Barack Obama's outie didn't have time for a Severance voiceover

Ben Stiller tried to recruit the former president to voice the Lumon building earlier this season.

By Emma Keates  |  March 5, 2025 | 9:45am
Screenshot: Apple TV
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Barack Obama's outie didn't have time for a Severance voiceover
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In case you missed it, there were a few things going on in the leadup to Severance season two that may have required the time and energy of former president Barack Obama. Because he was just a little bit busy, he wasn’t able to pop into Lumon Studios to voice the building for their “Lumon Is Listening” training video, featured earlier this season. Maybe he could have found the time if he was severed, but, thankfully, that’s not actually a thing. 

The possibility of Obama’s voice showing up on the severed floor was, though—at least on Ben Stiller’s wishlist. In a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Stiller shared that he pitched the 44th president on the bit, and actually got a response back. “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 said on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “So I wrote an email to him saying, like, ‘Hey we have this show,’ whatever. And like two days later, I get an email back from President Barack Obama.”

In his reply, Obama apparently told Stiller that he was a “big fan of the show… but I don’t think I have time in my schedule to make it happen.” If Cobel was showrunner, she would have recognized the situation for what it was: an unintentional endorsement and powerful use case for the severance procedure. Stiller had a slightly different response; “I’m like, what’s more important than doing the voice-over for the animated building in Severance?” he joked.

In the end, Obama’s busy schedule was Severance fans’ gain. Stiller ended up finding another familiar voice (at least to us outies) for the part: Keanu Reeves. “He’s just like the most warm and inviting voice,” Stiller said. “I don’t know if when you see the building and you hear his voice, you necessarily think immediately that it’s Keanu, but then I think you have this just innate feeling.” 

You can watch the video that could have featured Obama’s voice below. Try to enjoy Reeves’ equally. 

 
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