Gwendolyn Y from Branch 5X (with Alia Shawkat)

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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 to the people who make Severance, and also sometimes we talk to the people who influence Severance.

Sometimes we talk to our incredible fans.

And just if it has anything to do with Severance, we're talking about it.

Yeah, we do, we have, and we will, but only for two more episodes.

Yeah.

Next week, we're bringing in Yule Vasquez, who plays Mark's best friend, Petey.

But in this penultimate episode, we're going to be joined by someone that Ben and I both love, who we were lucky enough to work with on Severance.

Yep, nice use of the word penultimate.

Thank you very much.

I like that word.

I use that word in life.

I use it constantly.

You just did, but yeah.

And our penultimate guest is Alia Shawcat.

Yes.

Who played Gwendolyn Y

in first episode, season two, and one of Mark's new MDR teammates.

She was so great.

Oh my God.

So good.

So good.

And she's such a great actress.

She really is incredible.

And has done so many interesting projects.

So many interesting things.

She was the iconic maybe in Arrest Development.

She was Dory on Search Party, another great show, starring another great actor, Christine Taylor.

And she was Mona and Rami Youssef's new animated series, number one, Happy Family USA.

She was incredible on The Old Man.

She's been in movies like Whippet, 20th Century Women, Being the Ricardos, so many great things.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm excited to talk to her about her process and what it's what it's like to jump into severance too, what that experience was like for her.

Yeah.

Felt very lucky to have her.

And then after that, she's going to help us with some of our hotline questions.

Yes.

Yeah.

It's going to be fun.

So let's get into it.

How are you doing, Ben?

How is everything?

Things are good, Adam.

Thank you.

It's been a little busy lately.

You're shooting the Fokker-in-Law.

That's very exciting.

Yeah, yeah.

We're about three weeks into that.

And that's been really fun to work with the old gang and kind of jump back into that world.

Is it surreal to jump back into something that just, I found restarting Party Down 13 years after to be very strange, but then automatically we just locked in and it felt just like it.

Is it is it strange like that for you or fun?

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, it's exactly that.

Like you kind of at first you're like, this is just weird.

And our whole, you know, we've had our whole life experience since, I think it's been like 13 or 14 years since you did the last one.

And so you've had your whole life that's gone up.

Then all of a sudden you're back in this environment and doing these things that are so familiar.

Right.

You know, and I just feel like from scene to scene, I'm just constantly, things are just, you know, things are happening to my character, really.

Well, just, you know, frustration, not quite understanding how to navigate situations.

So well, Gaylord Fokker really does kind of get himself into sticky situations.

He does.

But it's, yeah, it's been really fun to work with Mr.

De Niro again.

Oh, man.

How fun.

Yeah.

And Ariana Grande is amazing.

I have to say, working with her.

She's just a total pro and like so, so funny and so talented.

And so she's obviously this new element in the movie.

Yeah.

And she just feels like she's just such a part of it and has always been.

And so that's been really fun she's incredible what a what a brilliant piece of casting yeah and have you uh have you been checking out the u.s open because as we're recording this the final is about the men's final is tomorrow and the the women's final is today yeah i've been i've been dipping in here and there and yeah it's been very exciting i've seen you sitting in the audience here and there along the way yeah i've gone a couple of times had a really fun time went with owen wilson one one time and that's been fun working with owen too on the movie oh man yeah we saw Jokovich, the Djokovic match.

And, you know, he got ousted yesterday.

But, man, what a great run for him.

You know,

just at this point in his career, playing at that level.

And Sinner has been incredible.

Sinner is like, yeah, he seems like he's a tennis machine.

It's fascinating to watch how good he is from the baseline and just doesn't seem to ever miss, doesn't, you know, can get to everything.

I don't know.

You know, these, these players, when you you get a chance to watch up close it's insane i can't imagine i really wanted to go this year and we just couldn't figure out schedule but i would love to see that in person yeah it's fun you know and like people who show up like stan smith you know

the tennis great who designed the the famous sneaker sure so like you'll be standing there next to stan smith and you look down and guess what he's wearing stan smith he's wearing stan smith's incredible which is what he has to do what if he was wearing chuck taylor's that would be weird yeah that would be weird you know what i noticed on tv is these guys either the male or female players on tv you can't really tell they just look like people out on the tennis court but then you kind of see that they're serving down and you realize these people are all like six five they're all enormously tall most of them anyway yes i think that's you know the new sort of normal for i think to play tennis now is that you have to have that height it didn't always used to be that way height even yeah jokovich in person, I guess everybody in person to me seems tall.

Same.

Same.

But he definitely, you know, he's tall.

And Sinner's like, I think six, six, three or six, four.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I think, you know, just the amount of the court that they can cover and the flexibility.

I mean, Jokovich is just like, he's always been so flexible.

It's almost like.

like a Gumby or something.

It's insane, you know, how he, and then to watch the return of service and how that happens in them when they kind of like notch it up a little when they have to, you know, get there in a match.

Yeah.

It's really, really cool.

It's just the amount of energy these players have to expend because those matches are long, man.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The best of five.

It's crazy.

It's crazy.

Yeah.

I love the clothes, too.

I love all the fashion.

I love the polo is everywhere and just seeing what everyone kind of chooses to wear.

There was a match the other day.

It looked like someone had matched the other in what they were wearing.

And I was just wondering if there are mind games as far as what they wear.

I don't know anything about that.

Well, there's definitely mind games that go on.

In terms of like the fashion mind game, that's an interesting angle.

Well, you know, like Alcaraz has got the sleeveless, you know, he's rocking the guns.

Right.

That's definitely an intimidation factor.

I would too if I had those guns.

I saw Taturo was there one day, too.

I saw Taturo operating a camera.

Yeah, what was going on there?

I don't know.

I just saw a clip that they let him operate one of the cameras, which, I mean, he is a director.

Sure is.

Yeah, and he seemed to be having fun.

I would let him operate anything.

Yeah, for sure.

And he, you know, he loves the Liberty, New York Liberty basketball team.

And and nicks of course he's a season ticket holder oh yeah yeah so he's a big sports guy yeah

okay should we uh get allia in here i'm really excited to talk to her let's do it yeah hey hey allia hi gosh

thanks for joining us yeah thanks for having me so happy you're here me too well let's start i mean i could even just ask do you like to or do you watch things that you're in you know um i've had this kind of routine because not to be that guy but I don't own a television as someone who makes money off of television.

I know.

That's a TV behind you, right?

No, I just like haven't owned one, but it's weird because I grew up with like, I fell asleep to TV.

Like TV was such a big part of my life as a kid.

And then I just was like, I'm just not going to get one and haven't.

So I have this routine where I go back to the desert to see my family.

They have a huge television that's never off usually.

And we watch anything I've done there.

I'll watch it once with them.

And it's kind of this like narrative thing where I'm like, oh, they didn't use that scene that I was.

And my mom's like, oh, but you look cute.

I like that.

You know, it's like a very kind of talked over experience.

And it kind of makes it easier for me in a weird way.

Interesting.

And your family is out in the desert.

Yeah, like Palm Springs.

Okay.

Yeah.

You grew up in Palm Springs.

Yeah, I grew up in Palm Springs.

And you were a child actor.

Everyone knows that.

So you just

drive and like commute to LA for work and for auditions and stuff.

Is it growing up?

Yeah, my dad and mom would trade, but mainly my mom like really helped me do that.

And I never lived in LA till I was like, because I moved to New York first, so I didn't even live in LA till I was like 21, I guess.

Oh, interesting.

Yeah.

So arrested development, you didn't necessarily live in Los Angeles?

No, we stayed in like those really weird, like made-up apartments, you know, and Michael Sarah was staying at the Oakwood.

Yeah.

And I always said, we called it the Jokewood.

Yeah.

And we stayed at like one level up.

My mom was like, we won't stay there.

We'll stay at the other one.

That's like

almost identical one.

It's the most identical one, but like they have ballet or something.

Right, right.

Yeah.

But no, we, because we used to shoot on Fox for the first season.

Oh, right.

Way out there.

So we were way out there and just like, no social life.

Like me and Michael and his mom and my mom going to Cheesecake Factory every night.

That is true.

That was it.

Yeah.

That was our life.

How old were you when you were doing it?

The pilot, I was 14.

And then the first three seasons, it was like 15 to 18, pretty much.

And was that your first job?

No, my...

First job was a Barbie commercial, a national one.

At what age?

Nine.

And then my first real job like later that year was Three Kings, the David O'Russell movie.

I just re-watched Three Kings a couple weeks ago and I was like, what's up, right?

There is Alia

crying.

So cute.

And heartbreaking.

No, I know.

I watched it a couple of years ago.

I know.

And I was like, oh my God, Alia's in that, right?

Playing an Iraqi refugee, which is kind of my go-to role.

Because I'll always play that.

Yeah.

And when you were a kid, you were doing in-person auditions, right?

It wasn't self-tapes.

No.

Oh, my God.

Self-tapes are so terrible.

Yeah.

It was really like, when I look back on it now, I feel like everything's changed so exponentially that it feels like it was the 50s, like the idea of what auditioning was.

Like it was like an empty warehouse and it was kind of dirty and there was like a light flickering in the corner and you like go down and sign in and there's one other girl who looks like you and you're like sitting there.

And especially as a kid, you have your moms and everyone's mom is weird.

And then you went in and I had to like, pretty much cry.

That's kind of the main thing as a kid.

They're like, can you get emotional in front of us?

And I was was like, yeah, sure.

And just like sob.

And then they come out and meet your parents because they're like, oh my God, like your daughter's amazing.

And I just remember being like, you know, you get that high being like, my parents, like, they came to talk, it must have gone well.

They're talking to my mom.

And then my dad is a Rocky.

So when I did the callback, or with David O.

Russell, he was really excited that I was actually a Rocky and met my dad and kind of gave my dad this like kind of big role on the set as like an advisor and stuff.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

So we got really involved in the, in the movie.

So you like were going from from back and forth from Palm Springs to audition in LA.

And then as a kid, and your dad, I read, owns a strip club?

He does.

He does.

I mean, my parents opened it together and then he runs it.

Amazing.

So not in Showbiz,

a version of it.

But some other showbiz.

But they were totally supportive of you kind of going and doing this thing.

Yeah, I mean, I have two brothers, and I think it was looking back on it, it's like, I don't know, I guess it's like a middle child thing being like wanting so much attention.

But I realize how much sacrifice it was for my parents.

Like now that I have a kid too, I'm just like, so you had three and you would leave to Los Angeles and come back the same night.

That's crazy.

And then make sure everyone did their homework and had dinner and get ready the next day.

And like a two and a half hour drive.

Yeah.

And I would have to do my homework on the way up and then sleep on the way back.

And then sometimes we do it twice a week.

Wow.

I remember the only audition we didn't make was for Blow, the Johnny Depp movie, to play his daughter.

And we like didn't get there in time.

And my mom's like, I'm so sorry.

But my mom was always so proud of herself.

She's like, Blow's the only one we missed.

And you would have got it if we got there.

But Arrested Development.

Arrested Development ended up being obviously such a seminal and important show.

Do you feel like, I mean, you were 14 years old.

Did it feel like a great fit at the time?

Did it help kind of hone your comedic or just general sensibility?

Or did you come in with a sensibility that really fit into that show?

Or like, how did that?

Yeah, I mean, I like to think I like had something special, obviously, as a child, but me and Michael talk about it a lot.

Like, we genuinely would be, I mean, it was also back in the day when you'd do table reads of a lot of the scripts in front of executives.

And Mitch Hurwitz, the creator, would always be like, let's just make sure we pop it up a little, like the energy to like sell these jokes.

Yeah.

And we were like, yeah, yeah.

So we, you know, you'd go into these like offices and everything felt, again, very like old Hollywood compared to now.

And me and Michael would be like, you know, we knew how to act, like we would do it, but we kind of didn't fully know why it was so funny, especially like the sexual tension between the cousins.

I was aware of why it was funny, but I wasn't like so like, I didn't understand the nuances of like, I'm sitting on his lap and it's a bumpy car ride.

And that's why it's funny.

You know, it's like, I think I even have a line where I say, and that's why it's funny.

You know, like that was my main line in the pilot.

So I think me and Michael, some stuff was going over our head, but we were just learning in real time.

Yeah.

And then we were with this amazing cast of people who definitely never talked to us like we were children.

And I mean that like in the best way, you know, sometimes not always the best way, but like for the majority, they would just kind of like treat us like adults and professionals.

Like they weren't like, oh, hey, delicate with us.

So we, we just kind of had to learn quick.

And reading scripts like that, like those scripts were amazingly well written.

There was nothing easy about them.

Nothing was served.

Nothing was like.

flat out like this is what's funny about it.

It was kind of confusing and surreal and meta like Tobias is like in a wheelchair bleeding from the ears and i'm like what has happened you know like it was just all so much at the same time that me and michael just yeah we just like learned and now also required something so specific from the two of you yeah it wouldn't have worked if it was like two kid actors being cute and like really selling like you guys really brought your own very specific sensibility to it that really pushed it into a place where it where it felt new well thank you yeah i mean i was very i was also a teenager so i was like so insecure.

Of course.

And everyone was so funny.

And Michael obviously is so funny.

And sometimes he would get like, a lot of my stuff would set up his jokes.

But I was like, I'm not the funny one.

And I would like get so insecure because I was like 16 and I was like, and I'm fat.

I'm not funny.

And I'm fat.

And like, but me and Michael were such good friends.

Like we always had such a good time on set.

But I don't think I was ever like, wow, this is like an insanely good show.

I was just like, yeah, this is the quality, right?

It wasn't until it was over where I was like, why is everything so bad yeah why does everything else suck yeah everything else like the quality is crazy and i was so bitter i was like oh that was such a it makes it easy when the writing and the people around you are so good because you just feel really taken care of yeah and that you can kind of match it with just being natural or whatever yeah you guys were so grounded and real as the younger actors which you don't necessarily always see.

I think the casting of that show is just

Mitch Hurwitz is so, so talented and it was so, yeah, so the casting was amazing and so unique in tone it's just like there hasn't really been anything like that show since yeah it's a growing after doing that was it sort of like you said like it was a little bit of a letdown go trying to find other stuff or did you did you kind of just think okay now you know i'm i'm 17 18 19 now you're into other stuff yeah i mean i started painting i moved to new york i was like dating someone i kind of A lot of the responses I would get when I'd go on auditions for like the snarky teen was, Alia seems like she doesn't want to be here

from like my agent at the time.

And I'm like, the truth is I don't.

Yeah.

And I kind of, yeah, I was like, I've been doing this forever.

Like every, I always say like every kind of five or six years, or maybe it's the seven where you change completely.

There's this moment where I'm like, am I going to do this?

Is this really it?

Like, you know, and I've been doing it since I was nine.

So it feels like yes, but I like to keep open this possibility like, hey.

Maybe you're going to do something else.

So I was having a cycle there where I like, I was still young, but had been doing it already for so long.

And I was like, what do I do?

And does this make me happy?

And I was kind of a little resentful afterwards.

I was just like, None of this stuff is good.

I'm not going to try and be just like a worse version of maybe over and over again.

And then this film Whippet came, and that's when I was like, Okay, I'm excited about this.

Yeah, you know, but that's good to be in touch with that instinct.

I think it takes actors sometimes.

It takes, it took me, I think, a long time to figure out, like, oh, wait, I should just go with like instinctually what I really, really like.

It took, it took decades for me to even come close to that.

Yeah.

Okay, it's time for us to take a break.

We'll be back with more from Alia Shawkat 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 sounds amazing.

We 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.

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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What's your perpetuity wing like?

Do the Egans move?

Uh, no.

Huh.

Probably because it's an older branch.

Ours were animatronic.

They even did this little choreographed dance.

So yours just stand there?

That's weird.

In my first perpetuity wing, the egans were brooms.

Brooms?

Each with a face made of a plate.

A plate?

We were very poor.

It was such a big deal that you and Bob Balaban and Stefano were coming in to play these roles.

How did that end up kind of happening, coming together?

I mean, I just remember getting, like, talking to my agent.

They're like, okay, so there's a part in Severance.

And I was like, yes, just yes, all the way yes.

It was just one of those kind of beautiful, simple things where I was like, so excited about it.

And I remember, I don't think I knew that it was going to be Stefano and Bob Balaban till like a a week before.

But I was so excited.

And I was also so excited that Ben was directing the episode.

I was like, oh, that really makes it such a cool thing.

You know, so same way.

So excited that you were doing it.

And also because it was sort of, you know, this sort of kind of like, I would say like cameo-ish type part.

Yeah.

I will say so many of my friends are like, oh my God, you're on Severance.

And I was like, I am, but I am on the first episode.

And everyone was like, Ali is on Severance.

It was like one of those things where I was like, wait, slow down.

I'm only in the the first episode.

Yeah.

But you know what?

It was like, it was interesting because, like, that was also one of the reasons why I think we thought it would be amazing to have you is because it felt like you really could be like, oh, yeah, we're introducing.

Yeah, it's like a red herring or

a little bit of a red herring, you know, which is kind of cruel to the audience, but yet, like, to kind of have a little bit of a misdirect, hopefully, you know, totally.

But then after, it's like, oh man, it's too bad because you fit in so well to the world.

Yeah, the show easily could have gone in this Allied Bob Haliban direction.

It would have been even more depressing, probably.

They had no hope.

Should we listen to a quick clip of oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, let's listen to it.

Yeah, let's listen to one of them, then we'll break it down.

So,

did you really see the Abbey World?

Yeah.

How's the sky?

I don't know.

What, you didn't see it?

Well, I went outside for a second, but I was distracted by my brother-in-law.

Seriously?

Because we made a list of what we'd most like to see on the outside and a sky was an easy number one.

Brothers-in-law weren't even on the list.

That's

Can you tell what state we were in?

Because three of us put Wyoming on our input survey.

Did you see any buttes?

No.

Oh my god, how's wind?

Is it just like getting breathed on, kind of?

Hello, refiners.

Hello, Miss Wong.

Oh, no, it's the ball game.

Let's head to the kitchenette.

Yeah, what a weird setup.

The whole thing was just so weird shooting that.

Did you see any buttes?

Yeah,

buttes.

Also, I remember the ball.

We tried lots of stuff where she like throws the ball at me.

Like, I run after the ball or something.

She was great, too.

Yeah, Sarah Bach, Sarah Bach.

That was like her first stuff.

And you and Bob in the ball scene, I loved that because there was just this whole history, just the in two like looks between you.

That we like hated each other.

Yes.

Your whole work history together without any dialogue.

Oh, so.

But I mean, it's such great writing.

It's like so surreal that it comes back to to making so much sense.

Like, I feel like that's good writing where it could be like the most obtuse idea, and yet it makes all the sense in the world.

Like, you guys have known each other forever, you know, because it doesn't have to say it.

It's really fun to play.

It says you guys work together at Branch 5X,

but there's no explanation beyond that.

That's all you needed to know.

Yeah, but in episode two, you kind of get a little bit of the idea of what happened there.

And that's right.

You know,

another milk chick attempt.

It was funny to me because shooting that episode was the very first thing we shot for season two.

So the first couple of weeks, and Adam, I'm curious how you felt too.

It was like doing this alternate version of severance for the first couple of weeks.

It was so weird starting with all of this stuff with Alia and Stefano and Bob because it had been a couple of years since we shot the show and it felt like we were just starting a new show.

And it wasn't for, I don't think Britt and every, Trammell came in like after a week, but then everyone else didn't start for a few weeks.

So it was just us doing this.

And I remember like on the third day, and we were still shooting the first scene.

I know, in the same set, which I guess you've gotten used to, but that was crazy.

I remember you being like, so does it always take this long?

Right.

Yeah.

I was like, oh, pretty much.

Yeah, yeah.

I know, I do remember this, like, we would cut, and then I think Ben or someone, you would come in and just like kind of move a cup

slightly to the left, and you'd be like, Okay, let's go again.

And I'd be like, Oh my God.

And I was like, That's why it suffers.

That's why it's ever.

So, my performance doesn't really matter at all.

Well, there is this walk we had across the room, remember, where you're like following me, asking me questions, yeah, to like the cabinet or whatever.

That's right.

That we did a lot, yeah, because there were a lot of different, like they were following us.

There was like steady cam, and there was just like we did it.

Well, it's like a it's like a film, like a high-end film you know I mean it's not this kind of like we're shooting over the shoulder and like a messy whatever you know it's like it's so stylized and so beautiful and then when you watch it all come together you're like oh of course but yeah a lot of the stuff I shoot especially television doesn't usually have that kind of pacing Adam and I were talking about this earlier in terms of like doing multiple takes and things how do you how do you feel about that as an actor because we were saying like sometimes I'm acting in a movie now and it's like I'm feeling the other side of it where it's like okay I thought we got it like two takes ago well it must be hard too when you're like such a big director and you're like, then you flip again and you get kind of impatient, right?

I can imagine.

I think it's just an actor thing.

It's just more like that actor.

I don't know.

I feel sometimes that actor sort of thing of like,

I had it.

And now like, I don't know if I'm going to get it again.

And, you know, that, that sort of thing.

But are you, do you like a lot of takes?

Are you?

I usually, I'm a little more fly by the seat in my pants.

Like, let's, I like a rehearsal.

I love doing like kind of rehearsals and then we start shooting when it feels right.

And we kind of just do like a couple.

Yeah.

But at the same time, I will say that when I've done things where there are lots of takes, certain things, it gets like, oh my God, this sucks again.

And then it starts to be like, oh, wait, actually, now it's coming back around where I'm getting so loose that I'm like, this actually makes sense.

This is why we do it again, you know?

But it does have that low of like, oh, I'm terrible.

And I'm just saying words.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I know.

I hate that feeling.

And I was actually doing a scene last night where, you know, we shot the scene and then we shot my side of it, my, my angle, and then they turned around to shoot the other actor.

And during the other actor's takes, I was like, oh my God,

now I've got it.

Now I figured it out.

Yeah, I know.

That always happens.

Absolutely.

That always happens, right?

When it's not on you.

Or even like improvising.

I was like, oh, I came up with like a funnier line.

That'll haunt me for the rest of my life sometimes.

Always.

In bed, you're just like, well, I guess I'm not bold enough.

Yeah.

And then

when you drive home, you're like, oh, Jesus Christ.

That's what it was supposed to be.

That's what it was this whole time.

Exactly.

Exactly.

There was a story that Billy Wilder used to say that he said, like at at La Cienaga and Melrose, he used to shoot movies, you know, like at Paramount.

And he said that, like, he'd be driving home to like Beverly Hills from Paramount and like on Melrose.

And he'd get to La Ciena, and that would be where it would hit him.

That, oh, that was what I should have done.

Wow.

Comfort answer.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Seriously.

He felt that way.

I guess it's like that David Fincher, Stanley Kubrick thing of doing it like 75 times.

Yeah, because they do it a lot.

A lot.

And I think at least Kubrick's thing was like the actors, you wear them down and so by the time you're on take 57 or whatever they're not thinking at all and they're just behaving like people do yeah at least that was his thinking why he did that at least that's a theory of why he did that i mean that makes sense it's just like who has the time i guess right yeah well i've done i've done a few movies with noah bombback and he does that oh wow he does like an average of like i'd say 35 takes oh my gosh and i'm always amazed at how he's able to do it and then the movie, you know, doesn't shoot forever.

Right.

But somehow they figure out that, okay, there's going to be these three angles and we're going to have time today to do, you know, this many takes.

And then imagine when they edit, they're just like, are they looking?

There's take one even?

Probably not.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, no, that's interesting too.

I think, I mean, just with Noah's process is like, I think he, not to speak for him, but I think he doesn't like even look at a.

an assembly of the movie.

Like a lot of times you're making a movie, the editor is putting together scenes without the director looking at them.

and then you wrap the movie and it's an editor's assembly of all the scenes, you know, kind of like a big long version of the movie.

He doesn't do that?

I don't think he does.

I think he just does all his, you know, takes and all that.

And then he starts from the beginning with his editor and just goes through the takes and starts to put it together piece by piece.

Whoa.

Wow, meticulous.

Very different.

So how, on Greenberg, where you're in every single scene, let alone every single shot of the movie, how was that doing that many takes for and chipping away at the lead role in the movie like that?

Yeah.

You know, I think it's that thing of trust with the director where you just, you know, you just go, okay, I'm getting to be in a Noah Bomback movie.

This is his process.

You know, this is what I'm lucky to be here.

Yeah.

And kind of just, he's not giving a lot of feedback direction-wise, too.

You know, he's not really saying a lot.

So I trust if somebody's not saying anything to me that, you know, just do, right?

Just kind of keep going, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And he's looking for something, I guess.

I remember it more on the Meyerowitz stories, we're like doing scenes where we do them a lot.

And, you know, it was funny with Dustin Hoffman, too, because Dustin is so funny.

And he would like get kind of a little bit like kind of cranky after take 30.

We all

actors,

we would get like sort of conspiratorial, like, what the hell is this guy doing?

But like, it's all kind of like, you know, we're just, we all know it's no his process, but when you're in it, it can drive you crazy.

Of course.

Yeah.

And I think no one knows it too and he just are like well this is what you know but it works for him obviously oh it does yeah for sure and and like i said like everybody feels you know happy to be there and do it because it's nothing like any other experience that i've ever had doing that like i didn't you know but also those relationships in meyerowitz stories between you and dustin hoffman and sandler and they're all so complicated that i'm sure that brought all sorts of different stuff to it too.

Yeah, I do think like that that thing after you do it a number of times where you start to kind of explore it a little more.

Have you done a lot of theater, Alia?

No, it's funny though.

I just got kind of asked for something that I think I might do.

But yeah, but I don't know yet 100%, so I won't talk about it.

But I am like, I'm really into the idea of being a theater.

Yeah, right?

Yeah, yeah.

Okay, yes.

You should.

It's cool.

You definitely should.

But, you know, like in theater, when you're doing a play, it's kind of like that where you're doing it over and over and over again.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But, you know, it's just on a nightly basis.

And you really do go so much deeper because you have to kind of figure out ways to make it fresh and new.

And else you find things in the writing that maybe you wouldn't have thought of.

Of course.

Well, they say like theater's for the actor, TV's for the writer, and movies are for the director, right?

Or something like that.

But I feel like I haven't really, I did the performance piece at Bam once called The Second Woman, where I was on stage for 24 hours.

It was wild.

And like, I did the same scene with 100 different men, and I was dressed up like Gina Rowlands from opening night.

And that's the name of the play in that movie.

The second woman.

24 hours?

So for 24 hours, I was on stage.

Did you sleep at all?

No.

No, no, I was on stage the whole time.

I would have

two and a half hours, I'd have a break for like

10 or 15 minutes so I could pee and like eat like a piece of chicken.

And then there was these two directors, these Australian women who are amazing, and they were like, all right, you need to like really push the energy here and make sure it's this.

But the idea is that you do the same scene over and over again with men to kind of, and then it, I was in this kind of mesh box that was being filmed, and there's a TV next to it, a screen, so it looked like a cinema like at the same time, but

like someone was filming it with a study cam.

And the audience, yeah, could come, you know, of course, there's like three New Yorkers who brought like blankets and snacks and were like, we're here the whole time, but otherwise, it would like come and go.

And it's like a study about like how men kind of look from the outside in a way.

Because some people would react very differently than others from the same scene.

And how women get into situations with men where they just have to kind of do the same thing just to get through it.

Exactly, yeah.

And at the end, like there's like Chinese food that I kind of like throw on them.

And some people kind of laugh and some are embarrassed and some get angry, you know, like, or they know they're being watched because they weren't actors, even though a couple actor friends of mine snuck in.

So they were just men coming in.

They would pick people up off the street, kind of, and make sure they weren't crazy.

There was like one guy who was like,

I think he was just like acting and trying to make it seem like he was mean.

And you were like, I wish this wasn't mesh.

I wish this was a steel cage.

Yeah, exactly.

And I was like, I want to bring you home with me.

No, but I was like genuinely a little nervous, but I kind of like kicked him out, you know, because I can't say anything outside the dialogue, you know?

But it was like a social studies.

It was really, really amazing.

So that was the only thing.

So you're playing off of all these different non-actors.

Yeah.

Except Josh Hamilton came once and Chris Abbott.

Oh, cool.

And so that was cool because they surprised me.

They knew I was doing it.

And so when Josh came on, I was like, ah.

And that was really fun.

Chris Abbott played my son in the last play I did.

Oh, no way.

Like 15 years ago.

Yeah.

Yeah.

He's a great guy.

He's been over a long time.

Yeah.

He's really good.

Does that, in terms of how you react?

I mean, like, even doing on the show on Severance, like working with Adam, you guys seem to have a very good, you know, kind of back and forth, you know, comedically.

Again, like, you know, going back to Arrested Development and also Search Party was just an amazing

tone in that show, so interesting.

How it could go in, you know, from really funny to very serious to

you out there but tonally you know for for severance and working with adam what's it like kind of going back and forth with him and did you feel like you you know had to kind of was it sort of like just plugging into that or it was hard i gotta say it was really hard um

no i mean all about adam yeah i just have to kind of work around his orbit um no i mean you know, to talk about you here, but Adam's like the nicest guy and so giving to be the lead of this, like, the most popular show on television.

You know what I mean?

It could be, it could be many different things, but we've met briefly before in different environments several times.

So I felt like I was like, no, I know Adam.

And, but it's like always nerve-wracking coming on to, especially this like big set where it's like, there's a big crew and everyone has an important job to do.

It's not this kind of like small, like, we'll figure it out.

It's like, no, we show up and we do our thing.

So it's always a little nerves.

And then, but Adam was so welcoming.

And it just felt like we were, had been on the show forever.

You know, Adam was just so like jokey and relaxed and sharing stuff with us.

And I mean, I remember this one scene, which I don't even know actually made it, but where I had to do like a fake dance.

I remember.

And every take, talk about I didn't figure it out till the reverse.

I was like, I could have done, I should have done one where I just like didn't move.

I think I did that on your coverage.

And Adam was like, it was so fun.

Like, I just like enjoyed trying to make Adam laugh as much as possible.

And that was like, it's a, it's a really nice quality when someone encourages you and you're like, oh, I could just go for days.

Now I'm just like on a joke roll.

And it's a nice feeling because it gives you confidence to be loose and to have fun.

It was super fun.

I remember we just sort of, it was very, I felt like right at home with Allie.

And I was like, oh man, she, I wish she was just on the show.

I know, so

super.

And then with Bob Balaban, who is like, you know,

such a legend, and everything he said was so funny.

I know.

Just so beautiful.

Stefano.

And Stefano's so good.

Love Stefano.

Yeah.

You guys were just so specific and unique, and I love that group.

Totally, yeah.

Now it's time for us to take a quick break, but when we come back, Ben, Alia, and I will answer some of your hotline questions.

We'll be right back.

Adam.

Yeah.

I want you to close your eyes and imagine you're working in Lumen's HR department.

Okay, give me a second.

It takes me 10 minutes to close my eyes.

Oh, wait.

I did it right away.

Okay, keep them close.

If our partner, ZipRecruiter, was helping Lumen hire for various roles, how do you think HR would feel about ZipRecruiter's ability to search resumes quickly via keywords?

Let me get into character here.

I think they'd love it.

It's efficient.

It's targeted.

We can search words like cure lover and affinity for long hallways.

Okay, you can open your eyes now.

Oh, thank you.

So if you were actually a business owner and not an actor who plays a guy who works at a weird company, like you do in the show,

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

So see for yourself when you try ZipRecruiter for free at ziprecruiter.com slash severance.

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It's way more fun than a finger trap.

Finger traps are not even fun.

No, I actually get legitimately claustrophobic when I use a finger trap.

Yes, I know.

Even the prop ones.

Totally.

Because the finger traps are real.

It freaks me out when I use it.

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All right, let's go to some hotline questions.

Will you answer some hotline questions for people?

Wait, you guys really do?

Oh my god, that's so cute.

How long have you guys been doing this?

We've been doing this for like 18 years.

Yeah.

So even before this was way before Severance, we had a morning zoo show back in the 90s.

On KXPX.

Giraffes.

Morning drive time.

Okay, let's go to our first hotline question.

Hi, Ben and Adam.

This is Emily calling from New Orleans, where the heat ends in August is way hotter than the actual temperature.

I'm a high school teacher.

We just went back to school.

And so I want to know

what you think our Audis would have been like in high school.

What kind of kids would they have been?

And perhaps more broadly speaking, are there any characters on Severance who you think would have fit real like teenage archetypes such as the jock, the goth?

All right.

Thank you so much.

Love you both.

Praise Kier.

I think Helly is definitely would definitely be a goth, right?

Yeah, I think that's an interesting idea, though, of like any sort of like their breakfast club sort of prototypes, right?

You know, I think Irving seems like he's kind of the like poetic nerd kind of poetic nerd intellectual.

Yeah.

What about Mark?

Mark, maybe the like teacher's pet.

Yeah.

Or like the nerd who ends up getting the girl.

Right.

Kind of vibe.

Right.

Not the Judd Nelson rebel.

I think that's Dylan.

Okay.

The stoner Judd Nelson kind of guy.

Yeah, yeah.

Okay.

But wait, we're, we're thinking of what the Audis would,

what their high school archetype would be.

No, I think it's what the Innies high school archetype would be.

Okay.

Because the Audis wouldn't know.

Right.

Right.

But what was your, like, what were you in high school?

Yeah.

Each of you.

Yeah.

Oh, gosh.

What was I in high school?

I mean, since I was working, I was like a weird professional who would like leave town and then come back.

And everyone's like, where were you?

And I was like, oh, I was doing this show.

And they're like, okay.

Like everyone was kind of mean to me.

So did it make you like an other?

Yeah.

Yeah.

I was really popular in middle school because I went to a small school and then high school just like it all turned.

Because you were gone for three months.

I was gone and I was doing arrested arrested development.

And I would tell them, like, I was doing this show, and they just kind of like, it was like they didn't believe me.

Right.

You know, they were like, oh, you're in LA.

And I was like, we just won an Emmy.

And they were like, okay.

So they didn't watch Arrested Development?

No, no one watched it.

No one in high school when I was doing high school.

Now it's like kids love it.

But when we were younger, we did go to these award shows, me and Michael and the cast, but nobody knew who we were.

So no one really cared because we were like 16 year olds, you know.

But we went to the Golden Globes once and we lost to Desperate Housewives.

For comedy.

Yeah, I mean, literally, for best comedy.

They won every year.

That's crazy.

And I was just wasted and I was like 16 years old and I was just like drunk on champagne and I had this like long chiffon dress and we were just like walking around and I was going up to every celebrity.

Like I saw Wilt Farrell and I was like, I love you.

You're so funny.

You know?

Or like Ewan McGregor.

I was like, oh my God, I have a crush.

I am.

I was just like a drunk child, you know?

That's so cute.

And then I remember we were leaving and my mom, like, we met up with my mom and she was like, I had a champagne flute and my clothes tells the the story.

I was just standing there and I just threw up in my champagne flute.

It just like filled up the flute.

And my mom was like, you're drunk.

And then I got home and like called my friend.

I was like, I got drunk at the Golden Globe.

And I was like, so embarrassed.

Oh, my God.

That's funny.

That's amazing.

That's such an interesting dilemma for a kid.

Yeah.

I know.

I felt very like, I was living two lives.

Like, I wanted to go back to LA because I was like treated with respect.

And Michael was like my best friend.

And we would hang out.

And then I'd go to the desert and all of a sudden just be like, oh, just like a regular kid again.

Just kind of like shoved into this.

And these dumb dums are treating you like shit.

Yeah.

And they were, because I went to a private school, so it was kind of like annoying rich kids.

But I had other really good friends.

Yeah.

And I would say I became, if I had to pick an archetype, I became like the stoner rebel.

Sure.

Yeah.

I was like, I'm a badass and I like to smoke weed.

That's the coolest to me.

Yeah, it's pretty cool.

Adam, what were you in high school?

I was like,

I was a theater kid, but I was very conscious there was a real social stigma to being a theater kid at my high school.

They called them drama mags.

You grew up in Santa Cruz, right?

Santa Cruz.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Have you been to Santa Cruz?

I've been camping there once.

Oh, really?

I love it there.

Yeah.

Henry Cowell.

Yes, exactly.

Really?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So I also, I straddled being a theater kid, but also was on like the water polo team and the swim team just because I didn't want to be complete, my identity would be completely absorbed by directing and acting in plays and all that stuff.

So I was kind of doing both.

It was important to me to like maintain some popularity.

And so very well balanced.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It didn't totally work.

My grades were terrible because I was spending all my time maintaining this like social balance.

How about you, Ben?

I didn't really have an identity in high school.

It was slightly, which is the worst thing.

Like I didn't fall into one group, you know?

I had a bunch of friends.

I was not the cool kid for sure, but I also kind of had a similar sort of double life thing going on because I would do like little acting things.

Like I was on a soap opera for a few weeks and, you know, I was auditioning and trying to get work.

I wasn't really working that much, but like in my mind, it kind of, I just dissociated from my high school life.

And it's like, oh, this is really like what I'm, what my real life is.

Or my parents, you know, were actors.

And so I was going and hanging out with them.

where they were working and liking that so much more.

So I never really like fully engaged in high school.

I had a bunch of friends.

I was in a, you know, a band in high school, but we weren't, again, not semi-nerdy, like the, you know, almost nerdy group, but not totally.

When you feel like you, you rather be around adults when you're in high school, which I totally had, it is, it's a disconnect.

Yeah.

You know, where you're just kind of like, I get along with adults better.

I'm ready for the environment.

Like, I want to go, you know, like I'm doing stuff.

What am I doing?

Yeah, I don't want to wait here anymore.

I had that a lot.

And Ben, did you, were there other kids in your school that were going off and like doing acting jobs, or was that just like a completely weird thing for you to be doing?

You know, Upper West Side, same thing, kind of like, you know, rich kids kind of school.

There actually was a movie called Rich Kids that shot at our school.

Wow.

Oh, my God.

It doesn't get more on the notes.

Oh, John Lithgow.

Wow.

John Lithgow, Trini Alvarado, and we were extras.

That's the first thing I was ever in, actually.

Wow.

That's so cool.

But yeah, there were kids who were, there weren't like any, you know, afterwards, Jordan Peele went to my high school.

Oh, wow.

yeah but um during that time there weren't really any the the closest thing was that uh henry winkler's niece went to high school which is huge yeah and i got a picture through her that was a signed fonds picture saying to ben one man's ceiling is another man's floor henry the fons winkler sent to me so cool one man's ceiling is another and then years later i i showed it to henry winkler and he said i never sign up no that's even more upsetting yeah it's like i would never write a weird cryptic line like that.

But then he did send me a real autographed picture.

Oh, wow.

He's such a great guy.

The nicest man on show biz, I always say.

A really amazing arrested development

character.

Oh, my God.

Greatest.

All right, let's go to the second question.

Hi, Ben and Adam.

This is Michelle calling.

My question for you is, if you were a severed Lumen employee and feeling rebellious, what would you do to stick it to your Audi?

Thank you and praise Kier.

I like how they all say praise Kier at the end.

Yeah, well, you have to, otherwise lightning will strike.

Right, right, right.

Do you think Gwendolyn Y feels any resentment or anger or anything towards her Audi?

You know, it's funny.

There was like one shot in the second episode.

In the second episode of me just like entering.

Yeah.

And I had this like whole like idea of like what my Audi would, and I was like, I like the idea that my Audi was trying, like she was a smoker and like an addict, like she drank a lot or something.

And so, when she would come in, Gwendolyn Y would be kind of like hungover, but like not knowing why, you know, just be kind of like out of it, which I never actually played.

But I had this whole idea.

I was like, it'd be funny if from the outside they just get like, like, fucked up, you know, and then they come in and they smell, and the Innie's like, what's wrong with me?

Because they're usually so innocent, the Innies, you know?

So, I thought that was like as like a payback.

She would just like do all these drugs and get like kind of messy.

And then

or any would have to deal with the the flip side of it that's so cool that's interesting that's the flip side of the question that's with audi doing something to punish oh that's audi punishing yeah so what would the innie did the audi right um i mean you can do what helly almost did and like chop a finger off right right that would really stick it to them or a bad haircut or something bad haircut that's a good one shave eyebrows off shaved eyebrows hilarious i remember seeing you when you came to shoot the audi part and i didn't have eyebrows you didn't have your eyebrows i was like what is going on?

But you, that was like six months later or something when you came to do that, right?

It was, it was a lot, it was longer after, for sure.

Was it six months?

Maybe.

I have no idea.

You had been there the whole time, which I remember being like, how are you?

Yeah, are you still doing this?

And weirdly, too, like on a personal note, that's when I found out I was pregnant when I came back.

Really?

Yeah.

That's it.

Because I was just there for a day and I remember sitting there being like, what am I going to do?

And do you have a two-year-old now?

Yeah, he's two.

Incredible.

I know, crazy.

Congratulations.

That's amazing.

That's incredible.

People have kids all the time.

It happens all the time.

It's really nuts.

But when you have one, you're like, wow.

Yeah.

Now everything's different.

That's right.

Well, thanks for coming and talking to us.

Yeah, thanks for having me.

This is super fun.

It's really nice to see you guys again.

And congratulations on such a masterpiece, truly.

Well, thanks for being a part of it.

Thank you guys.

Praise Cure.

And that's it for the episode.

The Severance Podcast with Ben and Adam will be back next week with one final episode for you.

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

If you like the show, be sure to rate and review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your other podcast platform of choice.

It really makes a difference.

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

We just might play your voicemail and answer your question on the podcast.

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 LeVay, Melissa Wester, Kate Rose, Kurt Courtney, and Hilary Schuff.

And the team at Red Hour, John Lescher, 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.