Effort and Ease (with Merritt Wever & Ramy Youssef)

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Hey, I'm Ben Stiller.

I'm Adam Scott.

And this is the Severance Podcast with Ben and Adam, where we talk about all things Severance.

Sometimes we're talking to the people who make Severance, sometimes we're talking to people who influence the the show.

Sometimes we're talking to super fans.

Today we kind of have a nice mix.

Yeah, we've got a potent brew.

We're joined today by one of our incredible new cast members for season two, Emmy Award-winning and Golden Globe-nominated actress Merit Weaver.

She plays Gretchen, Dylan G's wife.

Yes, she's a really great actor who's been in movies like Marriage Story and shows like Nurse Jackie and Godless and New Girl.

Very funny show.

And she also has one of the best awards acceptance speeches of all time.

Everybody should look up her Emmy Award acceptance speech.

It's incredibly precise and to the point.

Yeah, she kind of says it all.

I put her and Joe Pesci up next to each other as the best acceptance speeches of all time.

What was the Joe Pesci acceptance?

He just said, this is my privilege.

Thank you.

And he walks away.

Ah,

I like that.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I can't wait to talk to Merritt.

And then after that, we're going to bring on a Severn Super fan who Ben and I are both huge fans of.

The Golden Globe winning Emmy nominated actor, comedian, writer, director, Rami Youssef.

He's going to help us answer some of your hotline questions.

Yeah, he is very talented.

Rami is doing stuff that nobody else is doing in terms of what he talks about and how he approaches comedy and drama and directing and all of it.

So, yeah, very, very excited to talk to him too.

Me too.

I love his stand-up so much because it's deeply funny, but he just seems unafraid.

It's really, really rewarding.

I agree.

I agree.

It's fun to talk to him a little bit about that.

So this is going to be fun.

Yeah.

Let's get into the episode.

Ben, how have you been?

It's been, I haven't seen you in like five days.

I know.

It's weird.

I feel like we were seeing each other every day, even though I'm in New York and you're in LA.

That's right.

I feel like we've been doing a lot of events and different things together for the show.

Yeah.

And we did have like this sort of intense LA weekend with the cast together, which was was really fun.

So fun.

So much fun.

So many different things we were doing, including the live podcast episode.

Yeah, we recorded our first live recording of this podcast.

Yeah, which was really interesting because, you know, I heard other podcasts that do live shows and you're like, oh, yeah, that's like, you know, it's like a real thing.

And the audience, it's kind of, it was kind of like when we went to Comic-Con with the show.

And it's like, oh, they're actually real people who are engaging with this.

It's true.

Being like in a room with fans of the show, it just recontextualizes everything.

It's so much fun.

Yeah.

And we had this fun game show format that Barry, our great producer, put together.

Yeah, the Tournament of Fripperies.

Yeah.

Oh my goodness.

It was a whole production.

I mean, it was like a series.

There was like a set and

it was huge.

I mean, our producers are incredible.

Barry Finkel, Gabrielle Lewis, Naomi Scott, Ben Goldberg, and also everybody at Apple TV Plus, Gina and the whole team over there.

They were amazing.

Yeah.

And a great, great crowd.

There was really fun.

And also there was some, I think there was a little bit of controversy because at the end, apparently John Toturo thought that he had won, but our team, our team, because we had individual round and then we had team, the team round.

And the team,

my team was the icebergs, which was Trammell and Patricia and I.

And you,

you started pushing disinformation out there about halfway through and accusing Britt and I of cheating.

So I feel like that tainted our chances, even though the name of our team was We Are Going to Lose.

I feel like that tainted our chances of winning, just in the general vibe in the room.

You just kind of infected everybody.

I feel like just the energy of that name of the team might have infected you.

I think maybe it infected you to start coming up with lies and missteps.

But it wasn't, no, no, no.

What happened was we had these iPads that we were writing the answers on, and our row was sort of like the match game back in the 70s.

Our row was behind your row, so it felt very easy for people to look.

And everybody was sort of like checking out everybody's iPads a a little bit, too.

Yeah.

But you guys were behind us and above us.

So you would have been able to look at our iPads.

No, but you also could have heard too, I think you were hearing over here.

Oh, really?

I'm not proud of the fact that I went to that, you know, in a game.

Also, by the way, you never know how you're going to react in a game situation as a person.

You know, I haven't done a lot of game shows.

I did Who Wants to be a Millionaire back in the day.

And I know that you just, you get very, I get very nervous.

You clam up, and all of a sudden, it's like you go to some sort of part of your brain that is sort of the fight fight-or-flight, or

you know.

Yeah.

But I just can't think of things that should be easily accessible in your brain.

Right.

Do you know why Taturo thinks that he won, though?

Oh, he won the best individual score.

Taturo did.

That's why.

Right.

According to, I guess, the judges.

Right.

It's just, it's a little bit hard also to take him at his word because he does have.

that whole quiz show sort of stigma of that movie, right?

Because he was the guy who they were feeding, they were feeding him answers.

That's right.

So there's no way around that.

You have to take that into into consideration.

Yes.

He's also a very, very good actor, perhaps one of our best ever, which means he could easily be acting like he's not cheating.

And we just wouldn't know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I think he was on the level.

You know,

he also, he got into it too.

And then the other fun thing we did was we went over to the mural on Melrose Avenue.

Oh, yeah.

The mural of Mark with every character we've ever seen in Severance,

which is how it was described in the script.

And that was pretty cool to see.

That was super fun.

We all went over there after the game show.

So it was a big group of us.

It was nighttime.

And we all went over there.

Yeah.

And a couple of our fans had requested a recreation of the shot of you and Helie holding hands.

That's right.

And you guys were kind enough to do that.

And that was fun to do in the moment.

So cool.

And the shot is beautiful.

It looks, it looks great.

Yeah.

And at one point, I think I was like saying, like, hey, stand a little closer, like, move an inch to the right.

And Britt was like, we're just doing the show again.

We're back in the show.

100%.

You were like, Adam, half a step to your right.

Britt,

lean your right shoulder in three inches.

And Britt and I just looked at each other and we were like, oh my God,

we're on Melrose Avenue, literally making the show.

All right.

But guess what I didn't do?

What?

I did not comment on either of your hair, right?

I didn't try to make you fix your hair in any way.

I didn't have any issues.

Your hair looked great.

And, you know, there was no hair.

Okay, so should we bring out our first guest, the Merit Weaver?

Yes.

All right.

Hi, Merit.

Hey.

Hey, Merit.

Hi.

Merit, we're so happy to have you on.

And you're nominated for an Emmy this year.

Congrats on the show.

And you've already won a couple of Emmys.

And just, I'm curious what your relationship is with this kind of approbation and the whole sort of way that people react to your work.

I feel very lucky.

I feel very lucky.

And I think it's something that I don't think about a lot.

But I think as I get older,

it's like something that was too bright to look at when it happened.

And so I had to put it away in my pocket.

But sometimes as I get older and I'm able to kind of turn my gaze to things like that, it's like something I take out of my pocket and I try to like look at through fingers like over my eyes.

And as I get older, I'm able to maybe like part my hands from my eyes a little more and a little more.

And I take that as a sign of personal progress.

But I don't mean to sound like ungrateful at all.

It's because it's such a big deal that I almost couldn't take it in when it happened.

Sure.

Understandable.

You know, it's an interesting thing when you're working.

I mean, whatever the outcome is, the result, you know, good, bad, people liking it, not liking it.

I find you have to sort of dissociate.

You have to, not sort of, I think I have to dissociate from any thought of what the outcome is when I'm doing it.

Is that how you approach it?

Yeah, fully.

And I, I mean, I don't know what it's like for you two.

You guys were going into season two, but you know, for me on something like this, I can imagine that might be very difficult.

I don't, I actually don't think.

Oh, you don't.

Oh, that's amazing.

I somehow, the one thing that I feel like maybe that I can, that I know that I do well is somehow disconnecting.

Just disassociate.

Well, disassociate, yeah, in general.

But just not thinking, like when I'm in process, when I'm working, when we're working on a set, doing, like, I just don't, it doesn't enter my mind really because it's like what we're working on in the moment, you know, and trying to make that work.

So even on season two, yes, at the beginning, but once we started working on it, it was more like, well, we just got to tell this story and tell it the best we can.

Yeah, you're back in the trenches, moment to moment.

Scene by scene.

And I remember working with you on those first scenes.

You know, when you came on the show, we hadn't worked together.

You were new to the show.

And I'm just curious a little bit about what your process is, as much as you would you know feel comfortable talking about it well I think that I work very very hard before I get to set

I prepare a lot I sometimes worry if I've tipped into over preparing

which I know you both being actors like I normally I'd worry about like getting into the weeds but I know that like we can do the the actor geek out thing together here but like I think my anxiety over doing a good job or my desire, maybe is a better word, to do a good job, my desire to be able to show up in that day and get free and live in that moment and let go, which I know is the thing that we all want, can sometimes mean that I drive myself too hard before I show up.

And I can get into that space where I over-prepare.

And then instead of being free, something can get calcified in me.

And I am learning now, or I I feel like my

work right now is to find the balance between doing enough work that I feel rooted and like I have my signposts, but not doing it so much that I show up and suddenly I'm sticky.

But yeah, all of my work is like, is trying to figure out how to get free and out of my head.

And I've, I've in recent years, realized, you know, talking about stuff before I've come in and done it, before it's in my body, before I've read it with the other actor, and kind of deciding in our heads what something is

is

death for me.

And if I also, I know, I have, and I know that people are very, very different.

And so sometimes when you find yourself working with someone like that, it becomes like a real, like an earnest and respectful dance dance of how do we both get what we need.

But I know that if I

if I talk about it too much first,

I die on the vine.

And that's me and I can't change it.

But sometimes

I wish I worked in a different way because, because wouldn't it be nice to have a conversation with someone and ask for help and have them help you in words?

But Ben, I'm realizing now I actually said that to you.

Yeah.

I said that to you when I met you on the first day when Zach and I just kind of read the scene together.

like we just read it twice at the table, and we didn't talk about it.

And I remember I was very nervous, and we were going downstairs, I think, for a camera test.

And I turned to you and I said, So, um, I just, I just want to mention something about the way that I work.

And I mean, I remember you looking at me, you were alarmed because it is like a weird thing.

Like, we weren't even like sitting and in a moment of like rest.

We were literally like walking downstairs.

But yeah, I said that, and you heard me.

And I think I remember you being aware of that and respectful of it when we worked like that first day where we did those any scenes, too.

Yeah, I mean, it was very interesting because that's not necessarily how every actor would work, but I felt knowing your work, working with you, I felt like, all right, I want to respect what your process is.

And I don't know, sometimes talking about something beforehand can be helpful, but also I know that, like, even like, I remember going in on auditions and like talking about it or talking with the people you're auditioning for, and then you have to do it.

Then all of a sudden, it's like, well, you know, if you're saying, like, I think it should be this, or I love this character, he's like this.

And then you do it.

And then, like, wait, did I do it the way I said I talked about it?

Or do I say, you know, so that's a very important thing to understand for yourself and also to have the freedom to then explore in the doing of it.

Yeah.

Let it evolve, you know?

And I, I will say, I'm really, I remember being very relieved that we all met and read the scene through before it was like day one of filming, because I had been lucky enough that you guys came to me and asked me to come on board.

But it meant, like, I also, I hate that thing where you're invited on to something and then they haven't seen you do it until cameras are rolling and then everybody comes out from behind the monitors room and they're like hey okay

like this exact it's exactly the word they use and it's it's horrible yeah it's funny you say all of that because that was like i i felt like that was the most important thing i ever was able to like zero in on was the difference between overpreparing like you were saying and calcifying and taking your hands off the wheel just enough so that something can, something new can happen.

And because it's going to have to be new if it's going to be any good.

But then I found myself like reacting to over-rehearsal and over-preparedness.

This was like years ago, and going too far in the other direction and just going in with the lines and nothing else just to see like what we could do.

And it was just too, there wasn't enough.

There just, I know.

So that's part of is just finding that happy medium where you know you're leaving room for something yeah the balance for me between effort and ease that's right yeah that's I heard that you had not seen the show when we approached you and that you binged it in the first season in a night is that true yeah because I was supposed to I was on a job and we were doing night shoots and I got like a text to expect like you to reach out or something.

And I was like, like oh god i have to i was embarrassed and i i also i don't know what it is about me but sometimes when when people when i'm told by everyone i know that i'll love something it puts all this pressure on it so it wasn't by design or it wasn't by like an aversion to the show i think i was like oh god what'll it mean if i don't um i never by the way i i don't know how you feel adam i never expect anyone to have watched the show like i never ever am like feeling like oh you know even if people are talking about it especially Merit Weaver.

With her busy, busy, that's right.

Yeah, I'm also a girl who likes to do her homework, though.

So the thought of like getting on the phone with you without having, so yeah, I started it during the day and then had dinner plans.

And remember how much I resented my dinner plans, even though they were like beloved friends, because I, you know, as you guys well know, once you get into season one, it becomes a roller coaster.

And I remember being so impressed.

And I told you this on the phone, Ben, with how you guys balanced the kind of the head and the heart, for lack of, you know, a better way to say it, the sci-fi, again, for lack of a better term, elements, the concept with the very, very, like the potent humanity that you need to have, or else it's just ideas.

Yeah.

But yeah, I binged it.

I binged it so that I could get on the phone with you.

I think it was Rosh Hashanah.

Was it?

And I told you Happy New Year.

And then I was like, maybe that was a mistake.

And I got very in my head about that, too.

Oh my god.

I mean, was it different than you thought it would be?

Or for you knowing going in?

Because then I had to sort of tell you, I think we'd sent you a script for your first episode, but you just

sent me the scenes in the beginning before I signed on.

You had sent me, I think, her first scene with Dylan.

And then you were very,

I mean, in retrospect, it was very generous of you guys to like you sent me like a two-page document on what was going to happen with her to give me an idea of the direction and i remember i had said to you on the phone i've i've had this issue lately as an actor where i sign on to things because i really appreciate or am moved by or respect what the show or the piece is about and i respect the the actors involved and then i get to set and the thing that i'm doing isn't really that thing and you still need to find a way to like bring all of yourself to it.

And I was like, I just want to make sure that like, I'm going to, you're asking me to like move in a direction that is going to resonate with me.

And I remember you saying, Ben, oh, I'm sorry that happened to you.

And I was like, oh, that's very nice.

And like

very, a thing that only an actor would know to say, because you know what it feels like to like be a part of something that you care about, but not actually doing the thing you care about.

Right.

Also, that's very legitimate, too, because you think, well, let's try to get the best actor we can for every part.

And sometimes the part really isn't necessarily up to what the actor you're hiring would want, your dream casting, right?

But you have to then live up to that because you don't want to.

And actually, that I felt like that really throughout the making of the first season also with Chris Walken and Tatura.

Like, you know, you want to, okay, these people like who I've idolized for years, you want to make sure that we're giving them enough to do so that they can, it only only makes it better, you know?

So it's almost like it inspires you to kind of fill it out and to try to make it as interesting to the actor as possible.

And

when I saw what you were asking of me, but when I saw to what you were giving to Zach, I think weirdly I was most...

moved or buoyed by that because I had just seen the whole first season and I had seen this actor that I wasn't familiar with do this really wonderful work.

And you know, watching the show, my eye was always going to him and being like, Oh, who's that guy?

And being like drawn into

this dude I'd never seen and what he was doing.

And so, then when I saw that your minds on your end had seen that and seen him and been like, I know what we're going to give him to do.

I know what colors we're going to ask of him.

We're going to move him in this direction.

I remember being like, Oh, that is so smart.

Because even as an audience member, I was like, oh, that's a great direction.

And then I think there's something about me being a part of season two and having seen season one.

And like, I know how wonderful it is as an actor.

Being on a multi-season job when it's going well can be one of like the best experiences as an actor.

Yeah.

When you're working with writers who are paying attention to you and who are watching you and watching what you bring.

And then they go upstairs and they build on that and they give you something else.

And then you get the pages, and it's like this beautiful creative relay race.

And you're passing back and forth the page, and they're seeing what you come up with.

And then they go and scribble and hand something back to you.

And you're like, oh my God, look at this.

And like, best case scenario, every week it's like getting a gift in the script.

And also, you know, it's a beautiful thing as an actor, like to see people like Zach and Trammell and Britt be seen

and be seen fully and for everything they can do.

And to be given these parts with like 360 degrees of color, there was something like I was very happy to see that happening for other actors and have kind of this front seat view of it with Zach, who then rose to the occasion, like nobody's business.

You know what I mean?

Like that was just so exciting.

I know what, and I remember what that feels like, especially the first time it happens and it's such a gift yeah

okay it's time for us to take a break we'll be back with more from merit weaver right after this

Hey, Adam, you got any trips coming up?

We do, actually.

We're going to go for our first parents' weekend visiting our son off at school.

Oh, wow.

That's exciting.

Yeah.

Wow.

You're already there.

That's amazing.

We're already miss him and just can't wait to get over there.

Yeah, that'll be fun.

And so what are you doing with your house when you're away?

Well, I'm not exactly sure why.

What do you mean?

Well, I'm just saying that, you know, if you're away, you could actually be hosting an Airbnb.

Huh.

Yeah.

That's, I mean, I've used Airbnb on a few family trips before and loved it, but love Airbnb.

Christine is actually doing a movie right now.

She's staying in an Airbnb.

Yeah, it's the best it's so much better than a hotel i guess this whole time whenever we're out of town we could have been making a little extra cash while we're gone see that's what i'm saying it makes total sense your home might be worth more than you think find out how much at airbnb.com slash host i will good

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I was remembering today, you know, during that first scene and that first day with you, Ben, at the end of my first scene with Zach, it it ends on that line um

do we live in a cattle ranch so jim is six he's in the first grade now

and ruth is four

and merrick just turned two

look at them

they're awesome

they are

And we live on a cattle ranch?

You know, we were doing it and you were on my coverage and Zach had been saying that line in this gorgeous, very unexpected way where you're really seeing the,

I don't know what word, not child-likeness, but like the fact that I remember finding it very almost upsetting and disturbing that he was saying it like that.

And Ben, you wanted me to, you wanted to see what it was like for us to end on a take where it was this wonderful, endearing joke, you know, and I think we landed somewhere where it's a mixture of that.

And I loved what you did with the edit and how it moves into,

but you wanted me to like

do a take where I was really kind of charmed and laugh at the joke and I gave it a big laugh.

And it was really hard for me to get there authentically because it was so hard as Gretchen, every time I came up to that line to not be disturbed by what he was saying.

And Zach, just overhearing that without me having to ask, without us having to talk about it, he gave me that line on the next take in a way that was very easy to give, like a full-body

chuckle.

And I remember thinking, oh, that's a guy who's A, smart, and B, generous.

And that's what it was like working with him.

I remember being very grateful to have somebody who was like paying attention and then also generous enough to make an adjustment on his end so that I could get what I needed to give you, Ben, what you needed.

Gretchen's circumstance is so hyper-specific and so interesting and so a circumstance and situation that could only exist in this world, in Lumen, in the Severance world.

And then you walking into it, it just feels so real and right.

Was there an analog for you?

What was it about Gretchen's circumstance that you were able to connect to personally?

Was there, because I'm always looking for like a personal way, was there an analog for you?

Like, what's that secret?

Right, right, right, right.

What's that secret little thing you put roots in?

Yeah.

The thing that spoke to me in that first episode was that kind of slow thawing between them.

I think that Gretchen is getting a hit of something that she hasn't had for a very long time, and it's irresistible.

She's getting,

and I cannot imagine something harder to resist in life than falling in love.

I, you know, she's getting to revisit what is probably one of the, aside from children, I'm assuming for her, one of the top experiences of her entire life, which is falling in love with this person again

and experiencing this person falling in love with her back.

I mean,

it's absolutely being,

you know, starving and getting food.

I mean, it's life coming back to you.

It's, you know, a plant and getting water and sun.

And that's, that will fill you up like nobody's business.

Yeah.

It's why people have affairs.

Yes, the newness and the new feeling of what you have with the person.

Except for her, it's a return, which is so mind-blowing.

And do you think this is an affair?

Well, yeah.

Yeah.

But it's not an affair like any other kind of affair.

And I always thought that when she tells him in episode nine, it's not to blow up her marriage.

It's to save it.

But that's a very hard thing for Dylan, Audi Dylan, in that moment to understand.

But he gets there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Actually, we have a little clip of that moment in nine.

We should play that for a sec.

Wait, Gretchen,

my life started when you came here.

That's not true.

You have so much going for you.

No, I have nothing else.

I have this and I have fucking pencil erasers.

I'm sorry, I have to go.

No, wait, wait.

Um,

Gretchen G.

Oh my god.

Um, I love you, and I know I'm just an innie, but I love you all the way I do.

Gretchen,

I made this for you.

I can give you a life, please.

I'm so sorry.

Gretchen.

Gretchen!

I heard the seagulls for the first time right there.

Just listening to it and not.

I heard the seagulls for the first time which is so messed up so messed up you try to make it you know tranquil and there's some

bird paintings on the wall are you so how are you when you like listen to yourself or watch yourself are you can you appreciate what you did uh i think there's a lot of static that comes but again much like something like being recognized with an emmy and trying to learn to look at it a little bit more maturely.

I hope that as I get older, I'm able to

do that with like watching my work as well, especially since nowadays, if I have the opportunity to

watch the monitors or try to like expand my role on set in a way that makes it all bigger, I'd like to find a way to engage with the work in a way that like kind of stretches.

stretches myself a little bit.

Yeah, but no, it's not my favorite.

It's not my favorite.

I'm curious for you, like what, what is that like for you guys?

Yeah, it's probably one of the reasons I like directing.

Yeah.

I feel like I can, in a way, dissociate from myself, you know, and be an eye that's watching and appreciating like in a way that I enjoy.

And I enjoy figuring that out and figuring out how to hopefully engender or empower people to do good work and enjoy it and appreciate it when I'm watching it.

I like that because I am sort of, even though I guess it's a personal choice, you know, in terms of what story you're telling how you're telling it and all those things but i'm more outside myself and i'm not looking at myself so if i'm being honest but you're so good in that and you're right you and and zach were so connected and i think just for me watching zach over the course of two seasons his willingness from the very beginning from season one to grow as an actor and just you know have an opportunity to do things he hadn't done before and how he embraced that in season one and then in season two I remember like first day of work, I was like, oh man, this is like a different Zach than season one.

He was like ready to go season two.

I could tell he was just, he was so, I think he felt more confident and more excited about the challenges.

And then you guys really found this in this relationship, you know, and I was always so excited about this storyline because just this idea so unique to severance, the idea that, you know, a person could be having some sort of an emotional affair with, you know, one half of the person, but yet it's so in a way romantic, like you said, because it's about finding that newness in a relationship that we all lose in long-term relationships.

It's impossible not to.

And all you want is to keep that spark alive.

And it's a horrible thing to have to walk away from that when she's found it.

Oh, yeah.

But I remember at the end of that scene, I would walk out the door and I would like take a sharp right and like look at the monitor and get to watch Zach, which I don't usually do, but it was right there.

But more than that, like I was just so

like impressed and excited for him.

I was really happy for him and, like, proud of him, is the weird word.

I was just like, oh, was it fun doing the Audi scenes?

The Audi scenes were easier as an actor, and that, like, the lifting was always

gentler.

But when I'm in the any scenes as an actor, I'm getting to experience love a lot of the time.

And do you feel like it was two different versions of her?

Like, almost an innie and Audi of Gretchen?

Probably, but I've spent less time with the character.

So it's hard to say.

But I can't imagine how disorienting that must be for you guys, honestly.

Like

what the show asks of you all is really quite something, really quite something.

And I'm curious, Adam, what is your relationship to doing press?

which means often that you have to talk about the work a lot and then go back to the work, the kind of like going back and forth, or is that something that, like, at this point in your creative life, you have the muscle for and you can kind of compartmentalize?

There's a certain amount of it that I

feel like you don't want to say out loud because you feel like it'll spoil, like it'll corrupt it, or it'll go rotten or something.

So, it's almost like you have to, you know, pick and choose things that you can talk about and put out there, but the things that are like the core tenets almost, you have to keep those tucked away or they're not going to work anymore or something.

I know exactly what you mean.

I've made that mistake.

Yeah.

And you'd love to think that like it's sturdier than that, that if you expose it to the air, it won't die.

But the truth is,

it's such an alchemy.

It's such a mystery that like

I probably made that mistake in this interview already, honestly.

You know what I mean when you say that.

So I get it.

You were like, what's the thing?

And I was like, oh, okay, here's the thing.

And now that thing won't be there.

No, sorry.

It's not sturdy, though.

It isn't.

That's why maybe that's why it's special in a way is because it is.

fleeting and difficult to throw the lasso around.

Isn't it a little bit like like an athlete, you know, or like a coach or something will ask them, you know, like to do like a pregame interview or something.

Go, so what's the game plan?

How are you going to approach this?

They're not going to tell.

They're not going to tell them.

I mean, it's because they don't want the other team to know, but they're going to give some sort of stock answer because you don't want to really, you know, you have to protect those things.

And I feel like, Adam, maybe you probably had to answer the same question so many times that you have an answer that kind of like relates, but it's not really ever going to be the full answer and shouldn't be probably.

Well, I feel like we were so fortunate that you said yes to doing the show, Merit.

And I've really enjoyed working with you and

I'm grateful for how much you care about your work and, you know, the care that you bring to it.

It's just you know it's what you would hope for when you work with any actor so thanks for doing the show thanks for having me honestly you guys are a great group and i'm so glad for the way that you guys are being received i don't think i've ever seen people work that hard on a season of television so i don't mean that like facetiously like i'm so glad that that happened to be married to it being received the way it has been so couldn't be more deserved likewise you're so excellent and i really wish mark and gretchen had scenes together.

Well, you know, I mean, come on, man.

Season three.

Season three?

Yeah, yeah.

Season three.

Thanks, Merritt.

Okay, that was the great Merit Weaver.

Now it's time for us to take a quick break, but when we come back, Ben and I will be joined by comedian, writer, actor, and director, and Severance Super fan, Rami Youssef, to answer some of your hotline questions.

We'll be right back.

Adam, if our partner ZipRecruiter was helping Lumen hire for various roles, what kind of keywords would they use?

Ooh, can withstand fluorescent lighting.

That's good.

Enjoys long, claustrophobic hallways.

Perfect.

Drum major.

Goat lover.

I know for a fact that Lumen would love to search resumes quickly with those particular keywords.

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So So, if you're a business owner who needs to hire, ZipRecruiter has all these tools and features and more.

And they're designed to make hiring faster and easier.

I mean, that sounds great.

I'm telling you, see for yourself, when you try ZipRecruiter for free at ziprecruiter.com/slash severance, something incredible happens.

Oh, yeah.

ZipRecruiter excels at speed.

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So, see how much faster and easier hiring can be with ZipRecruiter.

Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day.

The first day?

Yeah.

The first day.

Yeah, I know, it's insane.

Just go to ziprecruiter.com/slash severance right now to try it for free.

That's ziprecruiter.com/slash S-E-V-E-R-A-N-C-E.

Oh, that's how you spell severance.

Yeah, I've been telling you for five years now.

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Oh shit.

Yeah, let's go.

Hey, man.

Oh, man.

I feel like I don't have the same level headphones as you guys, but it's okay.

Yours are so much cooler.

No, man, you guys got the like, you guys look like you're a little bit more.

We're trying so hard with our headphones.

You guys could drop an album.

I'm just like, you know, I'm just like on a coffee call.

It's it's just it's all right though what's your what's your mic situation i don't see you with a cool mic either um i gotta tell you man this is a very cool mic so check this out whoa

yeah glad i asked yeah is that a mic it's a mic that is so cool it doesn't even look like a microphone i know it's a but the whole thing is it's like on both sides what yeah it's this company that makes all these these cool little gadgets and they have little keyboards and i am really bad at saving money so i have all these things i feel like your your natural coolness is like like why you have cool gadgets because it's just part of your natural coolness i love gadgets thanks for doing this man yeah are you kidding this is i'm so cool thanks for taking the time i mean i'm a fan of yours rami i know adam is huge fan yeah i have i have i mean a million things i would love to talk to you about first of all just your connection with severance you know what connected you with it and what was it that you saw in it yeah i mean like i think to me it and truly not just because I'm on the podcast, I think it's premise-wise such a high form of art in the sense that my favorite things kind of tackle what I think are essentially moral questions, but do it in this way that only art could.

So I always try to think about, you know, most of my friendships that are my lifelong friendships are built around being up at a coffee shop till 3 a.m.

debating things.

And then I think good art transcends that conversation and kind of shows you something in a story and with characters that is then the thing you talk about at the coffee shop, you know, until 3 a.m.

Like it's the thing that gives people something to really put characters and imagery.

And I think, you know, Severance has such a sophisticated photography to it, too.

And this idea of splitting yourself when you go to work, I just thought it was so genius because it's that thing that everyone does.

And then now we're going to see it in this way that only really great art could do.

And so, yeah, it really blew me away when I first saw it.

I just felt it's just so the exact thing I'm attracted to.

It was, it was very exciting.

That's cool.

That's the same reaction I had when Ben first told me just the premise, just the like two-sentence premise years ago.

I just had that same like visceral reaction to it.

Like, oh, of course, that's so great.

How fun.

And the same reaction of, oh, that's what I want to watch.

Yeah.

What's cool is that I think the premise of the show that Dan created allows for, you know, for space to like have things happen in it that relate to all the things you're talking about.

Because I think I really, when you said that art or, you know, watching something or looking at a movie or a painting or whatever it is that can trigger something in you that, you know, relates to our feelings and our emotions and our questions about our existence and all those things, to me, that's the best when you can have something that can like inspire you right because it also makes you want to do art too um but there's a space in there that's not saying it's just this one thing which i think is kind of for me like what relates to kind of our life experience and i i did want to say like in watching your stand-up and you know it's funny like say like your stand-up because i feel like you're it's like you're not really like you're a stand-up but like stand-up seems like kind of reductive or something is that a bad thing to say is

do you know what i mean because like i feel like you're not going out and you know it's not like you're doing like Shecky Green material or something.

I feel like you're just open to the audience and there's a space in it in your pacing that to me actually kind of reminds me of our show in that like you just start out at a base level where you say, this is the pace I'm going at.

And I'm going to allow you into it.

And it evolves.

And I feel like that's kind of like.

you know, with the show, what we try to do is just say like, hey, this is like, it's a little bit of a slower rhythm, I think, than a lot of stuff that's out there.

Yeah, that's so cool.

Like even you seeing a kinship of any of that.

And I do think it is something that I really like.

It's a type of,

I guess it's like a mix of, I guess you could call it confidence or patience.

But what I actually think is it's kind of just belief that this is the right pace.

It's a belief.

It's a belief that this is what it should be because that's what will do the most justice to what is happening.

And I kind of wanted to ask you with the directing.

I mean, I think it's just the best directing, you know, on TV right now.

I genuinely, I think I said that to you, but I really mean that.

But I kind of saw a shift in even some of the way the performances moved from season one to season two.

Just as a viewer, I felt in the way that you can be a little more afraid of authority and then you see a crack in the authority and then things kind of open up.

I kind of felt that in the workplace in season two and in the performances where it's almost the veneer of impenetrability fell off and you saw all these different sides of the performances.

And, and, and I think in particular, like, I mean, Adam, I thought you were amazing in season one, but I feel like I've walked away from season two.

I think I texted you and I was just like, this is the most brilliant performance I've seen in so long.

I was just curious if that was something that you also like, I guess, in the expansion of that belief and that tone and that pace, because I felt like it shifted a little bit.

Not that it wasn't still exactly, you know, severance, but it felt like it was just kind of like the dial was turning and opening.

Yeah, 100%.

I think that was a natural evolution of the story and the characters' growth.

When you said that, it made me think, well, the characters are starting to become more mature.

You know, the young innies are, you know, we've talked about how they're kind of like, if they're, you know, kids in season one, they're kind of going through an adolescence in season two and starting to question things.

But then, in terms of like the actual execution and all of that, I think going into season two, feeling okay, you know, they renewed us for season two.

It's okay to keep going with this in the way that we felt was right the first season and then to allow it to evolve and definitely not wanting to stay stagnant in terms of what we had done and i think that question you know just going back to the pacing and the pacing of your work too is you're kind of saying you know sometimes it's not going to be this it's going to be like it's going to be slow and then it's not going to be slow and then it's going to you know and that was a question we had too just like how much do you regulate that throughout a season which is something that you know you can't really you think about it theoretically?

But I feel like that was really important that we just had that sort of confidence to kind of keep going with what we were doing.

And then like, hopefully rules or rhythms that we've gotten into feel okay to then mix it up and break some of the rules too.

And you, Rami, you having that confidence to tell your stand-up, it's, it's so.

fucking funny, but it's also emotional and it feels incredibly personal.

It feels like you're hanging out with you and hearing a story.

Where did you find the confidence to know yourself well enough to know that you could rely on and attack your stuff with the pacing that felt comfortable to you?

Because for me, it took years

to zero in on the things that I'm good at.

Do you know what I mean?

Like, I guess I'm just wondering, how did you figure that out at such a kind of younger age?

I always kind of approached things from necessity.

So when I was in like middle school, I used to just, we were talking about gadgets earlier.

I just like, I love a gadget.

So I was always just, I would buy a camera and buy a mic and buy whatever.

And then I'd put someone in it.

And I'd be like, hey, can you do this thing?

Cause this is kind of what I want to see.

And then they wouldn't be able to do it.

And then I go, all right, I guess I'll just put it on a tripod and I'll do it myself.

So that's kind of how I started acting.

And then it would be kind of, it became sketch.

I was doing a lot of sketches.

And then I had moved to Los Angeles and my whole, everyone I knew was in New York and I moved to Los Angeles, but I still wanted to try out ideas.

And then I got the courage, I think, to do stand-up, but it was out of necessity.

And then I

was really feeling like I didn't,

I felt characters were for sketch.

So it just turned into this more natural talking style because I had done these big characters, props and music and all that stuff.

And I can have a lot of fun doing that.

I mean, I think like the week I was really lucky enough to get to do SNL, I felt just so much fun because you just, it's just pure idiocy and it's just whatever, you know, whatever it is that you want to do.

And I think something about that is actually quite sophisticated, but it was just this necessity where I said, okay, maybe that's for that.

And then this can be for this.

And then it turned into being just a version of how I talk, but.

kind of never not wanting to be finding a punchline.

So it's always there.

It's just kind of not going to happen.

There's actually this great, this one of my favorite stand-up clips is Kevin James.

And he he has this stand-up clip.

I don't know if you've ever seen it where he talks about when somebody gives you their phone number, but it's in the wrong rhythm.

He goes like the phone number you're supposed to get is

like, that's like the way we get a number.

And then you ever get the guy that's like,

and then you think, I don't know how to write that number down.

And I think about that even as a perfect joke, but then I also think, oh, yeah, it's kind of, there is a rhythm even to how a lot of stand-up jokes are told.

And then not doing that rhythm almost kind of just playing with that a bit uh in order to you know just feel something a little bit different if there's like a bit more of a lean in i guess yeah i think that just has an amazing effect on an audience watching it yeah you know because you just from the get-go feel like you're in a different experience yeah you know it's more challenging in a really good way not like it's hard it's just sort of like it's like you know being okay

with space being okay with yeah you know and the jokes are there but you're also talking about and so honest too you know like so honest and I think it's very healing that honesty for people because you're you're saying things that everybody's thinking and sometimes afraid to say but also it's coming from a place of like hey this is what we all experience like you know and that that to me is like the best well it's also it's exciting to share that with people in in a in a room especially live and then i think there's also the piece of like you know when i think about what you guys have done so well, I think so many people who work

jobs that they have to go into every day at the same time, leave at the same time, do the same thing, whatever it is, then you find them dressing up for Halloween as helly are, you know, because they go, that's so truthful to me that, you know, I'm, I'm that obsessed with it, you know, and I think that there's something so,

there's just something so cool about that, you know, the way that it's become pervasive in the culture because work culture of that kind is the culture.

So it's just, it's just, it's just such a,

it's like almost a political show, even though it's not, but it's just, it's that, it's that current and it's that real, I think.

Oh,

thanks, man.

I think it's time for us to answer some hotline questions.

And if you're cool, we'd like you to help us answer these.

All right, because that's, that's the real reason we're here.

Okay.

Let's let's put up the first hotline question.

Hi, Ben.

Hi, Adam.

My name is Felicia, and I'm really enjoying your show and your podcast.

I've noticed that on Severance, many, if not all, of the actors on the show have a comedic background or ability, as do you, Ben.

This kind of casting seems to lead to a show or a movie that people can't stop thinking or talking about.

Why do you think this happens?

Thank you.

Yeah, that's interesting.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, I think, you know, being funny is part of everything.

You know, it's part of life.

I always feel like the best dramatic actors are usually are really funny too, not necessarily in a comedic situation.

Like if you say, hey, go star in a comedy, but some can, but in their dramatic work, always, I think the best actors have a sense of humor because that's real.

That's what life is like.

What do you think, Ronnie?

Yeah, I mean, I think that, I think it was, was it Vince Gilligan said too?

He was just...

If someone can do comedy, I know that they can do drama.

And I think about that, watching your guy's show and again, Adam, like the range of things that you're able to pull off.

I think if you know comedic timing, you probably

it's like you can drive F1, you know.

So, yeah, I could, you know, you could drive a Corolla.

Not that a drama is Corolla, but you know, like, it's just you, I think the comedy thing is really such a specific timing that it lends itself to being able to switch into all the other gears.

I remember going and seeing Good Morning Vietnam when I was like in junior high school, and just my mind is being blown by Robin Williams taking this gear shift into something like devastating like that.

And just a beautiful performance where he got to do like comedic stuff, certainly, but really bringing it down into this heartbreaking place.

And that sort of, that was like such a world shift, just as a fan of his.

Do you, Roby, do you think about that, like the comedy drama thing when you're directing?

Because I think you're a really great director.

And I loved, you know besides directing your show the episode you did of the bear really beautiful yeah so great how do you think how do you approach it when you're directing uh i think it's it's the thing we're that you were saying earlier of just making sure everything's really honest and it's and it's and it's kind of that simple it's just um you know the funniest stuff you don't feel like someone's pressing a funny button it's just you know between the dialogue and the way the tension was set up it's just there for the laugh if you just step right into it.

You know, it should just feel like a pair of shoes that fits if you kind of constructed everything around it the right way.

There's no forcing and there's no, you know, and I think that you do that so well.

I always really thought

even from like, like, I remember the first time I saw 40-year-old Virgin, I felt like they were, no one was trying to be funny.

And that really kind of blew me away.

I was, I was like, everyone's just really, I mean, if you watch, I mean, it's really like Rudd and Corell and like all those guys.

They're, they're not, like, everything's serious everything is like this is what i think a boob feels like i'm obsessed with this girl dude we gotta like find a new job and none of it it's a drama i mean it's like the seats are so high for everybody and everyone looks hungry and everyone means it and it is the funniest thing right and i think that that was always so inspiring when i saw that when i was like there's none of this there's no winking i think i think anytime there's winking i i i kind of cringe a little bit and i think that you guys both are so and i think adam you know you're so good at stuff you play where you play a dick.

And it's just, you play it in this way that you're pretty convinced you're actually a great guy.

And that's why you're such a dick.

You know, it's just like you have this way of playing a dick where it's like, I think this guy thinks he's amazing.

You know,

I don't know if Derek from Step Brothers has any.

Oh, I don't.

He's the best guy.

And he knows it.

Exactly.

He thinks he's the best guy.

Thanks, Rami.

Thank you.

All right, let's go to another, go to another question.

Hey, Ben and Adam.

Adam.

This is Jenna P.

As a proud Jersey girl, I have to ask you guys, what's your favorite part about filming Severance in New Jersey?

I absolutely cannot wait for season three.

Y'all are amazing.

Okay, bye.

Oh, this is good to have Ronnie here because you're from New Jersey, right?

I'm from New Jersey, and I'm kind of surprised by the y'all.

It threw me.

And now I'm like, okay, maybe she's from South Jersey.

The y'all, really,

really South Jersey.

Which I've advocated for a long time should be a separate state.

It's just things are too different from what's going on.

Isn't that like a specific accent, though?

The South Jersey kind of like, isn't that similar to like a Philly accent?

Yeah, for sure.

Can you do that?

I can't do it.

I can't get into it.

Right.

Okay.

Were you about to do it?

No, no, I started to go into a Canadian accent.

I'm not great with the accent.

But can you explain New Jersey to me, honestly?

Because I'm trying to, like, as a New Yorker, I'm going to be honest here.

Okay.

I grew up on the upper west side of Manhattan, looking out from the fifth-floor window of our apartment to New Jersey, like to Weehawk and my whole life.

And I have like a thing about New Jersey that I'm trying to understand.

Like it was always New Jersey jokes when I was a kid.

It was, you know, Joe Piscopo was like, you know, yeah, you're from Jersey.

I'm from Jersey.

Yeah.

What exit?

I feel bad because I, but I never have quite gotten, I don't understand New Jersey in terms of like how I should feel about it.

I mean, look, I'm a big advocate.

It's an incredible place.

It's incredibly diverse.

And I think the whole thing with the exit thing is just people are, people are really obsessed because the exit is also kind of on the turnpike.

A lot of it is kind of about the proximity of where you are to New York.

And I've always felt like Jersey people have this.

The one thing that I think we could do a better job of is this inferiority complex that we carry, right?

So we reference ourselves in how far we are from the city.

Like we even call it the city, you know, and I go, no, guys, we have Jersey City.

We've got great culture.

We've got great food.

And so that's a big part of my mission of in life is to just kind of bring a confidence to us I think if we're more confident you won't feel like you can make fun of us because we got a lot to offer food all of it it's beautiful it's a beautiful state I've spent time and we do shoot we shoot the Lumen headquarters at the Bell Labs building in Holmedale New Jersey

incredible and the beach we're actually right near the shore there it's incredible asbury park and that whole I mean come on it's New Jersey yeah I get that but I am still like I appreciate you saying that because I think I as a New Yorker am guilty guilty of having some of it's on us some of it's on us You know, we also like don't I don't even think we really have sports teams anymore because we had had the Nets I think maybe we've just had the devils that might be all we have New Jersey Devils.

Yeah, it's kind of it's not great.

So we're figuring it out.

All right.

All right.

I don't know anything about New Jersey

So I have nothing to add great Oh, you know, but the Jets and the Giants both play in New Jersey.

Yeah.

But they're you would think we could get one of them.

No.

And that's a confidence issue.

I think that's a confidence issue.

I think we got to step up.

Yeah.

I feel like the Giants should be more New Jersey than the Jets.

I'm all into it.

It should probably be.

We'll take anything.

I mean, we're

just desperate.

All right.

Let's do one last question.

Hi, Ben and Adam.

This is Sarah.

I am a huge, huge fan of Severance.

I just finished season two finale and weeped like a little baby.

Okay, my question is, do y'all think that the roles that you've played in the past could be considered anys to your Audi self?

Do you take bits and pieces from the roles that you play, or do you feel like they're completely severed?

All right, that was a deep question.

Let me know if you have any questions, or I guess you can't reach back out, but that's just my question.

Thanks.

Bye.

Sarah, thank you for that deep question.

Well, acting, I don't know.

You're always, I feel like there's different ways of like, you know, you could define it, but it's always part of yourself, I think.

Yeah, it has to be to a certain extent, right?

Yeah.

Like, Rami, your great show, Rami, is, you know, a fictionalized version of yourself.

Does that feel like severing in a way?

That must be even stranger.

Yeah, for sure.

I think it's a, it's actually a really cool way of putting it.

But yeah, it's, it's like a, it's, I always thought of it, you know, every time we write more of it or I step into it, it's, it is just, it's, it's taking certain aspects of myself and zooming in on them and saying, well, what if that's only what existed?

Like sometimes I'll read something and there's a certain panic I have when I like can't find my keys.

I lose everything all the time.

And I, and there's like a type of anger that I have that's like a frustration.

And sometimes I'll read something and I'll go, okay, this whole role is me when I can't find my keys and I'm already 20 minutes late because I mismanaged everything.

And I want to play, you know, like it, that, it's if I was always that guy.

And so I do think, i don't know how you guys approach it but i'm always trying to find the thing that's yeah that that is that one zone or one mode of myself and just making it the whole picture for that right when you're acting in something that you haven't written yeah is that how do how do you approach that i i tend to try like i did this i got to work with yorgos on poor things with yorgos and emma and it was like i kind of decided before I went that I wasn't going to ask any questions and I would just wait to be told when I did something wrong because I kind of just was like, let me just try to give him something that I think is what, what is going on here.

And then if it isn't, then because I was more afraid to ask and then not be able to do what he like said.

So I was like, let me just let him correct me.

And

so I just kind of just took it all in like a child and then said, I think this is what's going on.

And then, and he was really great to work with because he, he kind of let everything play supernatural.

I think I only got like two notes the whole time.

And they were the most chilling notes possible, though.

It was just like, what do you mean?

Like, he was like, do you like what you did in that last scene?

And I said, no, man.

No, I didn't.

And he just walked away.

And then Willem,

who was my scene part of Willem Defoe, and he went, good answer, kid.

I said, okay.

And then, and then it's just like, you just do something else and you don't exactly know.

Oh, man.

I love that.

Oh, man.

All right.

I think that's it.

I think we're out of time with you.

Rami, this is so great.

Thank you so much, Rami.

Thanks for doing this.

This is so funny.

And I hope we can talk some more in the future.

Yeah, for real.

I'm excited to see more severance.

Thank you guys.

All right.

All right.

Thanks for watching.

See you later.

Thank you all for calling in and asking us questions.

Keep them coming.

Give us a call at 212-830-3816 to leave a voicemail.

Man, that was two incredible conversations.

I know.

Two just really evolved artists, you know,

who have such a specific sort of outlook on how they do things and so well-formed.

Out of this world.

Yeah.

All right.

Well, that's it for the episode.

The Severance Podcast with Ben and Adam.

We'll be back again next week with a brand new episode.

And you can stream every episode of Severance on Apple TV Plus.

The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott is a presentation of Odyssey, Red Hour Productions, and Great Scott.

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If you've got a question about Severance, call our hotline, 212-830-3816.

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Our executive producers are Barry Finkel, Gabrielle Lewis, Naomi Scott, and Leah Rhys-Dennis.

This show is produced by Ben Goldberg.

It's mixed and mastered by Chris Basil.

We have additional engineering from Hobby Cruises.

Show clips are courtesy of fifth season.

Music by Theodore Shapiro.

Special thanks to the team at Odyssey, Maura Curran, Eric Donnelly, Michael LeVey, Melissa Wester, Kate Rose, Kurt Courtney, and Hilary Schuff.

And the team at Red Hour, John Lesher, Carolina Pesakov, Jean-Pablo Antonetti, Ashwin Ramesh, Maria Noto, John Baker, and Sam Lyon.

And at Great Scott, Kevin Cotter, Josh Martin, and Christy Smith at Rise Management.

I'm Ben Stiller.

And I'm Adam Scott.

Thank you for listening.