The waffle party almost had an unexpected guest. 

Ben Stiller, the executive producer and director of many episodes of the award-winning Apple TV+ series “Severance,” recently shared that he had extended an invitation to former President Barack Obama to make an appearance on the show.

During an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Monday night, Stiller, 59, disclosed that Obama was the first person he reached out to before approaching Keanu Reeves for a role on the show.

He said he sent the offer to the former POTUS through a friend who knows his lawyer. 

“Two days later, I get an email back from President Barack Obama,” the “Zoolander” star said.

Stiller revealed that Obama’s response was positive in spirit, expressing his admiration for the show while politely declining the offer due to scheduling constraints. The former President’s reply communicated his support for the series and his belief in its potential.

“Severance,” which is now in its second season (with new episodes out on Fridays), is a sci-fi drama starring Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro and Britt Lower. The plot follows employees at Lumon, a mysterious and cult-like biotech company. 

At the beginning of Season 2, their sinister manager, Seth Milchick (Trammell Tillman), showed them an animated video called “Lumon is Listening” to welcome them back to their jobs after some upheaval at the end of Season 1. 

In the video, the Lumon building is animated and given a personality, and in the real Season 2 episode, Reeves does its “voice,” appearing in the show via an uncredited vocal cameo. 

That would have been Obama’s voice if the former POTUS, 63, had accepted the role, according to Stiller.

“Severance” creator Dan Erickson told Collider, “We always wanted it to be somebody that people have certain associations with, but also, it had to be a very warm presence. The Lumon building is very friendly in the context of this video, and there’s a friendliness to that particular voice and a heart to that particular voice.”

On “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” Stiller joked, “What’s more important than doing the voice-over for the animated building in ‘Severance’?” 

He added about Obama, “It was pretty cool that he responded.”