Barack Obama turned down Keanu Reeves' role in Severance. The former United States President, 63, was offered a role in the hit AppleTV+ psychological sci-fi thriller series by Ben Stiller — who serves as executive producer and director on the show — as the voice of an animated Lumon building in a film shown to staff in season two.

Ben Stiller said before they turned to Keanu Reeves he asked former President Barack Obama to voice a character in Severance's season two premiere.

Fans of the Apple TV+ series Severance almost got a chance to see former president Barack Obama pop up on season 2 – but things didn’t go as expected. According to Ben Stiller – the executive producer behind the popular series – he did all he could to see Barack take on a role,