Britt Lower discusses the physical training needed to keep up with Adam Scott in the Severance Season 2 finale and Season 3 scripts.
With the 31st Annual Critics Choice Awards on the horizon, the spotlight is once again shining on the sterile, fluorescent halls of Lumon Industries. At the center of the buzz is Britt Lower, who has secured a well-deserved nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Series. Her portrayal of Helly R., and her Outie counterpart, Helena Eagan, has become the emotional anchor of Apple TV+’s Severance.
In a recent conversation with Mama’s Geeky, Britt Lower opened up about the physical and psychological toll of playing a woman divided against herself, the insane energy of the show’s high-stakes finales, and the literal footwork required to bring Helly’s rebellion to life.
For Lower, the tension of the Severance Season 2 finale wasn’t just metaphorical – it was physical. When discussing the chaotic energy of the climax, she recalls the sheer amount of movement required to capture the urgency of the moment.
“We ran all day long. It was so much running,” Lower says, laughing. “And I was barefoot. I had trained the weeks leading up to that to run on tile in bare feet so that I didn’t injure myself. But nothing could have really prepared me for how much we did run that day and how many different emotions we sort of went through.”
Lower describes the filming process as an “Adobe Photoshop of a feeling spectrum,” where director Ben Stiller had her and co-star Adam Scott modulating through a massive range of intensity. “What you see in that finale episode is just a sliver of what we actually filmed,” she notes. “It would be interesting to see a full edit of all the running we actually did.”
Beyond the physical demands, the emotional weight of the show’s “love hexagon” remains a focal point for the cast. With three main characters having Innie and Outie lives that rarely align, the tragedy of the show lies in the impossibility of everyone getting what they want.
“It’s like with any good tragedy,” Lower reflects. “You hope against all odds that these individuals can live separate lives and everybody can get what their heart desires. But we’re talking about three individuals who are also eight people or more. It’s a love hexagon that’s just impossible to solve.”
Navigating Helly R. & Helena’s Personalities
Tessa Smith: You’re essentially playing two different characters who are technically the same person. How do you craft those nuances where they feel connected but distinct?
Britt Lower: I like to come up with different analogies, but the simplest way to describe it is that they sound like different music in my head. They have a different internal landscape. I can just tune into that musicality, and they just feel different to me. Much like how a person behaves differently when they’re home for the holidays versus when they’re interviewing for a job, those are different versions of yourself. Helena has been raised in this high-control group and has had to compose herself in so many masks; she’s always on display. Helly, on the other hand, is just this pure instinct, id energy. She doesn’t care what people think; she is deeply connected to her root values.
Tessa Smith: Fans are already desperate for Season 3. Have you had a chance to look at any scripts yet?
Britt Lower: I cannot disclose whether I have or not! I understand the pain of the wait, though. The sense of anticipation is with everyone else.
As Britt Lower prepares for the Critics Choice ceremony, her nomination stands as a testament to the unapologetic honesty she brings to the show. Whether she is running barefoot through the halls of Lumon or navigating the cold expectations of the Eagan legacy, Lower continues to prove that even in a world of severed memories, the truth of a performance can never be split.
