Adam Scott knows how ‘Severance’ ends and teases surprises in season 3

Adam Scott already knows the ending to ‘Severance’.

“Oh yeah. I’m an executive producer on the show, so I’m involved in everything. We talk to the writers and Dan [Erickson] all the time. I know everything about what’s going on. [As an actor] I like to have as much information as possible.”

Like the entire world, he’s more than ready for season 3.

“It’s going to be amazing. There are so many surprises. I can’t wait to start filming with it,” he said. As previously announced, Ben Stiller will not direct this time.

“Ben is still very involved with the show. It’s going to be great. You know, it’s been over two years since we finished shooting Season 2. We’re all eager to come back. We miss each other.”

Scott, who is receiving the Canal+ Icon Award at Canneseries this week, admitted he really wanted the role.

“I don’t know if I would categorize it as a struggle, but I definitely had to prove that I could do it. That makes sense: it was a big show, a big investment for Apple, so they had to see that,” he recalls.

“It’s an incredible role in an incredible world. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted to do. When I read the script, the first thing I thought was, ‘I’m probably not going to get this job. But if I do get this job, it’s because I’ve earned it over the last 30 years. The opportunity to be considered for something like this and a role where you can explore different sides of this person.’

He added: “Luckily I only auditioned once. The more you do it, the more you can screw it up.”

When “Parks and Recreation” ended, he wanted to find something “a little more dramatic.” “I just wanted to change it, and I had a hard time being considered for something that wasn’t comedic. For example, I was really looking for ‘Big Little Lies,’ which was something I really wanted to do. I wanted to work with Reese Witherspoon and all those actors, and Jean-Marc Vallée. But I really had to campaign for that and audition a few times and prove to them that I could do something that wasn’t comedic.”

“The discharge felt like a full meal,” he said.

“It felt like a complicated character and a complicated world – and an adventure. Everything I’d done up to that point was all fulfilling. But this felt more like a culmination.”

It took him a while to figure out how to portray the infamous transition scenes. “Transitioning from one to the other in an elevator can be very corny. Ben had a ‘lift kit’ that he kept on the side, so if we only had a few minutes, we could go over there and practice, and try to see how that transformation would happen.”

“We must have done it hundreds of times before we came up with something that worked. I think it was Ben who came up with a little fluttery eyes. Oh man, I’m sure I did a lot of things that were ridiculous.”

With many questions left unanswered, ‘Severance’ has quickly developed a ‘Twin Peaks’-like cult following.

“I love ‘Twin Peaks’ so much and I love that people keep discovering it again and again. I don’t know if [‘Severance’] will live in the culture and be remembered that way, but I agree: there is a lot of power in not knowing.

“Something we always try to do on the show is keep an element of mystery. I loved the way ‘The Sopranos’ ended. I was frustrated by it, but it was brilliant and I still haven’t figured it out. I love it, not just in TV shows or movies, but in music too. I’ve always loved bands that didn’t want to tell you everything about how music was made and who made it. I love it when there’s a place where my imagination can reach out and do the work. meet.”

Scott isn’t worried about being retyped after “Severance.”

“What’s good about a role like Mark is that I’m not sure what aspect of it would make me want to be typecast. And even if it is, it would totally be worth it because I love the show so much.”

He recently made the horror film ‘Hokum’.

“It’s really scary. I think with horror films, just as a fan and as someone who participates in them sometimes, the criteria is that it has to be a good movie first and a good horror movie second. It has to be able to stand on its own as a character, as an interesting character, as an interesting story. And then the horror elements are almost a bonus, you know,” he said.

“It’s been a while since I’ve starred in something that’s come out in theaters. And I’m loving it. That’s the reason I wanted to do this in the first place: to sit in a dark room with a bunch of strangers and watch something that really moves you or makes you excited.”

‘Severance pay’ also affects people.

“When the show first came out, we were still dealing with the pandemic. People were slowly returning to the office or working from home, and this new work-life balance felt foreign to everyone. I think the show evoked those feelings,” he said.

“With something as high-concept as ‘Severance,’ there has to be an emotional element to connect with, and there has to be characters to connect with. Otherwise, it just becomes something that’s interesting but not emotionally compelling.”

He added: “If you were given this technology, would you do this? Once you really think about that question, you start to think about your life in a certain way, and it sets you on an interesting journey.”