Barack Obama Told Ben Stiller He Was Too Busy To Cameo in ‘Severance’

I can’t watch TV like I used to. My wife and I will watch things together, but we have pretty different schedules, so we sometimes put things off until we can both be there. Tonight, we’ll likely watch the season finale of Rings of Power season 2, which aired on October 3rd, 2024. It takes so long because we have twin four-year-olds, and sometimes when they are in bed, we both just sit on the couch and veg out. Despite scheduling, tiredness, and political strife at home and abroad, we’ve kept up to date with Severance.

Some things are too important to wait for, and the Apple TV+ smash hit is such a thing. While my wife is not as terminally online as I am, she wants to avoid spoilers as much as I do. The first season knocked us out and aired when our children mostly slept. While our kids are far more mobile and up later now, we have made Severance appointment viewing. We have watched every episode of season 2 so far within 24 hours of its airing. We are dialed in, yet neither of us noticed/could remember that Keanu Reeves cameoed in the season 2 premiere.

The first episode of the new season features a stop-motion short about working at the mysterious company Lumon. Part of the short is a talking building. I’ll be honest and vulnerable and say I did not even remember the segment in question. It took two co-workers at my day job to remind me last night. They were discussing not only the short but how Keanu Reeves had been enlisted (but uncredited) to provide the voice. Having just rewatched it, I’m disappointed I didn’t notice immediately. But, again, tired. Because, like Barack Obama, I’m pretty busy.

That fantastic segue where I compared myself to a former President is to set up the fact that Ben Stiller had originally approached Obama about voicing the building. It’s a choice that would have been fantastic had it worked, and even more embarrassing for me to not notice. Ben Stiller, an executive producer and director on the show, revealed to Jimmy Kimmel that he had reached out to Obama through a friend of Obama’s lawyer (as ya do) and received a response within 48 hours.

“Hey Ben, big fan of the show, love Season 1, can’t wait for Season 2. Don’t think I have time in my schedule to make this happen,” Stiller recalled the email saying. That’s a good start, but Barry (we’re close) made it clear that he couldn’t participate saying, “Don’t think I have time in my schedule to make this happen.” I just wrote about an actor citing “scheduling conflicts” as a reason for not doing a whole movie, and I bought that a lot more than Obama saying he was too busy to do a quick voice-over role.

You’re telling me he couldn’t step into a booth for thirty minutes?! Barack Obama is that busy?! I like the man, but that seems wild. If that is the case, fine. I just find it hard to believe. I’d be surprised if Stiller even gave him specific dates and times for the recording. They likely could have waited! But Obama hit them with the, “Sorry, I’m washing my hair that night” excuse. Maybe they reached out when Barry was stumping for Kamala, but I doubt it.