John Turturro on ‘Severance’ Season 2, Zegna, and Christopher Walken

John Turturro’s career is too vast and varied to assume that any one person knows him for any one role. Maybe you first encountered him in Do the Right Thing or Miller’s Crossing. Maybe you know him as “The Jesus” in The Big Lebowski, Carmine Falcone in The Batman, or Irving B. from Severance. Or maybe, if you’ve been even remotely online in the last few days, you recognize him from his appearance in Zegna’s latest fashion show.

In a giant overcoat underpinned by a plunging V-neck sweater and a couple of collared shirts, the 67-year-old, Brooklyn-born actor became the latest star to walk the runway for the venerable Italian label. And though he’s spent plenty of time on stage and in front of cameras during his many years in show business, he admits that his first time as a model felt “a little surreal.”

After the show, Turturro was generous enough to jump on the phone with me to talk about his foray into fashion; encouragement from last season’s big-name actor-slash-model, Mads Mikkelsen; what we can expect from Season 2 of Severance; and much more. Read on for a few (edited and condensed) highlights from our conversation.

Turturro’s full look at the Zegna fall/winter 2025 fashion show.

On walking in the Zegna fashion show

At this stage of life, you have fewer and fewer new experiences. I met Eduardo Zegna at a dinner, and we got along. We were talking about Italian literature, and I’ve worked in Italy a lot, so I guess the label took a liking to me. They said, “Oh, we’d love to dress you and we’d love to invite you.” I just happened to be available. Then we were talking about whether I had ever been in a fashion show. They said, “Oh, Mads [Mikkelson] did it for us,” and I’m a big fan of his. So I said, “Well, maybe I’d think about it if I was comfortable.” And I decided to do it.

It was a little surreal. I got a little lost backstage before I came on, but I got on it in time. They had this very big overcoat. I wasn’t sure if I would feel comfortable, but it actually worked out pretty good. It flowed. It’s fun to get out of your comfort zone, and the music was really good—that helps. I was standing with all these tall young men and thinking, “I don’t know what I’m doing here.” My agent said to me, “I was thinking maybe you were going to just peace out right before.” I said, “Well, the thought occurred to me.” But I’m a stage actor—I still do theater—and once you hit the stage, it’s okay.

Once I was comfortable, I looked in the audience and I saw some friends, and Mads was giving me the thumbs up.

Mads Mikkelsen, seated in the front row, applauds for Turturro at the show.

On visiting Oasi Zegna

It was beautiful. I’d love to go back and really spend some time at the archives with my wife and spend a little time up there. Because it’s awesome when you go to any kind of archives. But you need time; you need to go and have lunch and maybe come back the next day.

I like any kind of craft. And it’s beautiful to see all the fabrics and how [Ermenegildo Zegna] put everything together, just the care of his journals and everything. My father was a builder, and I was around all those builders and architects and plumbers and electricians. And my mother was a dressmaker. She sang for a while and then she was a seamstress. I think if she would’ve had a proper backing and education, she would’ve liked to have been a designer. She drew a lot of things, my mother. I have a lot of drawings of her designs.

On his fashion evolution, both onscreen and off

When I was a kid, from the ‘60s into the ‘70s, I wore all kinds of styles. In the ‘70s I had my Afro and platform shoes and psychedelic shirts and wide-waled pants and stuff like that. I got into that in high school because I had to wear a suit to school, and I didn’t have to wear a uniform.

But I think most of all in life, I’ve really done that a lot in my work because I’ve done all different periods of time, from 1200 to the early 19th century on, so I’ve worn a lot of different periods of clothing.

Turturro in Zegna at the 2025 New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

On his character Irving’s style in Severance

I was very fastidious, along with [costume designer] Sarah Edwards, because I have a whole background for the character. I really wanted navy blue—the navy blue shirt and the look of someone who’s very regimented. And then at home, you see, he dresses very different. We found a great leather jacket and a kind of little cap, and I found a pair of pants that I had and brought those in. You see a whole different person. Obviously, he likes painting and stuff like that. Maybe he goes to the opera. Who knows? He just seems like a guy who likes culture around him.

On what we can expect from Severance Season 2

I just think you see a lot more. There’s a lot of changes that happen and there’s some adventures. And you see a lot more of us outside—as an Innie and as an Outie. That’s all I can say.

On whether he’s returning for Season 3

We’ll see. I’ve never done a TV show; I’ve done miniseries. At the stage of my life, I don’t sign long contracts. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. So it depends, you know what I mean? We’ll see what happens with the show.

The cast of Severance.

On his castmates, director—and how he got Christopher Walken hired for the role of Burt

I think the cast is terrific. I think Ben is really a strong director and we’ve gotten to know each other, learned how to work with each other well. And of course, I love working with Chris, so that’s a real cherry on top of the cake. That was my idea, and I’m really happy I had that idea.

My thinking was, “Who could I fall in love with?” I worked with Chris many times, I’ve directed him. When there’s someone you can laugh with and have fun with, that’s a form of love, really. You just get someone, and they get you. You know what I mean? I love Chris. He’s a beautiful guy. We have so much fun.

He’s also very vulnerable person. He’s a very open person. He’s got an imagination, like a real big imagination. And he’s not always the same, he spins it different ways. People imitate him, but he has big range as an actor and he has beautiful delicacy. There are things he’s done that have been really delicate and things that have been really scary. And he’s a great dancer. People who can dance that way, there’s something very joyful about it. They give you joy. And I like being not the oldest person on the show.

On one of his most recognizable roles

Some people really like The Jesus. The Big Lebowski went from a movie that very few people saw to like a cult, to like a religion. Soldiers take The Big Lebowski into battle with them. I’ve talked to a lot of soldiers; they can quote the whole movie. That’s to Joel and Ethan [Coen]’s credit as writers. And Jeff [Bridges] is one of the greats.

Turturro and the rest of the models on the runway at Zegna.

On what’s next

I’m going to do a film with a wonderful writer-director, Noah Segan, that Ryan Johnson’s going to produce. It’s about one of the last pickpockets in New York. It’s a fantastic script and I’m excited about doing that. I’m really privileged to get opportunity to read such a beautiful script.

Then I have a few of projects of my own that I want to do after that, maybe as a writer-director, maybe as a writer-actor. One is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Susan Sheehan’s Is There No Place on Earth for Me? It’s all about mental illness—a brilliant young girl who’s a schizophrenic and her sister who’s very accomplished in her family. And it’s about the labyrinth of what mental illness does to a family. You can look up The Moth speech that I gave. I know a lot about that subject matter.

Then there’s an original script I wrote, which is about racism and the divide between the classes and sexual jealousy—and what happens within a family. That’s sort of inspired by the opera of Othello and the play of Othello, and the short story that Othello was based on, which is an Italian story.

And then the last thing is an adaptation I did last year with Ariel Levy of Philip Roth’s theater, which was pretty well received. I’m adapting that into a screenplay. And that’s a mammoth project, but it’s going pretty well. It’s really politically incorrect, but highly human, exploring the human animal in all its contradictions. And very, very moving and funny and filthy.