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Watch Britt Lower's 'Severance' bathroom floor audition tape to witness foreshadowing of Emmy win

Ben Stiller called her at-home audition tape "the best I've seen."

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A photo of Britt Lower.

Every so often, an actor is just born to play a role. This seems to have been the case for Britt Lower, who brought so much life and nuance to the part of Helly R. in the Apple TV+ hit show Severance, that it led her to a well-deserved Emmy. But the thing is, she was able to snag the role with an audition that she taped herself in her own bathroom.

Self-audition tapes are becoming more common these days as the industry becomes saturated with movies and TV. But actually standing out in a self-tape is a different story. In black pants and a simple white tee, Lower has the camera trained on her while she lies on the black and white tiled floor. To an unknown voice, she asks, "Hello? Who's speaking?" (that unseen voice is playing the character of Mark S., who is later portrayed by Adam Scott in the actual series).

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Confused, Lower stands up and begins demanding that someone open the door. She kicks, screams, and falls into a breathless heap as she shows off her rebellion against the "cold disembodied voice" who continues to ask questions. It's when her character is unable to recall her name or the state in which she was born that Lower's acting chops begin to shine. Her panic jumps through the lens as though it were completely real. She's able to, with only a camera, a floor and a door, create her own stakes with no gimmicks. She takes her time and pulls the audience in with her long beats.

Executive producer/director Ben Stiller took to X to share her self-tape with these supportive words: "This and @MrEricLange self-tape for Escape at Dannemora are the best I’ve seen. It’s so amazing when you see someone nail a character like that at home. The hard work that goes into it for actors on a daily basis, with no guarantee they will even get a callback."

A scene from the TV show Severance www.youtube.com, Apple TV+

The YouTube commenters take note as well. One suggests that the clip is so realistic, it must have been somewhere in the show: "This isn't an audition tape – this is an alternate universe Severance which is shot as found footage! Britt deserves all the hype."

Others point out her true commitment, even at the expense of a paint job: "Just destroyed the paint on that door. That's commitment."

This person shares, "Masterclass in self-tapes. She embodied Helly perfectly & left an impression on anyone who watches this. So happy she gets to be our Helly R."

There are threads dedicated to the self-tape on Reddit. From a production point of view, this Redditor shares, "Yeah, the set design, props, costume, and hair and makeup people all do a hell of a lot to make your job easier, but if you're a pro you absolutely cannot rely on them to do your job for you -- you need to be able to transport yourself to a bizarre otherworldly place when you're just standing in some mundane basement in front of a green screen and not let it show how dumb and awkward the whole thing feels (at least until the camera is off.)"

The tape, of course, led her to callbacks and eventually the role of the unhappy Lumon Industries employee. As a nod to the ever escape-attempting Helly, Lower had the words "LET ME OUT" written on the back of her exquisite Emmys acceptance speech.

At the backstage press conference, Lower was asked about the leaked audition tape. She proudly revealed an interesting tidbit.

"Yesterday, we were at an event and one of the waitresses came up and said that they had watched my audition tape in their acting class a couple of days ago," she said. "It brought me a great sense of pride and I hope it was helpful. I like that it's out in the world. I hope it's inspirational or just helpful in some way."


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'Why Schitt's Creek Deserved All Those Emmys' by someone who hated the show at first

Sarah McGonagall/Twitter

My husband and I had just finished watching "The Office" for the third time through and were looking for a new show to watch before bed. I'd seen a couple of friends highly recommend "Schitt's Creek," so we decided to give it a try.

My initial reaction to the first episode was meh. The characters were annoying and the premise was weird (pretentious and previously-filthy-rich family lives in a scuzzy motel in the middle of nowhere??). I felt nothing for the main characters, and I hate shows with horrible main characters that I can't root for. Even predicting that they were going to eventually be transformed by their small town experiences, I didn't see liking them. It didn't grab either of us as worth continuing, so we stopped.

But then I kept hearing people whose taste I trust implicitly talk about how great it was. I know different people have different tastes, but I realized I had to be missing something if these friends of mine raved on and on about it. So we gave it another shot.

It took a bit—I don't know how many episodes exactly, but a bit—to start liking it. Then a bit longer to start really liking it, and then at some point, it became a full-fledged, gushy, where-have-you-been-all-my-life love affair.

So when the show took home nine Emmy awards over the weekend—breaking the record for the most wins in a season for a comedy—I wasn't surprised. Here's why:

The character development—but not in the way I expected

This part seems predictable just based on the premise, right? The characters are self-centered and snooty in the beginning, but they're going to be changed by their experiences in this small, quirky town, blah blah blah. And they are. That happens. But what I found surprising about the character development in the show is how much they didn't change. The town and the people they got to know certainly had an affect on them, and vice versa, but the changes in the characters felt more like a slow revealing of the different dimensions of their personalities rather than an actual change in who they were. We got to see the characters bloom into themselves as opposed to change from one thing to another, which is honestly the best kind of character development.

I was also surprised to find that some of the things I found annoying in the beginning became endearing. The Roses didn't give up the frivolous complaints, the bizarro accents, or the distinct fashion sense that they started with, and those things became lovable quirks, endemic to their characters. So while transformation was predictable, it didn't play out quite the way I expected, and I found myself oddly happy that it didn't.

The wide range of relationships

Along with the individual characters, the relationships between the characters also bloom into themselves. John and Moira's marriage is steady and solid throughout, and it's sweet to see their consistent and genuine support of one another. Alexis's relationships fluctuate between sexy and sickeningly cute, and we get to see her grow and mature through them.

David and Stevie's friendship is hilarious—to see these two sardonic souls find one another in the unlikely setting of a cheap motel and navigating that "are we or aren't we" question until they figured it out is just plain old good TV.

But David and Patrick's relationship is where Schitt's Creek really shines. Though seeing homosexual relationships on television isn't really novel anymore, I don't recall ever seeing the entire arc of one, from meeting to marriage, in a TV series. And the way they made it a classic rom-com romance, with a sort of sweetness and purity to it, was something new and fresh. They're genuinely adorable.

And then there were the Roses as a unit. It feels like they became a true family in Schitt's Creek before ultimately going their separate ways because they were ready to. I really did find myself rooting for all of them.

The humor and the GIFs

Honestly, I wasn't sure about the humor at the beginning of this show. Much like "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation," "Schitt's Creek" is a character-driven comedy, so the laughs take a while to develop. Once they do, though, it's sheer delight. When my husband and I started quoting lines from the show, from Moira's "Alexis can't have a be-be" to Alexis's "Ew, David," all the time, we knew we'd found a winner.

And the GIFs. There is a "Schitt's Creek" GIF for every occasion, which in the age of social media is pretty much the hallmark of a good comedy. Eugene Levy is always funny, but Dan Levy (his son in real life as well as on the show) is simply genius in this role. His facial expressions, body language, inflections—he's so dang hilarious. Catherine O'Hara is so over the top as Moira that it somehow works, and Annie Murphy rounds the family out with her own brand of physical comedy and iconic voice work.

And this...

It's hard to describe how lovely and enjoyable this show is without making it seem boring or unrealistic or silly or simple. And maybe it's some of those things, and maybe that's okay. More than that, though, this show created a story that didn't rely on so many of the problematic tropes that show up in practically every show, whether it's a comedy or drama. This tweet by Sarach McGonagall said it perfectly.

"Schitt's Creek made a point to make viewers feel safe by showcasing women without harassment, queer love without trauma, sexual fluidity without shame, economic disparity without mockery, and creativity without limitation. What they built is just so special. They deserve it all."

It's just so good. So much better than the first few episodes would indicate. If you watched an episode or three and it didn't take, I highly recommend sticking it out. It's well worth it, and totally deserving of the Emmy Awards sweep.

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Watch Michelle Williams' positive, impassioned Emmy speech on women and equal pay

"Listen to her. Believe her."

Twitter / The Hollywood Reporter

Actress Michelle Williams earned a standing ovation for her acceptance speech at the 2019 Emmy Awards, both in the Microsoft Theater in L.A. and among viewers online.

As she accepted her first Emmy award for Lead Actress in a Limited Series/Movie for her role in FX's "Fosse/Verdon," she praised the studios who produced the show for supporting her in everything she needed for the role—including making sure she was paid equitably.

"I see this as an acknowledgment of what is possible when a woman is trusted to discern her own needs, feel safe enough to voice them, and respected enough that they'll be heard," she said.

She explained how being provided what she needed in order to do her job empowered her to do it well. "When I asked for more dance classes, I heard 'yes,'" she said. "More voice lessons, 'yes.' A different wig, a pair of fake teeth not made out of rubber, 'yes.'"

"All of these things, they require effort and they cost more money," she said. "But my bosses never presumed to know better than I did about what I needed in order to do my job and honor Gwen Verdon."

RELATED: Why Amy Adams' silence on equal pay in Hollywood speaks volumes for workers' rights

They also supported her with equal pay, she said, a shout out that prompted nods and cheers from her fellow actors and actresses.

"And so I want to say, thank you so much to FX and to Fox 21 studios for supporting me completely and for paying me equally because they understood that when you put value into a person, it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value. And then where do they put that value? They put it into their work. And so the next time a woman, and especially a woman of color—because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white, male counterpart—tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her. Believe her. Because one day she might stand in front of you and say thank you for allowing her to succeed because of her workplace environment and not in spite of it."

The gender pay gap in Hollywood has been well-documented. A 2016 Forbes article broke it down in detail, sharing how female stars are consistently paid less than male stars.

"The earnings disparity is even worse for women of color," the article states. "While, on average, women in this country make an average of 78% of their male counterparts, African American and Native American women make 64 cents and 59 cents, respectively, for every dollar made by white men, and Hispanic women earn just 56 cents to a white man's dollar."

RELATED: When she learned about the wage gap, she didn't whine. She did something about it.

Statistics are naturally varied, as studies vary in how they determine pay equity. Some studies show a smaller gap, while others show larger ones. But one thing is clear: It doesn't seem to be getting better. For example, a 2018 study showed that women across the board earn 49 cents for every dollar men earn. A more recent Forbes article states that the top 10 highest paid actresses made just 30 cents on the dollar compared to the top 10 highest paid actors.

It's easy to point to the high salaries of famous people and ask why they would ever complain. But inequity is inequity, regardless of industry. Good for Michelle Williams for celebrating her positive experience with this show and imploring other studios to follow that example.

Watch her speech here:

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What Alec Baldwin got right — and wrong — about the power of art at the Emmys.

Art affects each of our lives, but so does government.

Alec Baldwin is getting a lot of press following the jabs he took at President Donald Trump in his acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at this year's Emmys.

GIF via CBS/YouTube.

During Trump's time hosting "The Apprentice," he was nominated for two Emmys but never won. Trump has often detailed his grievances with the award show, saying, "The Emmys have no credibility"; arguing that he didn't win because of politics; and, in 2012, even blaming the show's "bad ratings" on the fact that he wasn't nominated that year. But Trump's inability to lose graciously is not what we need to talk about right now.

In the closing moments of Baldwin's speech, he kinda missed the mark on something vitally important.

Baldwin wrapped his speech with a message of hope about the power of art, but in doing so, downplayed something else (emphasis added):

"I always remember what someone told me — that is when you die you don’t remember a bill that Congress passed or a decision the Supreme Court made or an address made by the president. You remember a song. You remember a line from a movie. You remember a play. You remember a book. A painting. A poem. What we do is important. And for all of you out there in motion pictures and television, don’t stop doing what you are doing. The audience is counting on you."

Baldwin accepts the award for his portrayal of Trump. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

The power of art is a nice sentiment, especially at an award show celebrating just that, but downplaying the significance of legislation and court decisions is a luxury many cannot afford.

While Baldwin may be right — a poem or TV show may stick in our brains more than a piece of legislation — it's pieces of legislation that truly have an effect on our lives and can alter everything from our quality of living to how long we live. A Supreme Court decision may one day determine once and for all whether or not it's legal to deny me housing, employment, health care, or access to public accommodations protections simply because I'm transgender. Legislation being proposed in Congress could gut access to health care for low-income individuals who rely on Medicaid or any number of other social programs.

Recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protections may be pulled away from the only home they've known if legislation doesn't soon grant them a more permanent status in America. Some members of Congress are moving to turn the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into a shell of what it once was, making the world a lot less accessible to millions of people. As Robyn Powell of Rewire wrote of the proposed ADA changes, "Never in my life as a disabled woman have I been so terrified of losing my civil rights as I am now."

Even the songs, movies, plays, books, paintings, and poems Baldwin championed in his speech are at risk of losing funding, depending on what moves the government makes when it comes to budgeting.

Government legislation matters, and good legislation affects our lives in ways that aren't always apparent.

For instance, during a July debate between conservative commentator Tomi Lahren and comedian Chelsea Handler, Lahren unwittingly admitted that she benefits from the Affordable Care Act.

Asked whether or not she had health insurance, Lahren replied, "Luckily, I am 24, so I am still on my parents'." That's thanks to a provision in the ACA that allows people to stay on their parents' plans until they're 26. Millions of people benefit from that change, and it's such a commonsense, helpful bit of legislation that it's easy to forget things haven't always been this way. It's not something we should take for granted.

Baldwin speaks at January's "We Stand United" rally outside Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York. Photo by Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images.

It's not as though Baldwin is aloof here, and he would almost certainly agree that things like court rulings and pieces of legislation can affect us in both positive and negative ways — even some that we might not be immediately aware of. Baldwin, famously, is open about his personal politics. He's been an outspoken proponent of addressing climate change and even protested Trump's inauguration. There is no doubt that he understands the power of government — for good and for bad. It's safe to say that his speech was not meant to downplay those effects.

The truth is, however, that there are people who wonder why everything has to be about politics lately. The answer is simple: Millions of lives hang in the balance. Art is important, but we can't forget the lives that can be drastically affected by various court decisions and legislation.

Watch Baldwin's acceptance speech below.

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