Meet Devon Scout’s Outtie: Jen Tullock on Severance

Jen Tullock’s quick-witted portrayal of Devon Scout in Apple TV’s smash-hit Severance has clearly resonated with fans. The show’s popularity skyrocketed upon the release of its second season earlier this year after a long wait following Season 1, with Tullock’s representation of Mark’s sister grounding the series amid all of its twists and turns. Severance’s characters lend an emotional depth and humanity to a plot that is otherwise quite far off the beaten path, resulting in a perfect (and bingeable) outcome. Below, Tullock discusses connections forged while filming, her own thoughts on the series’s success, her upcoming solo show Nothing Can Take You from the Hand of God, and much more.

How does it feel seeing the reaction of fans everywhere to the show, even after 3 years between seasons?It’s surreal! We’re grateful people were so patient and it’s been a trip to see how enthusiastic a response we’re gotten. I feel lucky to be a part of something that’s pierced the zeitgeist in this way. 

Season 1 was shot within the confines of the COVID-19 pandemic. How was filming different the second time around? 
That was so tough. When you’re trying to build relationships with your colleagues through masks/shields and a (much appreciated) Covid captain yelling “distance!” in between takes, you have to get creative. There was a night Michael Chernus and I had shot a long overnight on location and when we finished, all we wanted to do was grab a drink and decompress. This was at the height of lockdown, so when we went back to our respective rooms in the hotel where we were staying, I bought a couple gas station tall boys and we just texted from our respective rooms. So when we came back with fewer restrictions on season 2, it was a welcomed relief.

How far in advance are you made aware of the show’s plot twists? Is there one that comes to mind as being the most shocking to you personally? 
The scripts are often in flux but we generally have a good handle on general plot in advance. When I first read Irving’s fate this season I was clutching the script with my jaw agape. Such a crazy and heartbreaking turn! 

What’s the craziest fan theory you’ve seen? 
After episode 7, there was a lot of Devon-works-for-Lumon chatter and that surprised me. I had to remind myself not to absorb the disdain expressed for my character’s decisions but it’s hard not to! 

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Sucre Knit Top by ADEAM, https://www.adeam.com
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What was your favorite part of filming Severance? 
Any day working with Patricia Arquette is a good day for me. I look up to her so much and there were times when we were just riding in a car to set together that I thought “I can’t believe this is happening.” Getting to work with someone who changed the way I think about my own work still makes me pinch myself. 

You’ve said that you’re close with your own brother; how did this affect your portrayal of Devon’s relationship with Mark? 
I love that people are appreciating the sibling bond between Mark and Devon, and that is certainly informed by the humor and ease that exists between me and Adam. He’s an incredible actor but he’s also an incredible person and that makes the job of personifying years of backstory so easy. My real brother and I share a similar shared language and so in moments of peril for Mark, my body doesn’t have to think twice about drawing from that closeness as Devon. 

Full Look by Jason Wu
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CALICO OVERSIZED BUTTON-UP SHIRT IN TEXTURED GAUZE
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CALICO HIGH RISE PLEAT FRONT STRAIGHT LEG GAUZE PANT WITH EXTENDED BELT
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At the end of Season 2, there’s an interesting scene in which Mark’s two selves have a conversation (and they don’t necessarily get along). After meeting both versions, who would you prefer to have as a sibling: innie Mark or outie Mark? 
Wasn’t that cool af? Adam blew my mind with that. I gotta give my boy Outie Mark the cookie here because he’s the one with the best jokes! 

Devon makes the game-time decision to involve Ms. Cobel in Mark’s reintegration after a pretty scary collapse. Given Cobel’s shifty morality up to this point, do you think this was the right move? 
I don’t think we know yet. I’m often asked about that moment and my response is: if your family members were in danger (or in Gemma’s case, kidnapped and being tortured), and your only option for saving them was to make a call to someone you didn’t trust, wouldn’t you choose that over no plan at all? Devon, like everyone, is a flawed person. She’s impulsive and brash and can act on impulse in a way that doesn’t always serve her. But I completely understand her desperation in that moment and I have a lot of empathy for her fear. 

If you had an innie, what do you think her department would be?
Haha, I don’t know! If it were me, Jen, I think I’d really thrive in the art restoration department in Lumon. Give me some paint, put on some Debussy, and let me cook. I imagine Devon would want something more social so maybe she’d want to be in MDR. 

You were able to portray a woman in a queer relationship as Anita St. Pierre in HBO’s Perry Mason, and have previously touched on your experiences growing up in conservative Kentucky. How does it feel for you to provide the on-screen representation that you may have not gotten as a young person yourself? 
That was so special. Getting to play a queer character in an era (the 1930’s) that produced so many of the films I grew up watching was especially cool because I was playing a queer woman in costumes from the period of film that helped me escape the darker parts of my closeted childhood. Also any chance to carry a brass embossed cigarette case is a chance I’ll take. 

Full Look by Jason Wu
Jason Wu Collection
https://jasonwustudio.com
CALICO OVERSIZED BUTTON-UP SHIRT IN TEXTURED GAUZE
CALICO GAUZE ASYMMETRICAL DRAPE TANK TOP
CALICO HIGH RISE PLEAT FRONT STRAIGHT LEG GAUZE PANT WITH EXTENDED BELT
Earrings by Dopl, Doplworld.com

In addition to being an actress, you’re also a writer. Does your knowledge of that side of the creation process impact your decisions when acting? 
I try to keep them separated. When I’m acting, the hope is that my brain is turned off beyond the channel through which my character is thinking, but it’s hard! I’m so lucky on Severance that the writing is as great as it is because I can just trust the words and try and simply be. 

What’s something about you that you’ve never been asked about that you’d like to share? A passion, secret talent, favorite hobby, or fun fact? 
Oh my gosh! Well, I’m chagrined to report that I’m appalling at the theremin I purchased last year. Absolutely abhorrent. Crude, cacophonous nightmares droning on and on from my basement, my poor neighbors. Other than that, I suppose I could shamelessly plug the solo show I’m premiering this fall at Playwrights Horizons called Nothing Can Take You from the Hand of God. I’m so proud of it and have no idea if people will like it or not but it’s deeply personal to me and something I hope touches people. Not in a weird way. Oh god, this went wrong.

Left:
Blouse by Ramy Brook, Ramybrook.com
Pants by A.W.A.K.E Mode, Awake-mode.com
Pearls by AGMES JEWELRY, https://agmesnyc.com
Shoes by ADEAM, https://www.adeam.com
Right:
Sucre Knit Top by ADEAM, https://www.adeam.com
Fouette Earrings by Nicole Amato, https://nicoleamato.com
Ultra-Soft Leather Wide-Leg Pant by ME+EM, https://www.meandem.com/us
Gloves by Stylist Own

CREW CREDITS:
Talent: Jen Tullock
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director: Mike Ruiz
Photographer: Ariel Fisher
Fashion Stylist: Alison Hernon at Exclusive Artists
Hair: Creighton Bowman
Makeup: Lisa Houghton
Tailor: Cole Sudduth
Creative Assistant + BTS: Robin Chou
Fashion Stylist Interns: Katie Myers + Sara Paul
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview by Logan Dutra, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine

RELATED STORIES

ArtAlison Hernon#actor, #Severance, #tv show, #appletv, #Devon Scout, #Nothing Can Take You From the Hand of God