Ólafur Darri Ólafsson Laughed His Way Through Drummond’s Last Stand

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When Olafur Darri Olafsson discovered that Severance was planning its second season, he informed his agent and representative of his desire to be part of the series in any role. “I was a big fan,” he admits. “When I first stepped onto set and saw those long white corridors, I couldn’t help but chuckle.” Unbeknownst to Olafsson, his character, Mr. Drummond – a formidable Lumon executive with an expressionless face – was destined for a comically gruesome demise in the season finale at the hands of Mark S., played by Adam Scott, and the head of the Mammalians Nurturable department, Lorne, portrayed by Gwendoline Christie. Upon reading the final script and learning about his character’s fate, Olafsson couldn’t suppress a hearty laugh. “With the first punch,” he recalls, “it felt like, What in the world is going on?!” He continued, “Then it gets wild.

The scene initially presents a shocking turn of events, as it’s revealed that Lumon has been rearing those baby goats for a gruesome purpose – sacrificial offerings. In the midst of this, Drummond attempts to execute one of these goats with a nail gun, but their adorable nature, as admitted by Ólafsson, made it heart-wrenching whenever they spoke. However, their moment is interrupted by Mark S.’s frantic search for the kidnapped Gemma in the corridor. Drummond then assaults Mark, and a vicious fight ensues, with both men exchanging blows, bites, and kicks until Drummond gains control and attempts to strangle Mark. Lorne intervenes to save the Innie, brandishing a bolt gun and viciously beating Drummond. Mark S., having the upper hand now, forces the weakened Drummond into an elevator at gunpoint, instructing him for the Gemma rescue operation. However, due to the transition process malfunction, Mark accidentally triggers the gun, shooting Drummond in the throat, causing his fatal bleeding as the elevator doors open. Ólafsson finds this scene unexpected and brutal, yet amusing in its unanticipated nature within the series “Severance”.

It took three days to shoot the sequences, with Ólafsson alternating between himself and his stuntman to maintain the action’s intensity. The tight confines of the hallway and the numerous crew members sometimes made him feel suffocated. “They’d come in and help make me look good when I was falling down,” Ólafsson remembers, “and then I’d come back and act like I was really injured.” However, it should be noted that he did give Adam a concussion during filming, which wasn’t ideal. The scene that made it to the final episode is when Drummond spins Mark S. around and pushes him into a wall. In the process, Scott’s hands got entangled, causing him to slam his head before he could use another body part for cushioning. “For a moment,” Ólafsson says, “no one reacted. Then everyone asked if I was alright. As soon as they knew Adam was fine, Ben exclaimed, ‘Oh, fantastic! We got the shot.’

Ólafsson and his co-stars found themselves laughing more while filming that intense scene than the show suggests. As Lorne points the gun at his head, Drummond makes a humorous face, hinting at how he got into this predicament. “He doesn’t treat Gwendoline’s character with the same disdain as others,” Ólafsson explains. “Instead, he seems to find this fight amusing, almost excited about it.” The actor admitted he struggled to keep a straight face during their scene in the dark hallway. “I was particularly tickled by Mark and Lorne’s lines about the goat,” he adds. “Lorne tells him, ‘Emile thanks you… Emile is the name of the goat.’ And Adam responds, ‘Oh, okay.’ I could hardly contain myself when filming it. I had to remind myself to stay focused and look away.

During the scene where they were filming the gunshot in the elevator, Ólafsson and Scott filled the time by conversing about their mutual affection for vintage films. “There was one take where the blood splatter was reminiscent of Carrie. It sprayed right into Adam’s eye, leaving him completely blind,” Ólafsson remembers. Unsurprisingly, he believes Drummond attempted to murder Mark instead of simply knocking him out: “Mark has accomplished what he needed to do, and that’s it,” Ólafsson clarifies. “I don’t think Drummond intended to kill him, but when he’s given the chance and Mark infuriates him even more, it doesn’t really matter. Why not kill him? Who cares? No one’s going to say anything.“ Ólafsson sees Drummond as a crucial component in Lumon’s machine of wickedness. “Drummond is the type of person who, throughout history, has allowed tyranny to flourish,” he explains. “There should be a sense of his deep-seated contempt for the oppressed. He was born to be an enforcer. It’s a dangerous thing when someone feels they are so superior that you’re insignificant to them.

In the scene’s finale, Drummond appears to stumble out of the elevator as if he were a limp doll, only to be sandwiched between the closing doors. Originally, Ólafsson’s stuntman was meant to perform the fall and remain prone on the ground for several hours; however, the actor insisted on doing it himself. “I asked if I could try it,” he explains. “They laid out a cushion for my comfort, and I did it. It made for a fitting conclusion.” Undoubtedly, Mammalians Nurturable is rejoicing over this spectacle.

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2025-03-28 01:55