‘Severance’ Star Tramell Tillman Teases What Fans Can Expect in Season 2 & More

PureWow: You play Milchick so well. What do you enjoy most about playing this character and why?

Tramell Tillman: Milchieck has a lot of depth. He has a lot of mystery to him. And what’s so interesting is that he’s definitely not a one-dimensional kind of guy, and because of his depth, you can do so much with him. I appreciate the structure that he has. And so it becomes like an actor’s playground to live in the world of Milchick.

PW: Did you take inspiration from real people when you started to portray Milchick?

TT: Well, I spent over 20 plus years in nonprofit management. I have experience in the corporate world. So, Milchick is an amalgamation of colleagues, of former bosses, of caricatures of people that I’ve worked with. And even experiences that I’ve had in corporate America, how I would’ve responded to a situation in my own psyche, so, a little bit of my own subconscious as well, I’ll say.

PW: I read a fan theory about that famous dance sequence in season one. They suggested that Milchick moving in circles around the employees relates to the power dynamics. Could you share more about the intentionality behind that choreography?

TT: That’s a fascinating interpretation. We did have a choreographer that was on set with us, Tara Hart Rodriguez, and her job was basically just to build a shape. And so she told me, ‘You do whatever you want to do, but let’s just build what it looks like. How do you get to one person, to the other, to another?’ And so I love the fact that the perception is that it is a power play, because that’s also who Milchick is. He is always in a position of playing with his power and manipulating people in a way that he can. I think there is also an element of joy that he brings to it. That’s a part of it, because this is a release for him. He needs the frivolity as well. But we never want to get outside of the fact that this is a man who is well versed in establishing power and maintaining it.