Adam Scott Was Freaked Out To Be The Face Of "Severance" | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

very excited to have you here because. you know I'm a massive fan of of your. work uh but also you as a person uh and. we've had the the the joy of hanging out. a little bit and um I'm just I could not. be happier for you. Oh, thanks. that you. are right now at the center of the. coolest show on television by pretty. much uh universal acclaim. Uh everyone's.

been waiting on the second season. It. shows up. It was appointment television. for my son, my wife, and I. We just like. we sat down loving it. We debate it. It. is beautifully made. Uh you're killing. it and I'm just I'm I'm happy for you. Thank you, Conan. I do. I wish it were. me. Yes, I do. Sure. Sure. I understand. Do I feel that maybe there was a a. chance that I'd get that part? A mixup of some sort. Yeah, Stiller. I.

know Stiller called me at one point and. I didn't get the call. I I couldn't. quite pick it up at But no, I'm just I'm. I'm That's show business. That's Yeah. And then he had to go with his second. choice. That's right. Adam Scott. That's. right. What the Well, whatever. You know what? It ended up working out. Uh, no, I it is just so artfully done, so beautifully done. So much thought has. gone into this and um I watched the. opening shot of the second season.

several times. Oh, really? Because. you're it it I'm not giving anything. away, but the opening shot of the second. season, you are running down this. hallway that just doesn't end. And. there's something about the way it's. shot. I don't know what it is. I've. watched a lot of film. I've watched a. lot of television uh and I have never. seen anything quite like it and I can't. put my finger on what's happening there. but it is a it is a uh an absolutely. incredible piece of film making that's.

the start of a television show. Yeah, that's all all been um and he really. first of all thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here. I listen to. the show all the time and thanks for. saying you know Conan you are one of. those people who you know as you move. through show business you get to know. people that you know their work and I'm. a fan you are a fan before you get to. know them you are definitely one of. those people I still can't believe that.

I actually know you and I know there are. a lot of us who feel that way that's uh. so thank you and thanks for having me um. it may not last no no I I can already. tell it's fading. Yeah. Um. I'm starting to forget your name right. now. That's right. That's right. Which I. totally expect based on uh previous. experience. Uh every time I've seen you out on the. street, I usually ask you, "Oh, waiter.". Yes. Can I get some more ice water? It's a.

party down confusion. That's right. Yeah. I know that Ben Ben takes this. really seriously and it's not just. making a TV show. This is a whole other. thing. Yeah. And that's part of what I. love about it is that he's someone who, you know, him, he's thinking about all. of it. He's thinking about the whole. grid at all times. And for me, that's. that lets me relax and and the rest of. the cast as well. And we can just focus. on because if you're worried about like.

what it Yeah. But if you're asking me to. do to do this, but is it going to feel. ridiculous because that thing's. happening and we're going 40 m an hour. If if that guy's right here and I'm. reacting this way like and sometimes you. say that and the director looks at you. and it's clear that they haven't thought. about any of this, which is fine, too. It's it's a matter of experience or how. different people make different things. But with Ben, you know, he's thinking. about the entire thing. He's considered.

every detail. So we we can all just. focus on the task at hand. The sense I. get is that Ben is playing. three-dimensional chess. Yes. And uh you. know uh and we're playing connect four. Exactly. And you'll ask him a question, you be. like, "Do not worry. He's seeing like. his ninth dimensional chessboard." Um, but it's interesting to me that looking. at the whole span of your career, this. is quite a different gig. Yeah. First of.

all, I know it took you a while. You. paid Talk about paying your dues. You. paid your dues for a long time. It took. you a long time to to find your find. your footing, catch your break. And then. it was really in um I mean starting out. in like background work. Weren't you. doing background work? Yeah. For a Tia. Carrera music video. That was one of my. many uh. backgrounds. Yeah. I know. You were the.

best. You guys probably all recognized. me when I walked in. Yeah. Guy with. beret, I believe, is how they referred. to me. For real. Did you wearing a. beret? For real? my. own. I can't find it anywhere. I really. have. looked. Uh it was fall of 93 and I had a. beret and I thought it was great and I. wore it all the time and I definitely. wore it to the to the filming of the Tia.

Carrer video. So I hope I would love to. try and find it. I don't even know if I. appear. I say I don't know if you guys. do this. I and you might do it because. this used to be your profession. I look. at background people sometimes in. scenes. Um and if I don't find the scene. particularly riveting, I really do look. at the background people% and I'm I'm. usually impressed like they're in it. Um. they're both not talking at the same. time even though um the and then every.

now and then there's someone who's just. too happy about having a cup of coffee. Yes. or having a conversation where they're. like, you know, just take them down. enough. Yes. Yeah. Or wearing a beret. Or wearing a beret. Anything to get. noticed. Um but you know, then uh when. your breaks start to come, it's very. much ensemble work. And you are in an. ensemble now, but you are the face of. the show. Yeah. So this is I mean there.

must be something kind of comforting. about ensemble work. Yeah. Clearly I. mean working on something like Party. Down you're just working with these. wonderful improvis I mean what a cast. It's incredible. Yeah. Feeling feeling. like you're just enscconced in this in. this incred and parks and wreck too just. being part of this crew uh that Amy was. really leading. But yeah, comforting is. a perfect word for it. And it's part of. why I was so freaked out when Severance.

first came out a few years ago. It's. like suddenly the billboards went up and. it was my face around town and it really. it should have been like this big happy. you know monumental moment that I've. been waiting for for 30 years but uh but. I it just freaked me out and and Ben. sort of talked me down cuz he's. certainly been through it just because. at that point we made the show in a. bubble and no one had seen it and we.

loved it but had no clue if anyone would. like it or if people would just make fun. of us. Like you just don't know at all. other than your own barometer and we. thought it was cool, but man, you just. have you have zero sense of how it's. going to be received. So, it could have. been this big embarrassing thing. Anyway, um yeah, when you're kind of out. front, it is it's it's frightening and. then also rewarding um when you're doing. something that you feel good about. I've.

said this for many years and I don't. think most people would understand it. I. think the assumption is if you're. working on something cool that's going. to be iconic, everyone knows it as. they're working on it. And that is not. the case. And I've always said it takes. a lot of very talented people working. very hard to make something terrible. Yeah. You know, it's why I get very. impatient around Oscar season. And there. all these reviews of movies and a lot of.

them are really brilliant movies and. they'll say, "Yeah, but then they really. blew it in that one part, right?" And. I'll be thinking, "Do you know how hard. it is just to make a movie, let alone a. great movie?" But. there's that one part in The Brutalist. where they kind of miss the mark a. little bit. People become just film. historians when Oscar season comes. around. and they get very very pnicity. Um, yeah, and also all the time it.

takes. I think that was part of why we. were also afraid of it landing with a. thud is that it was so hard to make and. took so long that it it uh it would have. been a bummer. But anything that comes. out and doesn't quite work, people were. working on it for a few years. It's it's. always One thing geeking out about. Severance, the visuals, the way it's. shot, the colors. There's all this. thought going into stuff. The the. machines they use are oddly out of time. They're they're the cars the cars are.

are out of time. Um which you know leads. to all different kinds of theories. But. the choices you directing and creating a. lot of the time is about choices and. just everything is just a little off in. this weird way that I can't quite put my. finger on. And I enjoy that. I find I. find I could uh watch it, you know, watch it with the sound on and then you. could watch it again with the sound off. and just look at the colors and what.

people are wearing and how things are. framed in the shots. And I think how Ben. and Chesca Lee Gany, the director of. photography, and Jeremy, our production. designer, and Cat, our props master, I. think the way they visually tell the. story, too. You could watch it with the. sound off and get the story too. emotionally and maybe some of the more. kind of mind twisty details wouldn't be. there, but you would emotionally get the. story. Uh, and I think that's really. important too when you can make.

something where you can uh turn the. sound off. Like it's like if you listen. to your podcast with the sound off, you. get. you get it. You know, I'm going to tell. you something. get a little bit more. than if you do listen to it with the. sound, right? We We recommend that. people when they're driving, turn the. sound off. Yeah. And you'll have a. completely superior. I recommend you put. on a different podcast. Yeah. But keep. the sound off on this one. Concurrently.

play another one. That's the experience.