Keanu Reeves might well be anyone’s first choice for anything, but he wasn’t Ben Stiller’s.
The “Severance” co-creator revealed Monday on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” that he actually had somebody specific in mind for a subtle celebrity cameo during the Season 2 premiere in January — and that the “Matrix” star, who ultimately took the part, ironically wasn’t the one.
The role required a pleasant and docile voice to dub an animated video shown to staffers at the fictional Lumon Industries. Stiller, who executive produces the show and has directed most of it, said he wanted none other than former President Barack Obama to do it.
“I didn’t ask him in person. I knew someone who knew his lawyer, and his lawyer said, ‘I can relay the request if you write an email,’” Stiller told Kimmel. “So I wrote an email to him saying, like, ‘Hey, we have this show,’ whatever.”
He continued, “And two days later, I get an email back from President Barack Obama.”
The former president regretfully declined the part however, leading Reeves to get the gig and encourage Lumon’s intrepid Macrodata Refinement workers. The scene spawned viral posts on X, formerly Twitter, after it aired from excited users who recognized him.
“Shouted ‘oh my god that building is KEANU REEVES!!!’ to my friend during Severance and she was like ??? and turns out I was right!!!! Insane episode,” wrote one user at the time, with another posting: “Is that fucking Keanu Reeves in Severance season 2?!?!”
Stiller shared Monday that Obama told him he was a “big fan of the show,” but that he couldn’t do the job because of a busy schedule, prompting Stiller to joke Monday, “What’s more important than … doing the voiceover for the animated building in ‘Severance?’”
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“It was pretty cool that he responded,” Stiller earnestly added nonetheless.
Obama wouldn’t be the first U.S. president to act in a movie or TV show, as Donald Trump had a cameo in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1990), Ronald Reagan famously was an actor before entering politics (1937-1965), and Joe Biden appeared twice on “Parks & Recreation.”
In 2018, Obama launched his own production company, Higher Ground Productions, which co-produced 2023’s “Leave the World Behind.” And the former president wasn’t a silent partner: The director of the apocalyptic psychological thriller noted that certain script notes from Obama “scared the fuck out of me.”