Mark S. wouldn’t like this.

After decades of trying to make it big in Hollywood, Adam Scott says he should have been thrilled to be the face of hit Apple TV+ series Severance — but he was really anything but.

Scott was discussing the “comforting” nature of being a part of a TV ensemble — like when he was on Parks and Recreation — during a recent appearance on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast when Scott made the connection.

“‘Comforting’ is a perfect word for it. And it’s part of why I was so freaked out when Severance first came out a few years ago,” Scott said. “It’s like, suddenly, the billboards went up, and it was my face around town. And really it should have been this big, happy, monumental moment that I’ve been waiting for for 30 years, but it just freaked me out.”

In the show, Scott plays Mark Scout, who leads a team at the mysterious Lumon Industries, whose employees have undergone a controversial severance procedure, which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. Severance also stars Tramell Tillman, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and Patricia Arquette. The series has been a massive success for Apple TV+, receiving a whopping 14 nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Scott says it was series director and executive producer Ben Stiller who actually helped him deal with his anxiety around the show. “Ben sort of talked me down because he’s certainly been through it,” Scott told O’Brien.

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Scott also recalled worrying about not knowing how audiences would perceive the show, and why that probably fed into his reaction about being the leading man of the series.

“Just because, at that point, we made the show in a bubble, and no one had seen it, and we loved it, but had no clue if anyone would like it or if people would just make fun of us,” Scott said, adding, “you just don’t know at all, other than your own barometer, and we thought it was cool. But, man, you just have zero sense of how it’s gonna be received, so it could have been this big, embarrassing thing.”

Ultimately, he wouldn’t trade the experience, telling O’Brien, “When you’re kind of out front, it’s frightening, and then also rewarding when you’re doing something that you feel good about.”

Now in its second season — episodes stream Fridays on Apple TV+ — Severance‘s new hires include Sarah Bock (Bruiser), Alia Shawkat (Search Party), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), John Noble (Fringe), Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie), Bob Balaban (The Chair), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (The Tourist), Robby Benson (Beauty and the Beast), and Stefano Carannante (Hey Joe).