No one gives an acceptance speech like Tramell Tillman. When the Severance star took to the Emmys stage to accept the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, the actor behind Mr. Milchick heartily thanked his first acting coach: his mom.
“You remember what you want to remember. You make time for what you want to make time for. Do the work. Show up. And most importantly, for the love of God, don’t embarrass me in public,” Tillman said. “My first acting coach was tough, ya’ll, but all great mothers are.”
“Mama, you were there for me when no one else was,” Tillman continued. “Your loving kindness stays with me, and this is for you.”
With his win, Tillman becomes the first Black man to ever win Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama. According to Variety, it was the only acting category that had yet to honor a Black performer in the award show’s 77-year history. He beat out fellow Severance stars Zach Cherry and John Turturro, as well as James Marsden (Paradise) and The White Lotus stars Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, and Sam Rockwell.
Earlier in the show, his co-star Britt Lower took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, while director Jessica Lee Gagné won for Outstanding Cinematography.
Tillman’s role in Severance was greatly beefed up in the Apple TV+ drama’s second season. Following a debut full of dance breaks, verbose language, and spot-on comedic timing, Tillman went on to explore Mr. Milchick’s complicated relationship with his corporate overlords now that he’s in charge of severed floor.
“That’s the challenge for me—the right reasons,” Tillman told Esquire about his struggle to find meaning roles as an actor in 2022. “Why are you doing this? It’s even heightened even more with the Black Lives Matter Movement in our industry. And now theaters, film, and television want to incorporate and diversify their landscape, but the question I always have is: are we doing this because we want to get people off our backs? Or are we doing it because inclusion is an important part of who we are as a society, and we should be telling these stories?”
As it turns out, “the timing was perfect” when the role of Mr. Milchick came along. “One of the many things that Severance brings up is the topic of self-awareness, knowing who you are, and the issues of the workplace in what we put our attention to,” he continued. “Because we’re all shuttled in one space, we’re forced to look at these topics. We’re forced to ask these questions.”
Though the actor is set to appear in both Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Lena Dunham’s upcoming comedy film, Good Sex, I couldn’t think of anything higher on my most-anticipated watch list than Tillman’s return in Severance season 3.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.esquire.com ’
