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Severance star Tramell Tillman on the Apple TV+ show's number one fan: Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie

Tillman, who plays Mr. Milchick in Severance and Commanding Officer Bledsoe in the latest Mission: Impossible, was surprised when he got offered a role from McQuarrie, who he thought just wanted to talk about the show

Apple TV's Severance season 2 made the villainous Mr. Milchick an even more crucial piece of the story, and by doing so, made the man that plays him even more in-demand. In case you didn't know, Tramell Tillman is going from small to bug screen in just a few days when he enters the Mission: Impossible universe as the enigmatic Commanding Officer Bledsoe. And according to Trammell, his role in what could be the last Mission: Impossible film - The Final Reckoning - came at least partially from the fact that its director is a massive Severance fan.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in an article published May 16, Trammell described the first call he had with director Christopher McQuarrie, who Trammell believed only wanted to talk about his Apple TV+ role. And though that does appear to be a lot of what the conversation evolved around, eventually things took a turn.

"[McQuarrie] went on to talk about Mission Impossible," says Trammell, "And he said that there was a role in it for me, and I asked him, I said, 'Well, what do we do from here? What's the deal?' He said, 'You think about it, and if you want to take the role, it's yours.'"

We're going to assume that Trammell kept a Milchick-level of calm for the rest of the call, but the actor confirms that, once it was over, he let his own excitement wash over him.

"I jumped up and down," he said, "And ran around my apartment, and called my team and I said, 'Listen, I know that we're gearing up to film for season 2 of Severance, but we got to figure this out.' And I accepted the offer to come play in Mission: Impossible."

But the love of Severance and its endlessly charming, sometimes dancing, villain didn't end with a call from the Mission: Impossible director. When he got to The Final Reckoning set, Trammell says, he found plenty of other fans in the cast and crew.

"Funny enough," Trammell concluded, "in between takes, [the cast and crew] would whisper, 'We love Severance,' and then go back to filming [...] It's always a delight to be a part of a project that people respect and love the work."

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is in theaters May 23.


We bet that Severance fan Christopher McQuarrie won't need it, but in case you need a refresher on the M:I franchise, check out Popverse's Mission: Impossible watch order.

Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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