WATCH: Dichen Lachman Revisits Early Severance Days, Talks Gemma vs. Helly and Dollhouse Comparisons
It's been almost a month, so, yeah — this interview mentions all kinds of spoilers from the Season 2 finale, streaming on Apple TV+.
When Dichen Lachman paid a visit to TVLine's New York office, 1) it was almost 16 years to the day that I published my first interview with her, and 2) the pop culture-verse was abuzz with theories about the Severance Season 2 finale, which dropped March 21.
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In the video Q&A above, Lachman and I very quickly commemorate our 'anniversary' before diving into all things Severance — starting with what all she was told about the role when she was first eyed for it some four-and-a-half years ago.
'I only had two or three [script] pages and absolutely no context about who this person was,' the Aussie actress recalls, 'and she's saying the most random, bizarre things!'
Lachman was allowed a bit more context after she and executive producer Ben Stiller navigated a potential scheduling conflict with her role in Jurassic World: Dominion. At that juncture, 'he finally, reluctantly told me the Season 1 cliffhanger,' where Mark S. bellowed to a confused Devon and friends, 'She's alive!' — meaning, his 'dead' wife Gemma.
Lachman then talks about the early direction she was given, on Ms. Casey's overall vibe as Lumon's wellness counselor. She hails Stiller's 'empathy and curiosity,' being an actor himself, and how he was able to play for her, on-set, the actual music that would score Ms. Casey's sessions. 'It really helped inform me of the pace and the tone,' she recalls.
After touching on how she developed Ms. Casey's speaking voice, Lachman talks about first getting wind of Season 2, Episode 7, which introduced viewers to a lot of Gemma Scout's other Innies. Until that point, 'I was noticing I wasn't in the scripts very much!' she says with a laugh. 'Finally, [series creator] Dan Erickson, who's just an extraordinary talent, mentioned, 'We have this episode….''
Once apprised of what 'Chikhai Bardo' would entail, 'I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the pressure' — not just to do right by her castmates and bosses but 'for the fans of this show,' Lachman admits. 'It's an intensity I haven't experienced, the attention and love they have for the show.'
The dual Hollywood strikes of Summer 2023 and the pause in filming they dictated worked in Lachman's favor, affording her time to speak at length with 'Chikhai Bardo' director Jessica Lee Gagné and co-writers Erickson and Mark Friedman. What's more, 'We were fortunate enough to go to the house [where the Gemma/Mark scenes filmed] and have rehearsal,' she shares, where 'things did change a bit.'
Lachman then talks about working with teen icon Robby Benson as Dr. Mauer ('I'm from Katmandu, so I didn't know who he was! But I did learn very quickly that he was an absolute legend and is antithetical to the character he's playing'), and to what degree her stint as a regularly reprogrammed Active on Fox's Dollhouse helped with her portrayal of so many Innies.
'There are similarities, absolutely…,' she allows, though Actives were even more detached from their true selves. 'Maybe Dollhouse is the sequel in terms of the tech?' she quips.
From there, Lachman shares her take on the Season 2 finale (namely, whether Gemma saw the redhead Mark was with as any kind of threat)… explains why she enjoys 'living in the not knowing' what's to come ('I have complete faith in Dan and the entire team to come up with something that won't let anyone down')… and along those lines, gets candid about what all she knows about the Season 3 plan.Best of TVLine
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Alexis Bledel is best known for playing Rory Gilmore in Gilmore Girls, a character whose love life fans are very passionate about. And Alexis dated some of her onscreen boyfriends too! Earlier this week, my phone buzzed with a text from a friend I hadn't spoken to in three months. 'Dean, Jess, Tristan, or Logan?' she asked. Sensing the urgency of the situation, I immediately responded, 'Logan 100000 percent.' I've elected myself president of the Logan Huntzberger Fan Club since the first time I watched Gilmore Girls. I firmly believe that Logan is the best partner for Rory. Sorry to all the Jess girlies out there — and if we're looking at off-screen relationships, that includes Alexis Bledel. Any Gilmore Girls fan worth their coffee knows Rory Gilmore's dating history like the back of their hand, but Alexis Bledel's dating history is much more low-key. The star is much more private, but just like Rory, she's captured her fair share of hearts over the years, including two of her Gilmore Girls love interests! Rory may have Dean, Jess, Tristan, and Logan, but Alexis has Jared, Chris, Milo, John, and Vincent. This might be controversial, but I think Dean was the best first boyfriend Rory could have had. As far as we know, Jared Padalecki was the best first boyfriend Alexis Bledel could have had, too. The Supernatural alum confirmed he and Bledel dated while filming Gilmore Girls Season 1. 'When Alexis and I met, we were both 17 years old and were both Texans and kind of in this new, strange city and I was like, 'Hey, want to go out to dinner?'" he told Glamour in 2021. 'I don't know if we tried to keep it a secret. I wish it was scandalous or something! I think it was more kind of silly.' I guess he really was 'her Dean.' Bledel may have dated two of her Gilmore Girls love interests, but she dated three of her Gilmore Girls co-stars. Chris Heuisler had a small role as a Stars Hollow High basketball player in Season 2 Episode 11, titled 'Secrets and Loans.' The pair didn't interact onscreen, but casting director Mara Casey told Life & Style that they were briefly together offscreen. Okay, even though I'm Team Logan, I happily admit that Rory and Jess had crazy onscreen chemistry. That's probably because their actors dated for three years in real life! They started dating halfway through filming Season 2 (which was around 2002 and was the season Jess moves to Stars Hollow) and broke up in 2006. They've stayed on good terms since; Ventimiglia even Bledel on her Emmy nomination in 2017. Alexis Bledel briefly dated this British model between 2010 and 2011. They were photographed attending a for Kate Spade's new fragrance in September 2010. Bledel guest-starred on Season 5 of Mad Men as the mistress of Pete Campbell (played by Vincent Kartheiser). Their illicit affair was totally above board in real life. They waited to begin dating two months after filming wrapped, got engaged a year later, and tied the knot in a in June 2014, according to US. The couple were careful to keep the details of their relationship private, so the world was happily surprised to learn — from , who played Luke Danes on Gilmore Girls — that they welcomed a son in fall 2015. In 2022, Us Weekly reported that Kartheiser had filed for divorce after eight years of marriage. Bledel currently appears to be single. I may be on Team Logan for Rory, but I'm on Team Alexis for Rory's real-life counterpart. Check out for even more celebrity relationship content! This post has been updated.
