Britt Lower’s Wonderfully Weird Path to Severance

When Britt Lower was self-taping her audition in her bathroom for the role of Helly R. in Apple TV+'s groundbreaking series Severance, she just assumed she wouldn’t be cast. “I remember my heart was breaking because my agent said, ‘It’s a long shot,’ and I’m going to have to say goodbye to Helly R., who I immediately had fallen in love with,” Lower tells W’s editor at large, Lynn Hirschberg. “But I thought, At least I get to be Helly R. today. And I’m still really grateful that I get to be Helly R.”

Fans of the genre-defying show—a surreal take on the dark office thriller/comedy—are just as happy that the Illinois native never had to say goodbye to Helly, who works with Mark S. (played by Adam Scott) and his merry band of macrodata refiners at the mysterious company Lumon Industries. They have chosen to “sever” themselves, meaning their work selves (“innies”) are completely separate from their home selves (“outies”); participants don’t remember what happens in the office once they’ve left. Helly, whose relationship with Mark is fraught with romantic tension, has become one of the most loved characters on the show, alongside John Turturro, as Irving, and Zach Cherry, who plays Dylan. Below, Lower discusses her journey to the second season and her many, many talents.

Are you happier being an innie or an outie?

I’ve had more time being the innie, but I’ve come to appreciate Helena, the outie. They move through the world differently, so I have an affinity for both of them in different ways.

There was a long gap between the release of Severance season 1 and season 2.

From the time season 1 aired and season 2 aired, it was three years. In between, I joined a circus for a short stint, as a ringmaster of sorts at Circus Flora, in St. Louis. I played the ukulele a little bit, and I introduced the acts—the tightrope and the trapeze.

Were you always theatrical as a child?

I was a shy kid who could spend hours with watercolors. I grew up in the middle of a forest, in the middle of a prairie, in the middle of Illinois, 20 minutes south of a town called Normal, which is a real place. I have an incredibly wonderful, eccentric mom who kept our pantry full of art supplies, and we would host variety shows in our house at Christmastime. She instilled this idea that art is for everybody and that you don’t need permission to make it. But I didn’t know anyone who was a professional actor for their livelihood. The idea of becoming an actor was the equivalent of, like, “I'm going to go to outer space.”

You played the trumpet—the Severance theme, in fact!—on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and we learned you played the instrument in high school. Did you think about becoming a musician?

I was a kid who loved to climb trees first. Because I grew up in a small town, everyone had to do everything in order to field all of the teams. So I was in the marching band. I played the trumpet. I was on the basketball team. One year, I was a cheerleader. I was briefly on the golf team, the chess team, and track and field—I did the high jump.

Is there anything you’re not good at?!

Tennis. I can’t do tennis, nor any other sports where you hit a ball with another object, like baseball.

Do you get starstruck?

I was very starstruck by Patti Smith recently—I met her briefly. Anytime you meet someone you admire, for me at least, my heart rate starts to tell me that this is someone who’s inspired you or had an impact on your life, and it definitely gives me pause.

Where was your first kiss?

In a tree! No. [Laughs] My first kiss, I don’t remember where it was, but it was with a magician. I was in 4-H—it’s, like, for farm kids and art geeks, and I was sort of a blend. You could show art projects, you could do watercolor, photography, abstract art, and I would submit one in every category. I was gung-ho about 4-H! So, I met this magician at the talent show. I became his assistant for a while. I appeared out of a box but he didn’t cut me in half.

Did you have a cinematic crush when you were growing up?

I had a crush on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I feel like it’s really cliché, but Michelangelo was my favorite.

Did you ever go as one of them for Halloween?

I haven’t, but that’s a good idea.

Were you into Halloween?

Yes, I dressed up a lot as a child. For many years, I made a living as a face painter. My mom and I had a small business when I was a teenager. And when I came to New York, I worked for an amazing company called Agostino Arts. At Halloween, I would be painting hundreds of faces and never thinking about what I was going to be later that night for Halloween. I would just throw face paint on at the last minute.

The past few years, I’ve been a different type of vegetable. Last year, I was a radish. The year before, I was broccoli. And then the year before that, I was a carrot—I wore orange. And then a sprout. The key is to make a produce label and then wear it as a belt. So you just have a label, and then people know what you are.

Have you ever seen any Hellys on Halloween?

I’ve never seen a Helly in the wild at Halloween, but I’ve seen the photos of them, and I’m so flattered. I think of it as Helly-O-Ween.

Do you think you’re more like a dog or a cat?

I believe I am a dog who, on the inside, is a cat.

Do you have pets?

No. I would like to. I had a fish named Tomato. It was a betta fish. It was very charismatic. I trained it to jump out of the water to receive its food. I’m serious! I was really sad when Tomato passed away. I buried him in the front yard.

Are there any film or TV lines that you use as words to live by?

I often say, “We’re doing it, Peter. We’re flying” [from Peter Pan]. I don’t know if that’s what she actually says in the movie, but it feels like, “Look, everyone, we’re doing the thing that we wanted to do.”

Hair for portfolio by Evanie Frausto at Streeters; makeup for portfolio by Kiki Gifford at Streeters; manicures for portfolio by Megumi Yamamoto at Susan Price NYC. Set design by Andy Harman at Lalaland.

Produced by AP Studio, Inc.; executive producer: Alexis Piqueras; producer: Anneliese Kristedja; production manager: Hayley Stephon; production coordinator: Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick; lighting technician: Eduardo SilvA; lab: picturehouse+thesmalldarkroom; retouching: picturehouse+thesmalldarkroom; fashion assistants: Tyler VanVranken, Amir La Sure, Celeste Roh, Lila Hathaway, Natalie Mell; production assistants: Linette Estrella, Ariana Kristedja, Sammi Kulger, Ryan Carter, Cameron Bevans, Chase Walker, Rory Walsh; hair assistants: Courtney Peak, Austin Weber, Simone Domizi; makeup assistants: Mika Iwata, Anna Kurihara, Nana Hiramatsu; manicure assistant: ​​Rieko Smith; set assistants: Kevin Kessler, Cedar Kirwin, Paul Levine; tailor: Lindsay Amir Wright; tailor’s assistant: Natalie Wright.