Local Markham resident Emily Powell-Heaton is fulfilling another item on her bucket list after reaching out to actor Ben Stiller on X. The Severance superfan is a Stage 4 breast cancer patient, and it has been a dream of hers to meet the cast of her favourite series.
At the beginning of March, Powell-Heaton sent out a public request to Stiller, who’s an executive producer of the popular show, letting him know about her dream.
“Hi @BenStiller! Severance is the best show my husband and I have ever seen,” Powell-Heaton posted on X. “I have stage 4 cancer. A great bucket list item to check off would be to meet you and any of the cast and crew from the show. We can fly anywhere. We live near Toronto, Canada. Would this be possible? Thanks for your help!”
To Powell-Heaton’s surprise, Stiller responded within a day, asking her to DM him! The two messaged each other, and he invited her and her hubby to LA for a special screening of the season 2 finale of Severance at the end of March.
“Thank you so much @BenStiller and team for making my wish come true!” Powell-Heaton said in another X post. “My husband and I are over the moon about meeting you and the many other incredible people who work together to create #Severance! I am so happy.”
Powell-Heaton received another surprise — she was invited to attend a Severance screening held in Toronto last Thursday at the TIFF Lightbox, and so was able to schmooze with some of the cast members a bit earlier than expected, including Zach Cherry (who plays Dylan G), Tramell Tillman (aka Seth Milchick), and director Jessica Lee Gagné.
If you haven’t seen the series as yet — Severance is a dystopian office drama that follows the lives of employees at Lumon Industries, who undergo a ‘severance’ procedure that surgically divides their work and personal memories. Employees are expected to have a perfect work-life balance as a result, but the experiment raises questions about identity and ethics.
The show is currently in its second season (with some scenes filmed on Fogo Island, Newfoundland), and the finale airs on March 21. It can be streamed on Apple TV+.
