As Severance season 2 continues its 10-episode run to great success, we’ve been learning more and more about the process of returning to Apple’s surprise hit sci-fi psychological thriller show straight from the actors. Among other details, we’ve now learned John Turturro was behind the casting of one of the roster’s biggest names.
Mind you, Turturro is a huge name himself, but he’s always shown tons of respect and reverence for other veterans, which might be why he pushed to cast longtime creative partner Christopher Walken in the show as his love interest Burt.
The reveal comes from an in-depth piece on Turturro’s past, present, and future for Esquire. Of course, the timing makes Severance’s second season the center of the interview, but fans of the actor should read through the entire thing, as it’s a great look into his career and where he’s at right now as a person.
“I love working with Chris, so that’s a real cherry on top of the cake. That was my idea, and I’m really happy I had that idea,” he revealed. His line of thinking was coming up with the name of an actor he could fall in love with, and Walken was one person he admired and had worked many times with before. “I worked with Chris many times, I’ve directed him. When there’s someone you can laugh with and have fun with, that’s a form of love, really. You just get someone, and they get you. You know what I mean? I love Chris.”
Of course, Walken is far from the only lovable veteran actor that Turturro has shared the screen with, but he added there was something about him that was perfect for the written role of Burt: “He’s also very vulnerable person. He’s a very open person. He’s got an imagination, like a real big imagination. And he’s not always the same, he spins it different ways. People imitate him, but he has big range as an actor and he has beautiful delicacy. There are things he’s done that have been really delicate and things that have been really scary.” Jokingly, he also said that he just likes “being not the oldest person on the show.”
His creative input didn’t stop there, as he “was very fastidious” about his costume design: “I have a whole background for the character. I really wanted navy blue—the navy blue shirt and the look of someone who’s very regimented. And then at home, you see, he dresses very different.” Costume designer Sarah Edwards backed him up through the whole process of figuring out Irving’s ‘visual style’ in order to match his interests and cultural background.
While an official season 3 renewal of Severance hasn’t happened yet, chances are Apple will want to continue to support one of its best and most renowned shows as every big streaming platform scrambles to secure hits.
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