building in Severance?”
After a laugh, Stiller and Kimmel agreed that it was still very cool that Obama responded.
Stiller also explained that his list of possible voice actors was extremely short, and after Obama declined, he only needed to contact one more person.
Keep reading to find out who replaced Obama — and spoiler, it wasn’t Donald Trump this time.
Stiller, who had previously been asked who he chose to fulfill the role, kept the voice a mystery. However, fans began to speculate that it was beloved actor Keanu Reeves. He finally confirmed this for the first time on Kimmel last night.
Stiller was excited to have Reeves contribute, praising his voice and professionalism for such a small role: “He went into the studio, did multiple takes, and took it very seriously. He’s just the most warm and inviting voice,” he said.
Reeves recorded in L.A. while Stiller was in New York. Stiller added, “I don’t know that when you see the building and hear his voice, you necessarily think it’s Keanu.”
While Reeves does have a distinguished voice, it’s safe to say it would have been much easier for fans to figure out the uncredited cameo was Obama if he had done the role, due to his iconic cadence and tone.
While Stiller was willing to reveal the voice of the building to Kimmel, he was stubborn about giving up any spoilers about the show. Similar to Obama, he answered Kimmel’s leading questions in a very political manner.
Stiller at one point even admitted he might be tricking the audience completely about how Severance may end: “I can say that now as a fake out and people would be like, ‘Oh, it’s not really a dream,’ when it really could be a dream,” he said, revealing nothing more.
He also said that he sometimes finds it hard to keep these details secret and is constantly going back to edit his podcast, The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott.
Stiller doesn’t understand why people want to know the ending, and he won’t give in to the fans’ impatience. While fans will have to wait, at least they can appreciate the sliver of a spoiler confirming Reeves as the mystery voice-over man.
New episodes of Severance drop on Apple TV+ at 3 a.m. ET weekly on Fridays.