‘Severance’ Actor Reveals How He Came Out to His Family

One of Severance’s breakout stars talked about an emotional moment with his mother.

August 17, 2025, 10:47pm

In a new interview, Severance star Tramell Tillman shared how he came out to his mother.

The recently Emmy-nominated actor details his experiences with all sorts of things in his new Variety cover story: his time on Severance, working with Tom Cruise in the last Mission: Impossible, and plenty more. But nothing feels as potent and emotional as his coming out story.

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A 20-something Tillman was driving his mother through Petersburg, Virginia during the holiday season as they were set to visit his grandmother. Sitting in silence, he tells her a long-brewing truth.

“Mom, I’m bisexual,” he told her. The Variety interview details how she “glances at him, surprise flickering across her face, before turning her gaze back to the highway: ‘Well, how’s that going for you?’,” she said.

Tillman’s “deeply religious” mother was, and still is, his closest confidant, so the moment was a big deal for the young actor. Years later, a second conversation followed, where he was even more direct, and told his mother he was gay.

While she was worried about how it could affect his career, saying she didn’t want her son to be “blackballed” or “pigeonholed,” she offered a loving remark of acceptance: “Anyone you bring home, I will embrace him as my son.”

It doesn’t seem like she had anything to be worried about, however, given the recent state of Tillman’s career. He’s arguably the best actor in Apple TV+’s breakout hit Severance, which is the most-nominated show of the year at this year’s Emmys with a whopping 27, including a nomination for Tillman.

And just this past summer, he stole the show in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning with some well-placed one-liners and a natural charisma. No small feat to outshine Tom Cruise in his own movie.

Next up, Tillman is set to star in the currently filming rom-com Good Sex opposite Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, and Rashida Jones. It will release in 2027. Severance was renewed for a third season in March, although a release date is unknown.