John Turturro recently expressed his disgust over his fans’ tattoo tributes, especially when they’re placed on “intimate” body parts.
In a talk with PEOPLE at Severance’s For Your Consideration event and panel at Bell Works in New Jersey (a.k.a. the real-life Lumon building), the 68-year-old actor and filmmaker strongly reacted to the love he is receiving after playing Irving in the Apple TV+ series Severance.
Turturro also discussed the impact of his now-viral line, “Yes, do it Seth!” and how going viral on social media has been a “whole new thing.”
He said, “Years ago, people didn’t have social media, so they would say those lines to you on the street or they’d get tattoos of you.”
“A lot of people have tattoos of me on intimate parts of their body and they sometimes want to show them to me and I’m like, ‘I don’t want to look at that’, you know what I mean?” the Transformers star added.
Turturro, who is well aware of Severance’s online success, confessed that he prefers to stay away from all social media platforms.
He quipped, “I’m not really on social media because I don’t really want to read about myself and then I don’t want to be self-conscious. I like being free and oblivious.”
Taking into account the love he and his character, Irving, have received, The Batman hero noted, “You’re always appreciative when the audience responds, because you do it for people. I do it for myself, but you hope that it will reach someone.”
For the unversed, Severance was created by Dan Erickson and executive produced by Ben Stiller, which chronicles the shady dealings of Lumon Industries, a biotechnology corporation.
The company asks its employees to undergo a “severance” operation that affects their consciousness so their professional and private lives remain unconnected.
It is pertinent to mention that Severance, which consists of two seasons, has been renewed for a third season on March 21, 2025.
