TRAMELL TILLMAN, born on this date, is an American actor best known for his role as Seth Milchick in the Apple TV+ series Severance, for which he became the first Black person and the first out gay person to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Tillman attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, and graduated in 2003. He was then enrolled at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans as a pre-med student with plans to become an orthopedic surgeon; however, he did not enjoy it. In 2005, after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Tillman’s parents convinced him to transfer to Jackson State University, where he switched his major to mass communications. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in 2008. In 2014, Tillman became the first African-American man to obtain a Master of Fine Arts in acting from the University of Tennessee.

Tillman worked in the nonprofit sector for over a decade before pursuing acting professionally, and drew on his own experiences in corporate America for his breakthrough role as Seth Milchick in the sci-fi thriller series Severance. He referred to Milchick as “an amalgamation of colleagues, of former bosses, [and] of caricatures of people” who he worked with during that time. Tillman’s performance, especially during the second season, received widespread critical acclaim. In September 2025, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the first Black person and the first out gay person to be nominated for it and to win the award.