Editor’s note: The below interview contains spoilers for Severance Season 2 Episode 3.
Apple TV+’s twisty sci-fi drama Severance is finally back with its second season, and theories are already running wild when it comes to what the mysterious Lumon Industries has tasked our favorite team of Macrodata Refiners with doing. While the Season 1 finale ended on a major cliffhanger that left viewers clamoring for more, the first two episodes of Season 2 were mostly devoted to gradually catching us up on what things have been like for both innies and outies alike in the wake of the Lumon-dubbed “Macrodat Uprising.” At Lumon, Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette) is out and Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman) is in as severed floor manager, while outside the company’s pristine walls, Mark Scout (Adam Scott) currently remains ignorant of the fact that Lumon’s wellness counselor, Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman) and his believed-dead wife, Gemma, are one and the same.
This week’s episode, “Who Is Alive?,” drives the plot forward on Severance in more ways than one. Not only does Irving B. (John Turturro) discover the name of the strange black hallway his outie has been obsessively painting, but ex-Lumon scientist Dr. Reghabi (Karen Aldridge) finally clues Mark in to the truth that Gemma is quite possibly alive and trapped inside the company — which leads him to finally agree to the risky reintegration procedure of merging his outie’s and innie’s memories. Meanwhile, we’re still trying to figure out if that’s really Helly R. (Britt Lower) back with the MDR gang or if her outie, Lumon heir Helena Eagan, has infiltrated the group, and Dylan G. (Zach Cherry) arguably has one of the sweetest moments of the entire episode when he’s rewarded with a visit from his outie’s wife, Gretchen (Merritt Wever).
Ahead of Episode 3, Collider had the chance to sit down with Cherry to discuss his character’s biggest moments, including the visitation scene, shooting family photos ahead of time, and how the meeting allowed him to tap into Dylan’s softer side. He also discusses his reaction to fans’ concerns about Dylan’s glasses, whether he’s paying attention to the response to Season 2 on social media, the experience of working with Severance executive producer and director Ben Stiller, and much more.
Collider: I have to start by asking you if you’re aware of how many people are concerned about Dylan’s glasses falling off at any given moment.
ZACH CHERRY: [Laughs] I am aware. And that was something that I think just started happening organically while we were shooting Season 1, where the glasses would just slide down my face, and I would often start to fix them and Ben [Stiller] would be like, “No, no, no, no, no, that’s good. That’s perfect.” Especially in that scene in the finale, where I’m stuck there and I can’t adjust them. So, I am aware, and it is fun that they have become a character of their own on the show.
Last season, we only earned a brief look at Dylan’s outie, but this season is really going a lot deeper into what life is like for these characters outside of Lumon, at least beyond Mark. What did you really enjoy about getting to dig into the other half of your character this season?
CHERRY: It was very exciting. Especially for me, in the first season, Dylan spent so much time hypothesizing about what he might be like on the outside, and he tells himself these very fanciful stories. He loves to self-mythologize, almost, and he gains a lot of confidence through that. So, it was really interesting, learning the reality this season and then seeing how that reality affects the innie, because now it’s like, “Oh, well, I’m not a riverboat captain, so what does that mean about me down here?” It was fun to explore that.
How Much Freedom Does Zach Cherry Have To Improvise on the Set of ‘Severance’?

Image via Apple TV+

I’ve heard that out of everybody in the cast, you have one of the bigger tendencies to improvise on set. How often, though, is that encouraged while you’re filming? Do you remember any particular lines of yours that were improvised?
CHERRY: I don’t. Most often, I’m not improvising entirely new things. I might say it a little differently or put a little spin on it. When I first got on the show, that is something I talked to Ben about, because I came up doing improv, doing sketch comedy. Even if we don’t end up using it, it’s always helpful to me to feel that freedom to play around. It just helps it all feel more lived in to me, if I’m allowed to massage it or whatever. Ben, and Adam, and Dan [Erickson] were always very encouraging and supportive of my instinct to put a little sauce on it. But I don’t really know how often it even ends up in the show. It’s honestly more something that helps me work through it. I’m sure there are moments that have ended up in there, but it’s more of a process thing for me.
Talking about process, you’re working with Ben [Stiller] as a director. Is he the sort of director who likes to do a lot of takes, or is it more about getting the shot and moving on after that?
CHERRY: It depends on the moment. Our show often has these really technical shots where we really have to get everything right with the camera and for the camera, so sometimes it’s just doing it enough so that we can all be in the right place at the right time, when there are these big camera moves. He’s definitely someone who knows what he wants, which, for me as an actor, is great because then I don’t have to… Sometimes as an actor, you’ll do a couple takes, and you’ll move on, and you’ll kind of go, “Well, are we moving on because we got it, or are we moving on because we’re done?” But with Ben, I never have to worry if we got it, because I know we will. If we didn’t get it, we’ll keep doing it, basically, which I find very helpful and reassuring. It allows me to feel free to try things. As far as if we get it, do we move on? Probably. But then also, he’ll ask, “Are you ready to move on? Do you want to try something else?” So, it depends on what we’re working with.
How often are you looking at what people are saying about the show on social media? Now that the season is coming week-by-week, people obviously have their reactions and theories, but compared to Season 1, the amount of theorizing and discussion for Season 2 is exponentially bigger. How much are you trying to tune into that, and how much are you trying not to pay attention, in case someone’s on the right track?
CHERRY: Luckily, I don’t write the show, so I don’t have to worry too much about that. I don’t even always know where we’re going. I truly am somewhat in the dark. I definitely check out a little bit of it, because it’s really exciting to see how much people connect to the show and how much they are really watching closely, which is not something that… It’s very meaningful to know that people are really, really, really invested in the show. Compared to Season 1, it is kind of unbelievable because [that] was a bit of a slow burn, and there was a long break between the seasons, where more and more people found the show.
Now, it’s like everyone’s at the party at the same time, whereas, for Season 1, people were discovering it on their own, and there wasn’t this full-on conversation happening. But it’s really exciting, because I do think shows like that are somewhat rare now, where it’s coming out week-to-week, and you have this sense of community. “OK, we’re all watching, and we’re all going to talk about it.” So, I do like to check in, just because it’s an exciting thing to be a part of.
‘Severance’s Zach Cherry Reveals Which Part of Dylan and Irving’s Close Conversation Was Unscripted

Image via Apple TV+

Before getting into specifics about Episode 3, I wanted to jump back and ask you about some of your earlier scenes this season, starting with the “I’m your favorite perk” scene between Dylan and Irving, which is such a lovely moment between you and John and also feels like a really natural progression of that friendship. It’s a moment that happens while the two of you are tucked very closely together, the camera’s in close on your faces, you’re locked in this embrace in a sense. Was there anything challenging about filming that moment, or did you feel like it came easily in letting it happen for these two?
CHERRY: It came pretty easily in the sense that, in some ways, it sort of mirrors John and mine’s relationship, where we did get pretty close over the course of Season 1. I’m always super comfortable in scenes with him, and he’s such a great scene partner. It is this very intimate scene. We’re close, we’re hugging for however many takes we have to do that. But it was very easy in the sense that when you’re acting with John Turturro, it’s easy. He’s amazing, and he’s such a great scene partner. Speaking of my glasses, there’s that moment in that scene where, again, this was not necessarily scripted, but my glasses started to slide down and John readjusted them. Those moments do really come from us having worked closely together to make this show that takes a really long time to make. So, we were comfortable enough to try those things and do those things. That scene was great to shoot.
I did want to ask about Dylan interviewing at the door company in that Episode 2 scene with Adrian Martínez. He made a post about how he was often complimented for his work on Severance Season 1 before being cast for that moment. Did you have any conversations, though, with Dan about the intention behind that doppelgänger moment?
CHERRY: You know what? I actually didn’t, really. That is one of the things where I’m blissfully in the dark. And I don’t always ask what exactly the intent is, because if my character wouldn’t necessarily know, I don’t necessarily need to know. But it was really fun shooting out with Adrian. While we were shooting, we did talk about it. I, multiple times, have been complimented for his work, where people will be like, “Hey, I loved you in this movie.” And I’ll go, “I’m not in that.” And I’ll look it up, and it’s him. I think they did make him look a little more like me than he usually does. It was genuinely very surreal shooting, because we were in this weird setting where doors are flying around us. You’re looking across from you and there’s someone who is made up to look exactly like you. It was truly unsettling and distracting sometimes, while we were shooting that.

Related

‘Severance’ Season 2’s Most Surreal Scene So Far Has a Deeper Meaning

“Lumon? They make their doors in-house, it’s f*cking hubris.”

As funny and surreal as that moment is, it does take a turn when it comes out that Dylan has been severed, and there’s a continuation of the fact that this is still a very controversial thing in the world of the show. In later scenes, we see that Dylan’s outie has struggled to be successful in this world. What did that interaction, as well as then the scenes from this week, really crystallize in your mind about what life has been like for him pre-Lumon and the stigma outside of his job there?
CHERRY: Innie Dylan is good at what he does, and so he has a lot of confidence in that, and it’s interesting. Personally, I’ve always known I wanted to do acting or comedy, so I’ve always had my thing. I’ve had friends where it’s taken them a bit longer to figure out what their thing is, and sometimes that’s hard, because you’re seeing your other friends pick a career and commit to it, and advance. I think innie and outie Dylan are the two sides of that, where outie Dylan hasn’t really found his thing yet, and then when he does find his thing, it’s a thing where they shut off his brain, and he doesn’t really get to participate in it, and then he’s penalized further for that when he does try and do other stuff. It’s two roads that this same guy can be on, and it is fun to explore.
‘Severance’s Zach Cherry Explains Why Dylan Is Willing to Show His Softer Side

Image via Apple TV+

In this week’s episode, the Outie Family Visitation Center has been finished, and Dylan gets to meet his outie’s wife. Before that scene, did you and Merritt [Wever] have to go get those pictures taken before you even shot a scene? Not just the one with the two of you, but the one where everyone’s dressed up in Western costumes.
CHERRY: I do think that was the first thing that we actually shot together, our family photos. The actors who play our kids were there, and we had a few different get-ups and a few different settings. It really was kind of like going for family photos. It was definitely a fun day, and then a fun strange thing for innie Dylan to learn about.
The tone of that scene, to a point, feels like a first date. With Dylan, his innie is approaching this as this new and novel experience, but it seems like something that Gretchen doesn’t necessarily know how to deal with. Did you and Merritt have any conversations about how you wanted to play that interaction, or did you try to keep a distance so that that would translate to what the characters are supposed to feel?
CHERRY: We didn’t talk about it a ton, but it was definitely something that we, or at least for me, discovered while we were doing it. I feel so lucky on this show with the incredible actors that I get to work with. It’s so often that I’ll read the script, and I’ll be like, “Okay, I think I know what this scene is going to be about.” But then once we get on set and start doing it, you’re getting so much from the other performer that you can start to discover, “Oh, there’s all these other things that we can play around with.” It’s kind of like going on a first date where you already know that the person is going to be into you, so there’s this level of comfort that comes with that, despite it being a very strange and somewhat unusual situation for both of them.
I also feel like it gives you the chance to show a different side of Dylan’s innie that we’ve never seen before. He’s always been the wisecracking guy, the sarcastic guy, and here, it really feels like there’s an emotion and sincerity.
CHERRY: In Season 1, he’s so focused on his work and his perks, and there’s this almost territorial element to him, both in terms of how he wants to be the best refiner within his group and the way he interacts with O&D. Over the course of Season 1, as he starts to allow himself to develop closer relationships to the others in MDR, and then he learns that he’s not this single swashbuckling stud on the outside, that does allow him to bring down the walls a little bit and start to allow himself to connect to people. This is just a whole other level of that, where he’s getting to experience this type of connection that he’s not had any access to before in his whole life.
In the scene between Dylan’s outie and Gretchen, where we get more of a glimpse of what their relationship is like on the outside, it does feel like there’s distance between the two of them, and it juxtaposes against that meeting in a heartbreaking way. Is it safe to say that there’s probably going to be a bit of a love triangle playing out in future episodes?
CHERRY: It’s a cool, interesting thing that this particular love triangle of a guy, and a version of him, and his wife could really only play out on our show. It’ll be very exciting to see what happens with that trio’s dynamic.
New Severance Season 2 episodes premiere every Friday on Apple TV+.

Severance

Release Date

February 18, 2022

Showrunner

Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman

Writers

Dan Erickson

Tramell Tillman

Seth Milchick