Tramell Tillman Makes History At Emmy's With His Severance Role

  It turns out, Mr. Milchick isn’t all that bad. Hit Apple TV show Severance stars Tramell Tillman as the off-putting supervisor, Seth Milchick, and the eerie role landed him the Supporting Drama Actor Emmy. The honor is historic because Tillman is the first Black man ever to win, going up against Severance co-stars Zach Cherry and John Turturro, James Marsden (Paradise), Sam Rockwell (The White Lotus), Jason Isaacs (The White Lotus), and Walton Goggins (The White Lotus). During his triumphant speech, he thanked his mother for influencing his acting career early on. “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,” he said.  He even credited her as his first teacher in the industry.

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He continued, “My first acting coach was tough, y’all, but all great mothers are. Mama, you were there for me when no one else was and no one else would show up. Your loving kindness stays with me, and this is for you. Thank you to the Academy. I am full. I am humbled. I am honored. And as my mama would say, ‘look at God.’” The camera panned to his smiling mom in the audience, and he later took photos with her as he held up the award. Directed by Ben Stiller, Severance tells the story of employees who work at Lumon Industries whose personality is split between work and personal life, and neither side has a clue what the other is doing. Tramell plays the no-nonsense middle-management boss who tries to incentivize his crew with menial rewards, while also hiding the dark side of the establishment’s actual dealings. Though it’s unsettling, he does an impressive job at managing both sides of the role. The Emmys included several other historic moments, like Seth Rogen’s The Studio breaking the all-time record for most wins for a comedy series with 13 wins. There’s also The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri’s nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, which made her the youngest Black woman nominated for three acting Emmys. See social media’s reaction to Tillman’s win below.

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