Imagine you’re watching the new season of a show you love when former President Barack Obama suddenly appears. It probably would’ve felt like how fans reacted when Ed Sheeran appeared on “Game of Thrones” or “The 100” had Shawn Mendes as a guest star: surreal. That was almost what happened to fans of the Adam Scott sci-fi show, “Severance,” that began Season 2 in January 2025.

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The mind-bending series involves a world where people can undergo a procedure to sever their work self from their non-work self, meaning the part of them that goes to work has no idea what the other part does, and vice versa. The show is a hit and the 44th president was nearly a part of it — which means we would’ve been able to add Michelle Obama to our list of the real-life partners of the “Severance” cast. But, alas, it ended up not working out.

Ben Stiller, who is a director and executive producer on the show, sat down with host Jimmy Kimmel on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in March 2025 to share how a former president nearly appeared on the series as the voice of Lumon, the fictitious company on the show. An episode of Season 2 features a brief training video the characters watch and Barack could’ve done the voiceover for it. Stiller explained that the father of two turned down the offer for one of the oldest excuses in Hollywood: He was simply too busy and already overscheduled.

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Backing up for a minute, how does someone just casually ask former president Barack Obama if he wants to do your TV show? According to Ben Stiller, you just go through his lawyer. “I knew someone who knew his lawyer,” Stiller explained on the talk show, adding how he penned an email explaining the pitch, and that was sent to Obama. The director and executive producer heard back a couple days later via email. Obama admitted he loved the show but didn’t have the time to commit to it. “Don’t think I have time in my schedule to make this happen,” Obama wrote in his message.

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Even though Obama didn’t lend his voice to “Severance,” he still has Hollywood connections with the production company he founded with his wife, Higher Ground. But if he couldn’t do the job, who ended up doing the voiceover? Stiller confirmed that Keanu Reeves, who has changed a lot since 1987, was the voice of Lumon in an uncredited role — though he’s technically credited for his work on his IMDb page. According to Stiller, Reeves recorded his dialogue in LA while Stiller was in New York. “And he took it very seriously,” the “Severance” director shared. “He’s just the most warm and inviting voice.” Stiller admitted that Reeves was his top choice (after Obama, of course) for the role. Though his salary for this uncredited part hasn’t been revealed, the “John Wick” actor could’ve done it for free and still remained a multimillionaire, thanks to Reeves’ vast net worth.

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