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NU freshman Sarah Bock dazzles in Season 2 of Apple TV’s ‘Severance’

NU freshman Sarah Bock has burst onto the scene in season two of Apple TV’s Severance, appearing as the mysterious Ms. Huang.
NU freshman Sarah Bock has burst onto the scene in season two of Apple TV’s Severance, appearing as the mysterious Ms. Huang.
Illustration by Danny O’Grady

This article contains minor spoilers.

When Communication freshman Sarah Bock walked onto the set of “Severance,” she joined a distinguished cast that included Patricia Arquette, Adam Scott, Christopher Walken and director Ben Stiller.

“I was so starstruck,” Bock said. “I was pretty shy and quiet for the first couple of months, but after a while, it becomes your family.”

With the first episode of the hit Apple TV series’ second season released on January 17, Bock has intrigued “Severance’s” loyal audience with her portrayal of the mysterious Ms. Huang, leading to a wide array of fan theories about her character’s place in the show’s bizarre universe.

Just as her appearance on “Severance” provided a career-changing opportunity, a twist of fate on the show’s set helped propel her to the shores of Lake Michigan.

When Bock began filming the series in the fall of her junior year of high school, she said she hadn’t decided on any colleges to apply to. 

Fellow cast member Britt Lower (Communication ’08), who co-stars alongside Scott as Helly R., suggested she consider Northwestern.

“I tried not to push Northwestern too hard,” Lower said. “But I was also like, ‘I see in you the kind of students I met when I was at Northwestern.’”

While going through the Bachelor of Fine Arts conservatory audition process, Bock said she discovered she wanted to take a more academic focus to become a more well-rounded person and actress. 

On Lower’s suggestion, Bock looked into NU and liked what she saw. After taking a visit to Evanston, her heart was set, according to Bock’s dad, Justin. 

“You could tell that Northwestern was different,” Justin Bock said. “She would be able to get the best of both worlds, where she gets the artistic side, but she also gets an incredible campus experience.”

Sarah Bock said Lower gave her advice on her essays and interview, and once accepted, she set up meetings with members of the University’s acting faculty.

While Lower’s support may have altered the trajectory of Bock’s life, her journey to NU — and to “Severance” — began long before.

***

Bock spent the early years of her life in Raleigh, North Carolina before moving to the neighboring town of Cary when she was eight years old.

While she dabbled in several activities as a child — including a brief junior tennis career which saw her reach a top-40 ranking in North Carolina’s under-10 age group — it was acting that captured Bock’s imagination from a young age, she recalled.

At the age of eight, Bock ventured to New York to see “Matilda” on Broadway. Inspired by the children performing on stage, she decided she wanted to pursue acting more seriously. 

According to her father, Bock went home after seeing “Matilda” and began singing its soundtrack constantly.

“We were shocked because we would see her doing this, and she was really good,” Justin Bock said. “Most importantly, it was something that made her incredibly happy.”

A few years later, Sarah Bock did her first ever voiceover audition for the English-language South Korean media company Pinkfong. At the time, she didn’t realize Pinkfong was the producer of the viral “Baby Shark” song, which has more than 15 billion views on YouTube, the most of any video on the website.

After a series of callbacks, Bock eventually sang the opening part of a new version of “Baby Shark,” which has now appeared in several TV shows and movies, including “The Umbrella Academy” and the reboot of “Frasier.”

“I’m apologetic to some of the people who have had to hear it,” Bock said. “But I think it’s cool when my friends have little siblings who love the song. It’s really cute.”

Other than her role in Pinkfong, Bock mostly acted in musicals throughout her childhood. That was, until her manager sent her a self-tape request to audition for “Severance.”

Initially, neither Bock nor her parents thought she had a chance of getting the role. Justin Bock said he was mostly excited to see if his daughter’s audition could give them any clues about the second season of the show, of which he said he and his wife were “huge fans.”

Sarah Bock had never auditioned for anything of the caliber of “Severance” before, but once she watched the show, she said it became the number one project she ever wanted to do. When she got the part of Ms. Huang, Bock said she was stunned.

“I didn’t think I had any shot,” Bock said. “I couldn’t speak or move for an hour after getting called because I was just in awe.”

***

The first season of “Severance” won critical acclaim for its eerily barren set, musical score, slow-burn pacing and high level of acting. It has a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for 14 Primetime Emmy Awards in 2022, winning two for main title design and music composition.

The show features a new medical procedure that allows employees of the fictional company Lumon Industries to sever the parts of their brains pertaining to their work lives and home lives. 

Scott as Mark S., Lower as Helly R., Zach Cherry as Dylan G. and John Turturro as Irving B. form a quartet of “innie” workers in the “macrodata refinement” wing who increasingly agitate to escape the secretive walls of Lumon.

Meanwhile, Scott’s outer-world — or “outie” — character begins to doubt his employer’s motives.

“Severance’s” second season sees the superficially friendly but manipulative boss Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman) rise from a middle-management position to floor manager, leaving an opening in his previous role. Ms. Huang fills that void.

To prepare for her part, Bock said she spent hours re-watching season one and studying the posture of Tillman and Arquette, who plays the previous floor manager Ms. Cobel.

“They have this really scary stillness about them,” Bock said. “There’s a tension in their bodies and a sharpness in their eyes that I wanted to capture.”

That attention to detail shines through in the opening three episodes of season two, with Bock’s character sharply commanding the macrodata refinement crew despite appearing several decades their junior. 

The unusual power dynamics created by the immaturity of innies who lack any semblance of memory is seized upon by Ms. Huang, whose origin story is as intriguing as it is cryptic.

Lower said that what impressed her most about Bock’s acting performance coming into a show that had already established a distinct ethos was her “incredible command of stillness.”

“She’s really present in the way she’s observing the world around her,” Lower said. “She shares that with her character, who’s also extremely present inside of a strange world.”

But according to those who know Bock best, a shared sense of presence is where the comparison between Bock and her character ends. 

“I don’t think they could be more different,” Communication freshman Ryan Samii said. “Ms. Huang is so serious and corporate, and I think Sarah is just a little ball of light energy.”

***

Now at NU, Bock has thrown herself head-first into the offerings of the University’s artistic community. 

An intended double major in theatre and psychology, Bock acted in the Purple Crayon Players’ fall production of “Seussical the Musical” and is now assisting with choreography for its winter production of “A Year With Frog and Toad.”

Within a few weeks of her arrival on campus, Bock was paid a visit by Lower, who was in Evanston to speak to theater students.

“It was a real treat to walk down memory lane with her at the beginning of her journey at Northwestern as a freshman,” Lower said. “It’s such a special time.”

With the official “Severance” season two premiere scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, Bock had planned on flying out to be with her castmates. However, as wildfires raged throughout Southern California, the premiere was canceled.

Sensing that Bock might have been disappointed, Samii planned an episode one watch party of his own. Samii said he and another one of Bock’s friends ordered a red carpet from Amazon, booked Fisk 217 and invited dozens of peers to watch Bock on a big screen.

On the day of the impromptu event, Samii said he texted Bock asking if she would have anything fancy to wear for a hypothetical premiere screening. She said yes, but suggested that they could wear pajamas if that would be more comfortable. 

“It really just shows that she doesn’t need to be the center of attention,” Samii said. “She’s so humble about all of it.”

Ultimately, the red carpet was laid out in Fisk 217 and the premiere went on in formal attire — Bock called it “very sweet.”

In the weeks since the premiere, Bock said she has been subjected to a new level of media attention, doing interviews with “Elle,” “Teen Vogue” and “Variety,” among other publications. Yet, as she goes about her daily life on campus, Bock said she hopes her fellow theatre majors know she isn’t above them.

“I have so much to learn from the other students in the class,” Bock said. “I don’t want them to think that just because I’ve had the privilege of being on the show that I feel like I don’t have a lot to learn.”

Email: [email protected] 

X : @EliKronenberg

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