Severance Star Britt Lower Opens Up About Her Most Daring Roles and Hidden Talents

Finding stardom late into your career isn’t supposed to happen in Hollywood, but nobody told that to Britt Lower, and thank God for that stubborn streak. Most industry insiders will tell you that the ship has sailed, that train has left the station, that your window of opportunity slammed shut somewhere between your third commercial callback and your millionth rejection.

The Forest Girl Who Chose Fear Over Comfort

Growing up in Heyworth, Illinois, a town so small it makes your local Starbucks seem metropolitan, Lower spent her childhood doing what most kids today would consider extreme sports: climbing trees and running wild through acres of woodland. No helicopter parenting here, just pure, unfiltered freedom that would make today’s safety-conscious parents break out in hives.

“I grew up in a forest,” Lower says with the kind of casual delivery that makes you wonder if she’s exaggerating. She’s not. The population is 2,791, and that’s probably counting the local wildlife.

This wasn’t just small-town charm, though. It was character-building in its purest form. When you’re used to scaling actual trees as a kid, the metaphorical mountains of Hollywood rejection seem a little less intimidating.

The Basketball Court to Broadway Pipeline (Sort Of)

High school brought athletic prowess, from basketball, high jumping, and cheerleading. Lower was talented enough to consider playing college ball. But then came that pivotal moment that every actor can point to: the community theater audition that changed everything.

She landed the lead in Gypsy, and suddenly, the basketball court seemed less appealing than the stage lights.

“I love playing basketball, but I couldn’t really tell you about any single game that I’ve played,” she admits. “But I could tell you the roles that I’ve played, the stories that I’ve been a part of.”

That’s the difference between a job and a calling, right there.

The Hollywood Hustle: A Masterclass in Persistence

After Northwestern, Lower did what every aspiring actor does: she moved to New York for improv, then went bicoastal for the Hollywood grind. The years that followed read like a typical struggling actor’s resume: guest spots here, recurring roles there, always working but never quite breaking through.

The breakthrough almost didn’t happen. Lower was roasting a sweet potato (because of course she was, even her rejection stories have character) when her team called with news about Severance. After years of hearing “thanks, but no thanks,” she’d developed that protective armor every working actor knows intimately.

“I was at that point where there had been, like, three or four jobs that year that had just gone a different direction,” she said. The entertainment industry’s polite way of saying “we’re going with someone else.”

The Sweet Potato Moment That Changed Everything

When they told her she’d gotten the part, the reaction was visceral. She fell to her knees on her hardwood floor and cried. “My knees hurt,” she laughs, because even in her most vulnerable moment, Lower finds the humor.

They asked how she was going to celebrate. Through tears and laughter: “I’m going to eat a sweet potato.”

If that doesn’t sum up the beautifully absurd reality of an actor’s life, nothing does.

The Circus Connection: Finding Family in Unlikely Places

Here’s where Lower’s story takes a turn that would make fiction writers jealous. After a broken engagement, she did what her forest-raised, freedom-loving soul demanded: she drove across the country and joined the circus. Not metaphorically. Actually joined the circus.

She became what’s called a “First of May, “circus slang for a rookie performer, with Circus Flora in St. Louis. Later, she served as ringmaster and clown for the Shoestring Circus in Washington.

“They have each other’s backs,” she said about the circus community. “There’s a visceral interdependence. They are literally putting their lives in each other’s hands.”

It’s this understanding of trust and collaboration that she brought to the Severance set, where cast members describe her as the person who held everyone together during the grueling COVID shoots.

The Method Behind the Madness

Lower’s preparation for Helly R was nothing short of obsessive, in the best possible way. She hand-wrote all her lines, created word clouds of emotions, and painted abstract watercolors representing her character’s mindset. By the time filming began, she had memorized all nine scripts.

For the opening interrogation scene, she studied police interrogation videos. For Helena Eagan, the privileged outie, she researched high-control groups and listened to classical music while studying Tilda Swinton’s performance in Orlando.

This isn’t just dedication, it’s the kind of thorough character work that separates good actors from great ones.

The Emmy Recognition and What Comes Next

The show’s 27 Emmy nominations, including Lower’s well-deserved nod, validate what viewers already knew: Severance isn’t just good television, it’s exceptional storytelling. The show became Apple TV+‘s most-watched series worldwide, and Lower’s electric performance as the rebellious Helly R was a major reason why.

But success hasn’t tamed that restless spirit. Between Severance seasons, she’s still drawn to the circus world, still eager to test the limits of what a human body can do. “All the time,” she says when asked if she thinks about leaving Hollywood for the circus permanently.

The Human Element in an AI World

When asked about artificial intelligence threatening the entertainment industry, Lower’s response is refreshingly grounded:

“Whenever I think about the way I feel watching someone walk across a tightrope, I don’t feel nervous about AI.”

It’s a perfect encapsulation of what makes Lower special: her understanding that authentic human connection, vulnerability, and physical presence can’t be replicated or automated.

Britt Lower: the Forest Kid Who Made It

Today, Lower lives in Brooklyn with her British hairstylist husband (whom she met when he did her Emmy hair) and stepchildren. She’s got the Netflix thriller “I Will Find You,” a psychological horror film with Jamie Lee Curtis, and plans to turn her circus documentary into a feature film.

But despite the packed schedule and growing recognition, she remains that forest kid from Heyworth: someone who chooses fear over comfort, who values authentic human connection above all else, and who never lost that sense of wonder that makes great art possible.

In an industry that often rewards playing it safe, Lower’s journey proves that sometimes the most unconventional path leads to the most extraordinary destinations. She found her way from the Illinois woods to the Hollywood hills by never losing sight of what makes us fundamentally human.

And honestly? That sweet potato celebration feels exactly right for someone who’s never forgotten where she came from.