<em>Severance </em>is one of the biggest shows on television. Thanks to that success, fans have fallen in love with Tramell Tillman. The actor stars as Mr. Milchick, aka Mr. Milkshake, and his charismatic approach to the character has dazzled audiences. Then, he went on to square off with Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in the new film Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. But the actor revealed in an interview with PEOPLE that he almost had a very different career path. And everyone should be grateful that he decided to be the man we love to fear on Severance instead!

During a conversation with PEOPLE, the Emmy-nominated actor revealed that he almost went into medicine before deciding to be an actor. Tillman shared that he was told he’d never make it and had to come to terms with the struggle of what being an actor would entail over a more concrete job as an orthopedic surgeon. “When I decided I wanted to be an actor, I had the courage to utter that and was told I’d never make it,” Tillman told the publication. “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?’”

Tillman said that while he focused on becoming a surgeon, and performing on the side, he kept his “main focus” on the sciences and even went to Xavier University, which was known as one of the top schools for sending African-Americans to med school. But Tillman shared that while he focused heavily on science, he found himself bored. “I was bored to tears,” he said. “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.”

Tramell Tillman’s Story Is Inspirational

Often, people don’t follow their dreams because of the risks involved, but Tillman saw that he was unhappy and changed that, giving fans someone to root for. Look, he’s going to be in <em>Spider-Man: Brand New Day,</em> so it was definitely worth that risk! It isn’t every actor who can turn someone who seems villainous, like Milchick, into a fan-favorite. “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.”

You can see Tillman shine in his Emmy-nominated role as Mr. Milchick on Severance.

Severance

Release Date

February 18, 2022

Showrunner

Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman

Writers

Dan Erickson