Mark's Best Friend (with Yul Vazquez)

Summary

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The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott

Episode: Mark's Best Friend (with Yul Vazquez)
Air Date: September 18, 2025
Summary by Podcast Summarizer

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Episode Overview

In their bittersweet final episode for a while, Ben Stiller and Adam Scott reflect on the journey of Severance and its companion podcast, celebrating the meaningful connections and behind-the-scenes moments that defined the show. Centerstage is an in-depth and emotional interview with Yul Vazquez, who played Petey—Mark's best friend and a pivotal character whose presence shaped the emotional core of Severance. The episode also features a lively hotline Q&A with fans and touches on pop culture influences, personal anecdotes, and Severance “lore.”

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Podcast & Show Reflections (03:22–09:10)

• Podcast Milestone: Ben and Adam realize they've recorded 30 podcast episodes, more than one and a half times the number of Severance TV episodes.
  • “That’s crazy. I didn’t know we’ve done 30 episodes.” (Ben, 03:36)
• Nostalgia for Early Filming: They reminisce about the first scenes with Petey, including the basement pizza scene, which marked the emotional foundation of the show.
• Yul’s Art Contribution: Discussion reveals Yul Vazquez drew the iconic “Petey Map” that became merchandise, such as mugs and T-shirts.
  • “He drew that PD map himself.” (Ben, 05:55)
• Checking In: Ben and Adam trade updates on film projects and share mutual admiration, underscoring the camaraderie of the cast.

2. Interview with Yul Vazquez (Petey) (09:14–28:38)

Yul’s Background and Path to Acting (09:53–11:43)

• Cuban Roots & Miami Beginnings:

  • Emigrated from Cuba at age 2.5 with mother and grandmother, fleeing the communist regime.
  • Mother was an actress who joined a Cuban exile theater company; young Yul was cast in plays but aspired to rock stardom.

• Music Career:

  • Played with bands Urgent and Diving for Pearls, charting on Billboard and leading to New York—eventually transitioning to acting.

Entry into Severance and Collaborations (11:45–13:45)

• On-Set Camaraderie:

  • Adam recalls the comfort and emotional groundwork of starting the show with Yul, whose performance set the tone.
  • Yul describes his initial work sessions with Ben, saying the goal was always emotional truth:
    • “If it doesn’t break your heart, then we got it all wrong.” (Yul, 13:45)

• Relationship with Ben & Adam:

  • Knew Ben for years from NY theater but never worked together before; quickly found chemistry with Adam.
  • “We have a text romance that I love and I… I really do adore you… you’re not only a fucking great actor, but one of the great humans in our business.” (Yul to Adam, 12:54)

Portraying Petey: Emotion Over Exposition (14:31–17:09)

• Petey could have been just “an exposition machine,” but Yul grounded him in humanity and emotional urgency.
• Adam: “Whatever exposition is there is beside the point. It’s the emotional character story first, and that’s what you came in and did just right off the bat.” (Adam, 15:38)
• Yul shares that genuine connection (“liking each other as people”) naturally infused their onscreen friendship.

The Iconic “Best Friend” Line (17:41–19:19)

• Adam plays the Phoenicia Diner scene:
  • “I’m your best friend. You’re my very good friend.” (Petey/Yul, 18:40)
• Yul notes the unexpected impact:
  • “A guy came up to me at the airport and said, ‘my son and I say that line to each other.’” (Yul, 19:13)

The “Petey Map” & Yul’s Artistic Role (22:29–23:31)

• Yul designed the Petey map, embellishing it with occult symbols and personal references:
  • “I wrote in a corner, ‘All is mind,’ which is something from the Kybalion… a real Western mystery school tradition.” (Yul, 22:45)
• The map’s esoteric touch reflects Severance’s mysterious, mystic undertones.

Petey’s Off-Camera Story (23:54–24:34)

• Adam and Yul wonder about Petey's unseen journey and tragic home life, highlighting unexplored emotional territory.

Petey & His Daughter—Music & Metallica (24:12–25:41)

• Petey’s relationship with his daughter (Cassidy Layton) and their performance of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” connects to Yul’s own music roots.
  • Funny contrast: “It was so sad and so adorable, you guys singing that dark, sad song together.” (Adam, 25:41)
• The challenges of rehearsing the scene:
  • “That’s where we would rehearse on Zoom… We had the fans, and I said, can we turn the fans off? Like, no, we can’t turn the fans off.” (Yul, 25:16)

Crafting “Reintegration Sickness” (26:47–28:13)

• Yul describes collaborating with Ben to portray Petey’s mental collapse, modeling it on real-life seizure videos.
  • “You’re going to have a brain hemorrhage. So you’re having a seizure, and then your brain starts to hemorrhage. And it’s excruciating pain.” (Yul, 26:49)
• Adam credits Yul’s interpretation as the reference point for later seasons.

Farewells & Mutual Admiration (28:13–28:38)

• Emotionally charged send-off between Adam and Yul, expressing hopes to work together again:
  • “Adam, I love you, brother… I have a lot of admiration and affection for you.” (Yul, 28:32)

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Fan Hotline Q&A Highlights (32:00–37:12)

Naming Rescued Dogs After Severance Characters (32:00–33:41)

• Rescue worker Emily G. shares she’s named dogs “Lumen, Harmony, Cobell, Mark, Helly, Keir, and James.”
• Ben and Adam suggest:
  • “Mr. Milchick,” “Dylan G,” “Emil,” “Heleny,” “iMark/oMark” for Innie/Audi distinctions.
  • “There’s a dog at this rescue just named Mark.” (Adam, 32:56)

Which R.E.M. Song Would Fit Severance? (33:45–34:47)

• Question for Adam Scott, known for his love of R.E.M.
  • Picks considered: “It’s the End of the World As We Know It,” “Losing My Religion,” “Everybody Hurts,” and the lesser-known “Oh My Heart.”

Daylight Savings in Kier (34:49–36:54)

• Fan asks if Kier has its own time zone and suggests a global (humorous) compromise.
• Adam and Ben bicker (in classic style) about their opposing views:
  • “I physically dread [daylight savings ending]… stressed about it.” (Ben, 36:02)
  • “I love it when that happens in the fall… It’s like Halloween, the leaves turning…” (Adam, 36:11)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “If it doesn’t break your heart, then we got it all wrong.” (Yul, 13:45)
• “I’m your best friend. You’re my very good friend.” (Yul as Petey, 18:40)
• “You already like this guy. Just turn that fucking thing on.” (Yul, 16:39)
• “The map’s esoteric… It can really go in many ways. There is a mysticism to the show that I think is appropriate.” (Yul, 23:13)
• “Adam, I love you, brother. I have a lot of admiration and affection for you.” (Yul, 28:32)
• “It’s been a little… kind of therapeutic in a way.” (Ben, 37:54)

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Closing Thoughts

Ben and Adam wrap with heartfelt appreciation for listeners and each other, vowing the podcast—and the show—will return. They reflect on the unique accomplishment of Severance, the personal connections forged, and the surprising, ongoing journey the story has taken them and their community of fans.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & Banter: 03:22–09:10
• Yul Vazquez Interview: 09:14–28:38
  • Yul’s Background: 09:53–11:43
  • Petey & Show Origins: 11:45–13:45
  • Emotional Core: 14:31–17:09
  • Best Friend Scene: 17:41–19:19
  • Petey Map Details: 22:29–23:31
  • Petey’s Tragic Arc: 23:54–24:34
  • Enter Sandman Music Scene: 24:12–25:41
  • Reintegration Sickness: 26:47–28:13
• Hotline Q&A: 32:00–37:12
  • Dog Names: 32:00–33:41
  • REM Song: 33:45–34:47
  • Daylight Savings: 34:49–36:54
• Farewell: 37:12–38:09

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Tone and Style

The episode is rich with warmth, affection, and banter, interspersed with reflective and insightful conversations about craft, character, and the unique collaborative spirit that fuelled Severance. Moments of humor and vulnerability soften industry talk, making this a perfect sendoff—for now—for fans and creators alike.

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(Advertisements, show credits, and other non-content sections have been omitted.)

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hey, I'm Ben Stiller.

[A]

I'm Adam Scott, and this is the.

[B]

Severance podcast with Ben and Adam where we talk about everything related to severance.

[A]

And today is a little bittersweet because it's our last podcast for a while.

[B]

Yeah. That's crazy. I didn't know we've done 30 episodes.

[A]

30 episodes. Wow.

[B]

That's crazy.

[A]

It is crazy.

[B]

You know what? We've done almost one and a half times more podcast episodes than we've done episodes of Severance.

[A]

I was just making that calculation in my head, and you did it way faster than me. It would take me, like, two days to come up with that. Yeah.

[B]

Thank you. I am not a math expert, but I did, you know, 30, and we've done 19.

[A]

Sounds like it to me. Sounds like a math expert to me. But we are going to go out on a high note here. I'm going to talk with the man who really started it all on Severance, Yul Vasquez, who plays Petey, Mark's best friend.

[B]

And after your conversation with Yul, I think we should answer some hotline questions for the final time.

[A]

Yeah, I'm gonna miss these hotline questions. So great getting to answer these. Okay, let's get into the episode.

[B]

All right. You know, I do get nostalgic for PD scenes and us shooting the PD scenes, you know, that was so early on and just. Right. Like shooting in the greenhouse.

[A]

Yes, and shooting down in the basement. The first scene we shot of the whole show was us eating pizza in the basement. Oh, my.

[B]

Was that the first thing?

[A]

Really? It's the first, like, Dialogue scene. Cause remember the very first day you took mercy on me and we shot just me like walking in through doors and opening the refrigerator and a whole day of just little, like me walking down the hallway. Just little bits and pieces.

[B]

Yeah. We wanted to kind of ease in.

[A]

Yeah, I loved that so much that that's how we started. But then the next day, we dove in with me and Yul eating pizza.

[B]

Right? Yeah. Great memories of working with Yule because we were figuring stuff out then, like, you know, the reintegration language and how to shoot those things. And of course, my favorite Sudoku. Sudoku line of yours.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yul's a great guy. I've known Yule forever. Please send him my best.

[A]

I will. Do you have anything specifically that you wanted me to ask Yule?

[B]

Ask him about his art.

[A]

Yeah, I will. His paintings are incredible.

[B]

Yeah, he's like a serious artist. And, you know, I'm sure, you know, but people might not know he drew that PD map himself.

[A]

He did?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, I did not know that.

[B]

Yeah, Ask him about that.

[A]

Which is now, like on T shirts and things all over.

[B]

It's on. I have a mug.

[A]

Yeah, me too.

[B]

The Lumen mug. Where when it heats up, you see the map. It's so cool.

[A]

It's so cool. So, Ben, how. How have you been? It's been a week since our last episode.

[B]

I've been good. I've been, you know, just kind of running around, you know.

[A]

You're working right now?

[B]

Working, working. You know, we're working on. On Severance too.

[A]

A lot of season three stuff happening.

[B]

Yeah, you know, we're writing and pre producing and all that stuff. Also, in this downtime, you've done a couple of films that I'm. I'm just excited to see you on the big screen.

[A]

Oh, thanks.

[B]

And I saw that you had this horror movie.

[A]

Yeah, Hokum. Yeah, yeah. Damien McCarthy, this really interesting Irish filmmaker. Lovely person. He made this great movie Oddity a couple years ago. And so this is his. His follow up and Neon's putting it out, so. Really excited about that.

[B]

Yeah. That's so great. I've never been in a horror movie, so I am envious.

[A]

You haven't?

[B]

No. And I saw the still that they put out when they announced that Neon was releasing it. And it's this cool.

[C]

You look like.

[B]

Just like you've got glasses and you're wet and you got stubble and you just looked. It looked really cool and like a totally different character. And like, I was like, I'm in.

[A]

Oh, great.

[B]

Really fun. And can you talk about the De Niro movie?

[A]

Yeah, it's called the Whisper Man. It's gonna be on Netflix. It's De Niro. Michelle Monaghan, myself, Michael Keaton is in it.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

Really? Yeah. It was really fun to make and really just so amazing getting to work with Bob.

[B]

Yeah. But we should compare De Niro notes at some point.

[A]

Yeah, totally. I just wanted to talk really quickly. Cause I just bought a bunch of Premier magazines on ebay. Did you read Premiere magazine back in the day?

[B]

I had a subscription. I read it. I consumed it. I think I wrote a couple things for them.

[A]

Did you?

[B]

I wrote one thing. I think I wrote a tribute to Diane Keaton in it once.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

That's amazing.

[B]

But that's cool you found the old Premier.

[A]

Max, dude, you should do yourself a favor and buy. They're like five bucks or something on ebay. And it's just amazing going through. Just, first of all, that there is this big, thick magazine that came out every month just about movies. It's so cool.

[B]

It was a big deal.

[A]

Premiere Magazine, huge deal. And the journalists, the writers they had were great. And they would write really in depth profiles and interviews, and it's just terrific.

[B]

Yeah. So good. And also magazine. The other thing that you don't have anymore is, like, with actual magazines existed, it would be. Time would be a certain size or. Right. Or Newsweek. But then there would be, like, Rolling Stone was bigger and Premiere was kind of bigger. Like that.

[A]

It was big.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that was like kind of a special thing, too.

[A]

Loved it. Yeah. I have one that I had when I was a teenager that I found on ebay. That's De Niro and Robin Williams on.

[B]

The COVID for Awakenings.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Which my mother's in, by the way. She plays one of the patients in them.

[A]

I have to rewatch it. I haven't seen it in so long.

[B]

Penny Marshall movie.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

All right, I think it's time for your conversation with Yule.

[A]

Excellent.

[B]

Let's do.

[A]

I am so excited to have our next guest with us today. He is someone who has been in absolutely everything that you love, including Seinfeld, the Sopranos, Sex and the City, and iconic roles in stuff like Captain Phillips, Russian Doll, Little Fockers with Ben, the great show, the Outsider, the Looming Tower. So many things. And he was nominated for a Tony and a Drama Desk Award for the Motherfucker with the Hat. Incredible actor, our Petey Yule Vasquez. Welcome to the show.

[C]

Absolute pleasure to be here with you. Adam.

[A]

So, Yule, you have a really interesting origin story. You yourself, not Petey. You want to tell us about growing up in Miami?

[C]

I grew up in Miami Beach, Florida. Yeah, I grew up in Miami beach when nobody wanted to be there.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

So we came from Cuba. I was two and a half years old. Came with my mother, single mom, two kids. Came with my grandmother. My parents were divorced. My father stayed in Cuba, had a second family. I have five half siblings.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

I. I think there was some overlap, if you know what I mean.

[A]

I think I know what you mean.

[C]

But. But they were divorced and then. And my mother was like, I'm getting out of this system. I am not raising my kids in this communist dictatorship, basically. So came to Miami Beach. My mother was an actress. You know, my mother didn't really speak English. Learned English, got involved with a theater company comprised of. Of actors that were exiled actors, you know, from Cuba. And they had a theater company and they would do plays and.

[A]

Wow.

[C]

And when I was a little kid, I was like the sort of the default kid. I would get thrown into plays. I did, but I didn't want to be an actor. I wanted to be Jimmy Page, you know, I want to be a rock star. I played rock bands.

[A]

So you did pursue music for a while. You were in a band called Urgent.

[C]

It was band called Urgent and a band called Diving for Pearls. I made two records.

[A]

Diving for Pearls, Yeah. And you guys. Urgent had a. Had a hit in the 80s, is that right?

[C]

We had a so called Running Back. Yeah, we did two records with that. I mean, I think hit is kind, but.

[A]

Like Billboard top 100.

[C]

It charted. It charted. It was very AOR. It was. You know, that's how I wind up in New York, is that band.

[A]

Okay, so that gets you to New York and. Yeah, we're all the better for it because you are one of the best actors that we have. And we are all the better for having you on severance, too.

[C]

Very kind of you, my friend.

[A]

I mean, we started the show is just you and I. For the first few weeks of production. We were just doing Mark and Petey stuff.

[C]

Dude, my fucking eyes just teared up. Like, literally, I swear to God, my eyes just rolled up. It's crazy. Yeah, go ahead.

[A]

I was so freaked out and we were figuring the show out as we were going, right? And. And you and I were at the very beginning of it. I remember day one, Ben just had me like, opening doors and walking. It was just me doing kind of menial stuff. And then day two, you and I dove in with the scene in the basement eating pizza. And I'm so grateful that the stuff we started with was, was with you one, because you're incredible and it was such a pleasure and privilege to get to work with you, but also emotionally, it was so important to lay this base of this relationship. It's integral to the show and you really kick everything off emotionally, story wise, everything. Do you want to talk about sort of how this came to be, how you ended up on Severance in season one there?

[C]

You know, I, I. Well, first of all, thank you for saying, saying all that. That's, I mean, yeah, incredibly generous of you. And, and we, we have a, we have a text romance that I love and I, and I, I really do, I really do adore you because you're not only you are you a fucking great actor, but you're one of the great humans in our, in our business. And, you know, it's not always, not always the case.

[A]

Thanks, buddy.

[C]

I knew Ben for a long time because we met. We shared a green room at the Public Theater. Different place. So we knew each other like 20.

[A]

Years ago, something like that.

[C]

That, dude, it was, it was 2005.

[A]

Okay. Yeah.

[C]

Crazy. Yeah, but we, we'd never worked together, but, you know, we knew each other. And then we got on the Zoom and we, like, we did these work sessions on the Zoom. And I had the benefit of knowing the four. Like, I knew where I was starting, where I was going. You know what I mean?

[A]

Yep.

[C]

And I had a sense of tonally, what, what the show should be. And I remember saying to Ben on the Zoom, I said, I think when he goes, if it doesn't break your heart, then we got it all wrong.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

For me, you know, and it's almost better when you don't know anything else because all we have is what we're doing in this room right now. And that pizza scene, I knew, I, I knew that you knew that. We both knew what we sort of had to do there. And we had a great commander, you know? Yeah, we had a fucking great commander who was, who was clear. And he was like, okay, let's try this and let's, you know, fine tune it. That to me was the only way that, that, that I could do it. And it was very personal, you know, because you were in that basement.

[A]

Yes, it was. And that, that, it really kind of clicked into place really quickly. We never had a conversation about these two guys and our friendship. We just started doing it and it really kind of fell into place emotionally. Right away. And the thing that's that, that I always felt was really lightning in a bottle that you were able to capture and was so integral to the show working at all is Petey coming in. And it so easily could have been an exposition machine and somebody coming in there and like a science fiction show, how it's done sometimes where people come in and, and tell this fantastical story about what happened to them and what might happen in the future and all this stuff to kind of set the scene and try and set up the stakes and everything. But you come in and it's so hyper real and so emotionally present that none of that stuff happens. And whatever exposition is there is beside the point. It's the emotional character story first. And that's what you came in and did just right off the bat. It was like, oh, this is what the show is.

[C]

You know, I've. I. I met you and I liked you. I had known your work, but I met you and I liked you and I knew I could use that.

[A]

Right.

[C]

And the other thing I could hang stuff on was, was the daughter. The wanting to return to.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Why I, I wanted to get back to that. And why can't I get back to that? You mean? And what you guys did to me was up. Yeah, and I'm trying to get. I'm trying to get back to that, you know, and I, and I, I could sit with you, you could put the camera on and you're gonna see two guys that like each other.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Genuinely like each other.

[A]

Yeah. When we weren't shooting, we were off in a corner chit chatting and it was the same thing.

[C]

But, you know, I think actors sometimes, and not all, obviously not all actors, don't realize the value of that. You don't need to gild the lily.

[A]

Totally. Yeah, totally.

[C]

You already like this guy. Just turn that fucking thing on.

[A]

Exactly. Which is also why I think talking the scene to death or talking the characters to death off camera sometimes there is absolutely no use for it. If you both know what you're doing and you understand, everyone understands what this is. Let's just turn the camera on and let's get it while it's alive.

[C]

Yeah, And I think those, those scenes were fucking extraordinarily written, you know, I mean, like, about seeing you with red eyes and, and, and I knew what was going on with you and you know, like. Yeah, the scenes are unbelievably fucking well written, man.

[A]

Yeah, we shot all that basement stuff right away, so it was not just the pizz, but you in the bathroom, having the reintegration sickness. All that basement stuff from the first few episodes we did in the first, like, week. And then we went out and did that diner scene, which was so fun. And you know this line that's become iconic, it's that Petey says to Mark, I'm your best friend. You're my very good friend, actually. Let's listen to that. So you've unsevered and now you do. I think they're after you or something.

[C]

Yeah. They being greener. Who's probably out here right now?

[A]

Greiner. Okay. Is that like a person you know or.

[C]

We both know him. We don't like him.

[A]

I see.

[C]

Nothing down there is what they say if something happens to me the things I know need to stay known. I'd prefer it be by a friend.

[A]

So we're friends.

[C]

I'm your best friend. You're my very good friend.

[A]

There it is. Did you have any sense that that could. That had that potential?

[C]

I. I could. There's no way that I could. I could have. I could have imagined that. I remember that. I remember that day in the. In the Phoenicia Diner. Yeah. And it's famous. They have these famous pancakes. No, but a guy came up to me at the airport and a guy and he said, hey, I just want you to know that my son and I say that line to each other.

[A]

That's great.

[C]

I was like, that's crazy.

[A]

We're going to take a break. We'll be right back after this.

[B]

Hey, Adam, you got any trips coming up?

[A]

We do, actually. We're going to go for our first parents weekend, visiting our son, off at school.

[B]

Oh, wow, that's exciting.

[A]

Yeah. Wow.

[B]

You're already there. That sounds amazing.

[A]

We're already. Miss him and just can't wait to get over there.

[B]

Yeah, that'll be fun. And so what are you doing with your house when you're away?

[A]

Well, I'm not exactly sure. Why? What do you mean?

[B]

Well, I'm just saying that, you know, if you're away, you could actually be hosting an Airbnb.

[A]

Huh? Yeah, that's. I mean, I've used Airbnb on a few family trips before and loved it, but love Airbnb.

[B]

Christine is actually doing a movie right now. She's staying in an Airbnb.

[A]

Yeah, it's the best. It's so much better than a hotel. I guess this whole time, whenever we're out of town, we could have been making a little extra cash while we're gone.

[B]

See, that's what I'm saying it makes total sense. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host I will. Good.

[D]

Hi, I'm Nancy Cartwright. You may know me better. As the voice of Bart Simpson on Simpsons Declassified, we're diving into the mysteries that keep the Simpsons forever young. Have you ever wondered how the Simpsons regularly predicts future events? Who better to ask than the show's creators, performers and writers, the celebrity guests? Be sure to follow and listen to Simpsons Declassified wherever you get your podcasts.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by the Farmer's Dog so employees on the separate floor of Lumen Industry know their work is mysterious and important. The farmer's dog, on the other hand, is isn't mysterious at all. Which is good because what you feed your dog shouldn't be a mystery. The Farmer's dog makes 100% mysterious free fresh food for dogs and they always use real meat and real vegetables which are gently cooked to retain vital nutrients and avoid the risks that come from ultra processing. Their recipes are developed by their team of board certified vet nutritionists so they can ensure that your your dog's food is always complete and balanced. The farmer's dog food is made to human grade safety standards, which are the same safety standards as the food that you and I eat. Because as far as I know, if you're listening and understanding this podcast, chances are you're a human being. The Farmer's dog also portions the food to your dog's unique needs, making it easy to keep them at a healthy weight. So go try the Farmer's dog today and get food 50% off your first box of fresh, healthy food at the farmersdog.com severance plus you get free shipping right to your door. Remember, you can't get it at stores, you can't get it at Lumen. You can only get it@the farmersdog.com severance. This offer is for new customers only. So this map that PD draws, you, Yul, actually are the one who drew that map.

[C]

Yes, it is. So I've.

[A]

If you.

[C]

If you've seen my I paint. I don't know if you knew that about me, but I.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

But this map in particular, was that a. Did you collaborate with Dan and Cat Miller, our props master and Ben and everybody on that.

[C]

So Cat made a template of what the Lumen floor looked like. You. I mean. And then Ben said you can take that and you can embellish that. You mean. So I did. So I took that and added all the Other occult symbols. And, like I wrote in a corner, all is mind. Yeah, you mean, which is something from the Cabalian. Which is, you know, which is a real Western mystery School tradition, philosophy. Yes, I wrote. I wrote all that stuff, you know. You know, I said there was. There was a. There was an esoteric sense, not only to Petey, but to the show. You know, the show, to me, lives in this esoteric world, you know, where you. It can really go in many ways. I mean, it is. There is a mysticism to the show that I think is. Is appropriate.

[A]

It really is a beautiful piece. You know, there's so much mystery still with Petey. We know generally what happened, but we didn't see a lot of it. A lot of it is you telling us about it, and we see the results of it. But the actual journey that PD went through in order to start reintegration, that all sort of happened off camera.

[C]

It did. You know, it's. It's funny. Yeah. I thought of it. I thought of it. I wonder what that would. What that would look like, you know, what. What? His home life. What his.

[A]

Right.

[C]

He's divorced, daughter doesn't really talk to. You know, It's a tragic guy.

[A]

I know. It's really. It's really sad. He has this. This daughter. And we should say the daughter's played by Cassidy Layton, who is excellent. Great. And you guys were so great together playing Enter Sandman, which is also kind of huge in the lore of the show. And funny, kind of thinking back to you starting in a kind of metal band.

[C]

Correct.

[A]

That it ended up being Enter Sandman. How did that all come together?

[C]

Ben said, listen, can you play this song? And so I worked with George Draculus, who.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Who had produced a friend of mine's band, actually. So my friend Ian.

[A]

Oh, really?

[C]

Yeah. Ian Asprey, the singer for the Cult, had worked with George. I worked with Draculus. And then. I don't know if those rehearsals were. There was a room on the stage that had these giant fans, like, air extraction filter. Like.

[A]

Sure. Like they sounded like Covid.

[C]

Yeah. Jet engines.

[A]

Yes. They were so loud. Yeah.

[C]

That's where we would rehearse on Zoom with Draculius.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[C]

That's right. So we couldn't hear anything.

[A]

Of course not.

[C]

So, George. So we had these little amps, and she had the bass and I had the guitar, and we're like. And. And just. Could you hear this? I can kind of hear it. Can kind of turn up a little bit. I'm like, yeah, well, we had the fans, and I said, can we turn the fans off? Like, no, we can't turn the fans off.

[A]

Right. Like.

[C]

Okay, so. So we did the best.

[A]

Basically winging it is what you're saying.

[C]

Winged it. But. But I knew I could play it. I mean, I could play it, you know, and so that was like an idea. We played it.

[A]

It was so sad and so adorable. You guys singing that dark, sad song together.

[C]

Isn't that crazy? Shot on a. On a high.

[A]

A.

[C]

Like a high. A camera. Which. That was Aoife's episode.

[A]

Yeah. Ifa. IFA directed that. And I had never seen that video or heard you sing the song until we were shooting the scene at the funeral. And it was really profound and really just tragic.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Let's listen to that.

[C]

Rock show time.

[A]

Say your prayers, little one. Don't forget my son. To include everyone. So you are the first one to kind of establish reintegration sickness. What did you guys talk about when you. Because I know when I had to do it in season two, we really used you and what you did sort of as a template of where to go with it. What was the context you thought of that, and where did you kind of find the symptoms and all of that stuff?

[C]

I had this conversation with Ben about seizures.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And petite mal grand mal seizures. And so there's all these videos that. That we. That we watch. We. He sent me some videos. I sent him some videos, and they're pretty harrowing. You know, he said, the reintegration. There's going to be. You're going to. You're going to hemorrhage. Going to be a brain hemorrhage. So you're having a seizure, and then. And then your brain starts to hemorrhage. So. And it's excruciating pain. So those. Those scenes are like. In those scenes is like, okay, mirror. Okay, now let it pain now.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You know, like, he's basically. He's, you know, And I was like, yeah. And I was like, Jeff. I was like, you know. You know, and then the convulsions at the. And the convenience store.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And then the sort of dead behind the eyes, you know, it was literally like trying to figure it out. You know, look, he's looking at it and we're like, does this work? Does this work? You know, he goes. When you come in, like. Because I'm walking, you know, and I come in, I was like, I'm completely out of my mind. I fall down into the store and the blood and.

[A]

And then you collapse. Outside and right.

[C]

I see you, and I collapse.

[A]

Yeah. It's really hard to watch. And I had the benefit of you having you and Ben kind of figuring it out, but I do remember you guys like a lot of stuff on the show. Tried a bunch of different stuff till you kind of zeroed in on what felt right and what. What looked right and. Yeah. So I know that you tried all kinds of stuff.

[C]

We did.

[A]

Been exhausting. Yeah. I mean, I don't know what you can't do. You're so busy. We so appreciate you taking the time. I appreciate it. I'm so, so happy we got to chat and so happy I got to work with you. I hope we get to work with each other so soon, my friend.

[C]

Me too.

[A]

Sooner rather than later.

[C]

Adam, I love you, brother. I have a lot of admiration and affection for you, and. And just know that. Know that.

[A]

Likewise, pal. That was my conversation with the great Yule Vasquez. We're gonna take a quick break, and when we're back, Ben and I will answer some of your hotline questions.

[B]

Adam.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I want you to close your eyes and imagine you're working in Lumen's HR department.

[A]

Okay. Give me a second. It takes me 10 minutes to close my eyes. Oh, wait. I did it right away.

[B]

Okay, keep them closed. If our partner, ZipRecruiter, was helping Lumen hire for various roles, how do you think HR would feel about ZipRecruiter's ability to search resumes quickly via keywords?

[A]

Let me get into character here. I think they'd love it. It's efficient, it's targeted. We can search words like cure, lover, and affinity for long hallways.

[B]

Okay, you can open your eyes now.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

So if you were actually a business owner and not an actor who plays a guy who works at a weird company like you do in the show.

[A]

Wait a second.

[B]

ZipRecruiter has all these tools and features and more, and they're designed to make hiring faster and easier. So see for yourself when you try ZipRecruiter for free at ZipRecruiter.com severance ZipRecruiter excels at speed.

[A]

It's smart technology. Starts showing your job to qualified candidates immediately. And if you've got your eye on an exceptional candidate, you can use ZipRecruiters in the invite to apply message to personally reach out to them.

[B]

Yeah. See how much faster and easier hiring can be. With ZipRecruiter, four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day.

[A]

You know what? Lumen should make Ziprecruiter a perk. It's way more fun than a finger trap.

[B]

Finger traps are not even fun.

[A]

No, I actually get legitimately claustrophobic when I use a finger trap.

[B]

Yes, I know. Even the prop ones.

[A]

Totally.

[B]

Because the finger traps are real.

[A]

Freaks me out when I use it.

[B]

You know what else is real?

[A]

What?

[B]

ZipRecruiter.com is real. So go to it. ZipRecruiter.com severance right now to try it for free.

[A]

That's right. ZipRecruiter.com S E V E R-A N C E.

[E]

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[F]

I've never felt like this before. It's like you just get me. I feel like my true self with you. Does that sound crazy? And it doesn't hurt that you're gorgeous? Ok, that's it. I'm taking you home with me. I mean, you can't find shoes this good just anywhere. Find a shoe for every you from brands you love like Birkenstock, Nike, Adidas and more@ your DSW store or dsw.com.

[B]

Adam, that was amazing. Great interview.

[A]

Well, thanks, man. It was super fun.

[B]

Why don't we go into some hotline questions?

[A]

Great.

[G]

Hi, guys. Praise here. This is Emily G. And I actually work at a dog rescue and I have been pretty obsessed with severance for the last couple years. So that means many dogs have severance themed names. So far I've named a dog Lumen, Harmony, Cobell, Mark Helly, Keir James. And I'm just wondering if you guys have any suggestions for some other names. Thanks so much. Love the show and can't wait for next season.

[A]

Thank you. Emily G. That's incredible.

[B]

I love that. I love that. Well, I mean, the glaring omission. I feel like you have to have.

[A]

A Mr. Milchick 100% right. And I think any.

[B]

Oh, that's good. Indian Audi.

[A]

I love that there's a dog at this rescue just named Mark.

[B]

Is it Mark or Mark S, though?

[A]

Maybe it should Be Mark S. Have.

[B]

You also seen the, like, I've seen people now use like sort of the abbreviation iMark or oMark.

[A]

Oh, no, I haven't seen that.

[B]

Or like any Mark or Audi Mark.

[A]

Why didn't we do that while we were making the show?

[B]

I know, I know, I know. But it's pretty. It's smart, right? Yeah. Any other dog names? Drummond.

[A]

Drummond.

[B]

Any dog name with a mister? Because my dog's name is Mo and we call him Mr. Mo all the time.

[A]

Yeah, Mr. Milchick's a great name for a dog. Dylan G. That's a good name.

[B]

Dylan G. And Emil.

[A]

Emil. Emil, that's a good one. What's the name that Audi Mark gets wrong in 210? Heleny.

[B]

Heleny.

[A]

That could be one.

[B]

Oh, that's a good one.

[A]

That was great. Thank you, Emily.

[B]

All right, next.

[G]

Hi, this is Julia, Adam and Ben. You guys are amazing. My question is for Adam Scott. If you were to pick any REM song to be part of Severance, what would it be? Brace Gear.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Well, Adam, did you do a. Did you do a podcast about rem?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You did?

[A]

I did.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Yeah, we had just about everybody from the band on the podcast.

[B]

I saw R.E.M play at the 40 Watt Club in Georgia back in the 90s. Yeah.

[A]

You did?

[B]

Yeah. That was pretty cool.

[A]

That must have been incredible. Yeah, I guess. I mean, it's the end of the world as we know it is. Maybe too much of a on the nose pick, but.

[B]

What about Losing My Religion?

[A]

Yeah, that would work. Everybody Hurts would work.

[B]

Everybody Hurts. That's probably the way, right?

[A]

There's also a song, a later song, that's one of their lesser known songs that would fit beautifully in the show. Actually, the Bear used it beautifully. But oh, My Heart is a really pretty song and would work very well in the Audi world. Great question.

[B]

Yeah, let's do one more.

[H]

Hi, this is Greg C. I just had two questions relating to the issue of Daylight Savings time. My first is, do they deport Daylight Savings Time in Kieran? Or does CURE have its own Tyrion time zone that is devoid of daylight savings? My second question, a more serious note. Why don't you, given the power and authority you now have, through severance, gather the leaders of the world together and simply agree to move the clocks back 30 minutes? Why can't we just meet in the middle? Why can't we all get along? Praise care.

[A]

Greg C. You are kicking a hornet's nest over here.

[B]

I mean, why not just get the leader? I mean, you're getting to the heart of a question. I don't understand why this hasn't happened. Get me going again, and this will be the last time we ever talk about daylight savings time on this podcast.

[A]

I have a feeling that's not true.

[B]

Well, another year has gone by. Fall is approaching. I think as of this recording, we're 56 days away from daylight savings time. Going away.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

Yeah. And that's gonna, you know, throw us back into darkness too early.

[A]

So. Sorry, are you saying to me right now on the record that you aren't looking forward to. To the clocks pulling back here in the fall?

[B]

No. Yeah, I am saying I physically dread it. I'm like, oh, my God. Stressed about it. Yeah. Because then it gets dark way earlier.

[A]

I love it when that happens in the fall, isn't it? It's like Halloween. It's like the leaves turning and the clocks turn back and it gets dark at, like, 5. You don't love that.

[B]

All of that can happen without the clocks turning back. You still have leaves.

[A]

Halloween. Oh, it's an essential component of Halloween.

[B]

It's gonna be darker earlier anyway because the sun is. Because of the trajectory of the Earth is, you know, not an hour earlier anyway. It's happening anyway, and we don't have any uniformity on it.

[A]

I think. I think it's. It's one of the few things we can depend on in today's world.

[B]

Well, this is why, Adam, you and I will never be able to. I don't know. We're never going to work together again. I don't know. It's just like a really different worldview on this and.

[A]

Agree to disagree.

[B]

Agree to disagree. And, you know, when we're shooting severance and, you know, we're in the stages, you can't tell anyway because there's no windows. So maybe that's why we get along when we're working.

[A]

That's true. Season three. No one better bring it up. That's all I have to say.

[B]

Wow. Is that it? Is that going to be it for us?

[A]

I guess that's it. This has been so fun, man.

[B]

So glad we're sad. And it's going to. We're coming back, though. We're going to come back.

[A]

Yeah. For sure.

[B]

Yeah. And of course, the show's coming back and we'll be doing the podcast again. And in the meantime, it's been so much fun doing this with you and same man talking to people on the show and, you know, all the different interesting points of view we've had and totally learning about stuff and so I really enjoyed it.

[A]

It's just been fun talking about this thing we've been focusing so much of our time and our lives on and being able to step back and bit and appreciate it with you has been. Has been really rewarding.

[B]

Yeah, it's been a little. I think it's been kind of therapeutic in a way.

[A]

Yeah. Agreed.

[B]

Well, thank you for listening. Thanks for being fans of the podcast and the show and we so appreciate it and really look forward to more same. I'm Ben Stiller.

[A]

And I'm Adam Scott.

[B]

Thank you for listening.

[A]

The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott is a presentation of Odyssey Redhour Productions and Great Scott.

[B]

If you like the show, be sure to rate and review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your other podcast platform of choice. It really makes a difference. Our executive producers are Bari Finkel, Gabrielle Lewis, Naomi Scott and Leah Rees Dennis. This show is produced by Ben Goldberg. It's mixed and mastered by Chris Basel. We have additional engineering from Javi Cruces.

[A]

Show clips are courtesy of 50 Season Music by Theodore Shapiro. Special thanks to the team at Odyssey, Maura Curran, Eric Donnelly, Michael Lavey, Melissa Wester, Kate Rose, Kurt Courtney and Hilary.

[B]

Schuff and the team at Red John Lesher, Carolina Pesikov, Gian Pablo Antonetti, Ashwin Ramesh, Maria Noto, John Baker and Sam Lyon.

[A]

Annette Great Scott, Kevin Cotter, Josh Martin and Christy Smith at Rise Management.