“I am the first to be fascinated by “Severance” | EUROtoday
Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.
Vou could not know his identify, however his face positively tells you one thing: at 51 years previous, Adam Scott can boast of getting collected notable roles in usually cult collection during the last fifteen years. He was the aspiring actor – however everlasting waiter – of the sardonic Party Down, Leslie’s awkward however oh-so-charming fiancé within the pleasant sitcom Parks and Recreationa demon rising from hell (the actual ones, it is not a metaphor) in The Good Place… and eventually the husband of Reese Witherspoon in Big Little Lies.
Without a doubt, its function in Severance – whose season 2, simply as thrilling and good as 1, has simply began on Apple TV + – is essentially the most advanced of his profession… Because the character that Adam Scott performs there may be twofold: Mark Scout, devastated by loss of life of his spouse, selected to endure an operation (the severity) which splits his consciousness in two. During the day, he’s Mark S., employed within the labyrinthine places of work of the very mysterious Lumon Industries and with no reminiscence of his life exterior of labor. The second he takes the elevator out of the constructing, he turns into Mark Scout once more, with out having the slightest concept of what he is been as much as all day.
Written by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller, Severance affords each a commentary filled with darkish humor on the world of labor and a wide ranging suspense. Following a insurrection by Mark “innie” (the one from the workplace) and his colleagues, Lumon Industries tightens its grip on its workers and the characters’ aspiration to interrupt the separation of consciousness intensifies… From its lounge Los Angeles (earlier than the fires ravaged town), Adam Scott answered our questions.
The Point: Severancewhich debuted in 2020, evokes a really up to date feeling of isolation by means of a dystopian universe. What function did the Covid-19 pandemic play in its success?
Adam Scott: We rapidly understood that with this central theme of alienation, of the strangeness of our existence, the elemental solitude that it underlines, the collection touched folks to the center. For me, the expertise of the pandemic turned an integral a part of Mark’s character… This feeling of loneliness, and the impression of a abandoned world, particularly since I had misplaced my mom shortly earlier than filming season 1. During the filming of season 2, I might all the time come again to those very particular feelings, it is a part of the repertoire that I can draw from. There is that this coloration of mourning, each private and collective, due to Covid. That mentioned, in season 2, there’s a change! The two Marks are totally different, particularly the “innie”, due to what he found on the finish of season 1. He turns into extra lively, he comes out of his isolation, it is the start of a brand new option to work together with the surface world.
Do you strategy the 2 Marks, the “innie” and the “outie”, as two distinct characters?
No, I remember the fact that it is the identical individual. They are like two halves of 1 particular person. Think concerning the distinction all of us see between who we’re inside household and who we’re exterior, resembling at a celebration or with our colleagues. These are totally different components of ourselves that we share with totally different folks. It’s additionally the distinction between somebody who has skilled very troublesome issues – in Mark Scout’s case, the loss of life of his spouse – and somebody who has not skilled trauma. What counted loads in my apprehension of the character had been my moments within the elevator, the place the transition from “innie” to “outie” and vice versa takes place.
Explain to us…
With Ben Stiller [réalisateur de la majorité des épisodes, NDLR]we appeared for the precise option to present this passage. We’ve performed it so many instances that it is turn into one thing that basically defines the character, the second the place we contact the road between Mark Scout and Mark S. It’s virtually a math drawback: it’s important to add extra the expertise of life, of trauma, or quite the opposite subtract these components, empty oneself of them. This may be very helpful for me, as a result of generally we shoot each side of Mark in the identical day.
There are youngsters within the places of work of Lumon Industries, an organization whose actions stay mysterious and which very a lot resembles a sect, with a complete mythology round its founder… Do greater than us, the spectators?
Yes ! I’m the primary to be fascinated by Severance. Generally talking, I prefer to know as a lot as I can when I’m engaged on a task, and speaking with Dan Erickson, the creator, is fascinating. He thought out this complete universe in its smallest particulars. I ask him questions on a regular basis. Besides, I’m doing a podcast on the collection with Ben Stiller and the participation of Dan and lots of actors. We rewatched all of the episodes collectively and commented on them, it was fascinating! We proceed with season 2: every time an episode is offered, the corresponding episode of the podcast can be accessible. When we began this collection, we questioned if folks would enter this unusual and totally different universe. Today it’s an immense pleasure to really feel the curiosity, the urge for food of the general public for Severance ,and I’m prepared to speak about it time and again. Without spoilers, in fact!
In the previous, you’ve largely performed comedic roles. Is it vital for this far more severe character to Severance ?
The high quality of the collection is to have, in its strangeness, one thing absurd which is de facto humorous. Ben Stiller additionally comes from the world of comedy, which might be no coincidence. For my half, I attempt to stay virtually impartial, to not add results. One of my favourite movies is See you in paradise (1991), the place Albert Brooks finds himself in absurd conditions however with out ever emphasizing something. I additionally like Charles Grodin in Midnight Run (Martin Brest, 1988), and Jack Lemmon in La Garçonnière (Billy Wilder, 1960). These actors are surgically exact of their strategy to comedy, and what I choose about them is deep down their seriousness. This is what anchors the characters in actuality.
You have all the time been an actor and have by no means skilled workplace life…
To Discover
Kangaroo of the day
Answer
It has paradoxically turn into one in every of my specialties on display! Parks and Recreation happened primarily in metropolis places of work [fictive, NDLR] from Pawnee…and now in fact I’m at Lumon Industries. Ben Stiller is fascinated by company tradition, the connection of American males specifically with the workplace, their excessive confidence in themselves. Ben and Dan Erickson share a real ardour for The Office. We discover in Severance this style for exhibiting essentially the most banal issues of on a regular basis life – the pots, the actions of crew constructingthe query of workplace provides… Except that nobody understands what is de facto happening at Lumon. And you will have to look at season 2 to get some clues!
Severanceseason 2, a brand new episode accessible each Friday on Apple TV +. Season 1 accessible in full on the platform.
https://www.lepoint.fr/culture/adam-scott-je-suis-le-premier-a-etre-fascine-par-severance-17-01-2025-2580230_3.php