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Severance's secret Keanu Reeves cameo was almost someone very different indeed, but the Apple TV+ show couldn't make a Presidential schedule work out

President Barack Obama was the first choice to play the comforting role of the animated Lumon building in the second season premiere, reveals executive producer Ben Stiller

News by Graeme McMillan, Editor

Published on Tue Mar 04 2025

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No, your ears weren’t deceiving you — turns out, that really was an uncredited Keanu Reeves providing the voice of the Lumon building in the purposefully cute promotional video seen by the MDR team in the first episode of Severance’s second season. But the John Wick superstar wasn’t the first choice for the role — and the crew behind the show was initially aiming way higher when it comes to stunt casting the official voice of creepy corporation Lumon.

“There was one person that I asked before [Reeves], and he said no,” series director and executive producer Ben Stiller revealed during a recent appearance on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show, after officially confirming Reeves’ role for the first time. When asked who that one person was, Stiller admitted, “President Barack Obama” to surprised laughs and applause from the audience.

“I didn’t ask him in person,” Stiller continued. “I knew someone who knew his lawyer, and his lawyer said, ‘I can relay the request if you write an email,’ so I wrote an email to him saying, ‘Hey, we have this show’ or whatever. And, like, 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.’ I’m like, what’s more important? You’re a voiceover for an animated building! But it was pretty cool he responded.”

Well, now we know there’s a level that Lumon hasn’t managed to infiltrate just yet, at least…

Severance season 2 drops new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+.

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.