If you listen to the Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott, you probably remember the episode where Britt Lower, who plays Helly R., said she recorded her audition tape on her bathroom floor.
Now, The Hollywood Reporter has published the tape, and it is impressive how spot-on she was from the get-go.
Here’s Lower’s own account of how her audition tape came to be:
“And you know, this was prior to COVID, so you were still doing in-person auditions at that time. And initially, you guys just had so many people signed up to audition that there was no slot available. And so my agents were like, can you just make a really good self-tape in your house? And yeah, it was, you know, I read the script and it was that moment where you’re falling in love with the characters and the story and the whole world that Dan created. And you know, my heart is kind of breaking because I’m just hearing like, oh, it’s a long shot in my head. And I was thinking, man, it’s gonna really break my heart when I don’t get to play Helly.”
For the audition, Lower played her character’s first scene, which is also the show’s first scene. In it, Helly R. wakes up disoriented on top of the conference room table.
Interestingly, as show creator Dan Erickson also shared on the podcast, the original script had Mark S. waking up undressed on the table, with Helly R. helping him ease into the company.
He also told how Mark S. was supposed to be, uhm… birthed onto the table, but I won’t spoil it. His episode is also well worth a listen.
For now, you can follow this link to watch Lower’s audition on The Hollywood Reporter website.
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