Barack Obama declined an offer that could have given him his big Hollywood break. The former president was apparently asked to play a cameo in the hit show Severance. Ben Stiller recently revealed how Obama declining the offer led to Keanu Reeves taking up the role.
Severance is an Apple TV+ show that recently came out with its second season. The series is a science fiction psychological thriller that stars several famous names. The show’s cast includes Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Ditchen Lachman, and John Turturro.
Dan Erikson serves as the creator of the hit show. Erickson, Mohamad el Masri, Amanda Overton, Chris Black, and Helen Leigh are the show’s writers. The first episode of the show premiered in February 2022.
Ben Stiller recently opened up about how Barack Obama was offered a role in the show that Keanu Reeves ended up filling. Stiller revealed on Jimmy Kimmel Live that the creators of the show wanted Obama to voice Lumon in a training video that features in Season 2.
The former President apparently declined the offer, which then was extended to Reeves. Stiller revealed that he took up the task of reaching out to Obama. “I didn’t ask him in person,” the Night at the Museum star shared.
The actor revealed that he knew a person who knew his lawyer. When Stiller reached out to the politician’s lawyer, they said they could help him get to Barack Obama.
“His lawyer said, ‘I can relay the request if you write an email,’ so I wrote an email to him,” the star recalled. Stiller went on to talk about how the former President replied to him within two days.
Obama sent him a mail in which he mentioned how he was a “big fan” of the series. The 44th US President also shared how he had loved the first season of the show and is looking forward to Season 2.
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The politician ended up declining the offer while noting how he doesn’t think he has time in his “schedule to make this happen.” Stiller joked about what could possibly be more important to the former president than voicing an “animated building.” He quickly gave props to Obama while noting that it was “pretty cool” of him to respond to the offer.
In other news, everyone seems to want a piece of the Obamas. Reports are suggesting that news outlets are ready to pay Barack and Michelle Obama significant amounts of money to interview them.
32 action packed years with my honey! Through it all, thank you for always having my back, being by my side, and finding ways to make me smile. I love you, @BarackObama. pic.twitter.com/6ndEaW1tSu
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) October 3, 2024
The offers started flooding in after the rumours of a possible divorce started spreading. RadarOnline reported that a few outlets are ready to pay the former president and first lady up to $10 million each if they sign the deal.
“The interviews would be dynamite as they the first couple to split up after being president and first lady. That is a pretty big deal,” the article claimed. The report also spoke about how Oprah Winfrey would be one of the big names that would line up to interview the couple.
