In today’s newsletter, we look back on our time with the ‘Severance’ star and say:
“He’s memorable even in the less memorable parts,” said Michael Schur, who cast Scott as a nerdy office man on the sitcom “Parks and Recreation.”New Yorker magazine photo by Elizabeth Renstrom
Rachel Syme
staff writer
At first glance, it looks like a lot of people, including film director Sofia Coppola, who I wrote about last year, theater director Rachel Chavkin, Parisian perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, and, in this week’s issue, actor Adam Scott. . They have very little in common. But if we look back, we can always form a daisy chain. This year, I’ve found myself interested in people who, through persistence, have managed to carve out a very specific, unique niche for themselves. I like to take on subjects where a body of work reveals an overarching theme (or a nagging, nagging idea, or even an obsession, depending on how you tilt your head). For Scott, it depicts a kind of lovable working “ordinary person.” With his affable, understated presence and sly, sarcastic timing, Scott has quietly become a standout actor in modern workplace comedy. There’s no one better to play the role of “the guy who looks like he’s cracking jokes around the office water cooler.” And now, with Severance returning for a second season on January 17th, he’s finally become a big Hollywood star.
Stardom isn’t entirely comfortable for Scott, who spent the first 15 years of his career honing his skills in near obscurity as a struggling actor in Los Angeles. When we first met this fall at a pizzeria in L.A.’s Studio City, he told me that every time he launches a new project, he thinks, “It’s either going to make zero noise or it’s going to be embarrassing.” is the default position.” He has a self-deprecating and sarcastic personality, occasionally interjected with solid nerdiness and funny dad jokes. Yet, ironically, it was his underdog bona fides that helped propel him to fame. Scott’s career took off when he tapped into his own insecurities for comedic effect.
I became a fan in 2009 when Scott starred in the cult Starz comedy series “Party Down,” playing a failed actor turned catering bartender with a nihilistic exterior. That was when I saw the sweetness at the core of my heart. He was very funny on that show, and also unexpectedly poignant with his portrayal of a man torn between self-indulgence and ambition. Joining the cast of NBC’s hit comedy Parks and Recreation further increased Scott’s profile and eventually made him a popular internet meme.
But it wasn’t until the sci-fi series “Severance,” which premiered on AppleTV+ in early 2022, that Scott began to express his full self. He plays another working straight man, but this time with a dystopian twist. His character, Mark Scout, is a “disconnected” employee of an evil corporation that has invented a microchip brain implant that can split a person’s consciousness into an “internal” and an “external” person, an office self and a home self. I am a member. Innie and Outie are aware of each other’s existence, but their other memories are completely separated. The role is a real tour de force for Scott, who has to play two different men living in the same mind.
Scott himself has never held a traditional 9-to-5 job, but has spent years slogging through bit parts and bad auditions. His mark radiates existential sadness, but you can still feel a glimmer of hope underneath. We’ve had many conversations this fall and winter, including one while driving around Hollywood in an electric Porsche, and as we spend time together, we’ve learned a lot about this business and my place in it. I noticed someone who continues to have a certain amount of skepticism. We talked about him looking for a companion and a companion for himself. about his long history of pop culture obsession. About the painstaking process behind creating a puzzle box show. And so on. Enjoy this opportunity to get a glimpse into an actor’s work life, like a performance review to start the year. Read Syme’s Adam Scott profile »
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PS Check out Adam Scott’s take on cartoon captions for The New Yorker. He apologizes numerous times and tells at least one butt joke. “I’m going to stand by what I wrote here today,” he says. “And I’m still a die-hard fan of New Yorker cartoons.” 
Hannah Jocely contributed to this edition.
