Tramell Tillman has a lot to celebrate in the 2025 TV schedule after the long-awaited premiere of Severance Season 2. Now, just days before learning if he wins his first-ever Emmy for his work as Seth Milchick on the sci-fi thriller, he shared the career path that he almost chose before deciding that he wanted to pursue acting after all. Instead of being known as an Emmy-nominated actor, he might have been known as a surgeon!
Tillman, who is in the running for the Emmy in the category of Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for his performances on Severance, spoke with People about why he originally decided to work towards a career that's very different from starring in a hit TV show available streaming now with an Apple TV+ subscription. He said:
When I decided I wanted to be an actor, I had the courage to utter that and was told I'd never make it. And in order to make it in life, I needed to go in science, technology, engineering, math. So I looked at the sciences. I said, ‘I'm really fascinated with the bone structure. Why don't I become an orthopedic surgeon? So I was studying that even in high school — still performing on the side — but my main focus was the sciences. And then I went to Xavier University, which was number one, and may still be number one, for sending African-Americans to med school.
In fairness, not many hopefuls in the entertainment industry do "make it" quite like Tramell Tillman has, but he certainly proved that he has what it takes on the small screen. He stuck with his original decision to work towards becoming an orthopedic surgeon all the way to college, and Severance would have been a very different show if he hadn't changed his mind. He went on to explain what ultimately motivated him to pursue his real passion:
I was bored to tears. I was like, ‘I don't want to do this.’ There were so many people around me who were so enthralled with this and enjoyed it, and I'm like, ‘This is boring.’ And I was really inspired by those that had that zeal for this thing, and looking at my family and the choices that they made and other people around me, and if I had the opportunity to go pursue my dreams, I wanted to do it.
Fortunately, pursuing his dreams paid off! After debuting on Severance in the very first episode back in 2022, he went on to land a role Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. More recently, he was cast for Marvel's Spider-Man: Brand New Day opposite stars like Michael Mando, Jon Bernthal, Mark Ruffalo, and of course Tom Holland. Reflecting on his decision to switch from pursuing medicine to following his dreams, Tillman said:
It took me a while to get to the point where I made the commitment to [do] acting full time, but I eventually got there. But I had to go from job to career, to career to job, in order to find out that it was always there.
The next big event for Tramell Tillman is the upcoming 77th Primetime Emmy Awards broadcast on September 14. He's in the running for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama, up against Severance costars John Turturro and Zach Cherry as well as Walton Goggins (The White Lotus), Jason Isaacs (The White Lotus), Sam Rockwell (The White Lotus), and James Marsden (Paradise).
Severance also nabbed nominations for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress, Outstanding Lead Actor, and Outstanding Supporting Actress. The show already accumulated some wins for Season 2 at the Creative Arts Emmys, including Merritt Wever earning the top prize as Outstanding Guest Actress.
Whether or not Tramell Tillman wins as Best Supporting Actor, fans can always treasure the wholesome video he shared of inviting his mom to join him at the Emmys. You can find out if he takes home a trophy for Best Supporting Actor when the 77th Emmy Awards air on Sunday, September 14 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, hosted by comedian and SNL favorite Nate Bargatze. As for Severance, you can find the full first two seasons streaming on Apple TV+ now. Season 3 is already in the works as well, so the emotional Season 2 finale wasn't the end.
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