Tramell Tillman isn’t shying away from giving his all to playing Mr. Milchick in “Severance.” The scene-stealer (who also appeared in the now-viral submarine sequence of “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning”) told Backstage that his fellow “Severance” co-stars find his character Milchick “very scary.” At times, Tillman doesn’t even recognize himself onscreen.
“Based on accounts from Ben [Stiller], Dan [Erickson], and my fellow cast members, they don’t really mess with me. I’ve been told I’m very scary when I’m in Milchick mode,” Tillman said. “When they yell, ‘Cut!’ and there’s a space for air, I’m able to pause and look at the playback, because I learn by watching. There are times when I do surprise myself. I scare myself when I watch scenes from the first two seasons and think, Who the hell is that guy who has my face?”
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To prepare to play the Lumon executive, Tillman dove into both nature documentaries and cult docuseries to balance the “animalistic” movements with Milchick’s devotion to the company.
“I would watch nature documentaries like ‘Planet Earth’ and really study the birds and mammals and reptiles, and just start allowing my imagination to really explode,” he said. “I was like, Is Milchick a snake? Is he more of a raccoon? Is he an eagle? I just really had fun finding ways to incorporate that animalistic behavior and fusing it with the intentions and motivations of the character.”
Tillman continued of the cult docs too, “There was a behavior I noticed: a conviction, a devotion, almost a selflessness. It’s not only a commitment to the cult’s ideals, but a commitment to its leadership. There isn’t a whole lot of space for these followers to question the leadership. That was a really powerful trait I could carry forth with Milchick; and it’s so different from myself, because I ask questions often.”
And Tillman is still figuring out what Milchick stands for at Lumon: “I still have so many questions about Milchick,” he said. “I don’t think he ever leaves me. This guy lives with me. I won’t be able to put him down until I figure him out.”
