Severance’s Seth Milchick was originally envisioned as a minor character, but Tramell Tillman’s performance changed everything

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Seth Milchick is one of the most consequential characters on Severance. However, his role was originally much smaller.

Milchick (Tramell Tillman) is a manager of Lumon’s severed floor. He has an endearing smile, but the heart of a killer. In essence, he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing who has been one of the series’ most memorable antagonists.

“The character of Milchick specifically was a character that in the pilot I was like, 'Okay, he’s funny, but he’s going to be sort of Cobel’s right hand and I don’t know if we’ll carry him through. I don’t know if he’ll become a major character necessarily,'” showrunner Dan Erickson recalls during an appearance at PaleyFest LA 2025.

However, everything changed once he saw the way Tramell Tillman played the character.

“The line where he says, ‘You and Peter were one of my favorite office friendships,’ I think that was used in the audition. I could be wrong, but one of those. It was a line that Tramell read so perfectly that suddenly I was like, ‘Oh, that’s Milchick.’ And now he’s one of the most important characters on the show.”

Severance is currently streaming on Apple TV+.

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