- charlotte gallagher
- culture reporter
Netflix’s latest viral hit, Baby Reindeer, captivated, upset, and shocked many.
The series is based on the true story of Scottish comedian Richard Gadd, who was stalked by a woman after a brief, harmless encounter in a London pub.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Baby Reindeer and references to sexual assault.
The drama also depicts how Gad was groomed and raped by an older man he thought was a friend, and the devastating effect it had on his life.
Although the actor changed his character’s name to Donnie, he wrote and starred in “Baby Reindeer” as himself. Jessica Gunning plays Martha, a troubled daydreamer who stalks him.
Gunning told me that he doesn’t see Martha as a “villain” and that he “feels a responsibility” to his co-star.
We first meet Martha in the pub where Donnie works, confidently announcing that he’s a high-flying lawyer who mixes with politicians and owns flats all over London, but also has the luxury of a cup of tea. I also said no.
Donnie quickly realizes that she is a deeply troubled liar, but he also becomes attracted to her.
“I think Martha sees Donnie the way he wants to see him at a time in his life when he’s so depressed and lonely and lost,” Gunning says. “In a way, it was perfect timing for her to come into his life.”
But as Martha’s stalking intensifies, Donnie’s life begins to fall apart.
In one particularly bizarre scene, Martha unzips Donnie’s body and says she wants to climb inside him. She also somehow left him a photo of herself in her underwear holding a bottle of Irun Blue.
light and darkness
I’ll tell Gunning that Irun Bleu’s appearance in The Thirst Trap was a funny moment in a partially incredibly dark show.
Gunning says it was important not to play Martha in a “crazy” or “crazy” role. This is because Martha loses the delicate relationship between the two characters.
“I really cared about Martha. As soon as I read episode one, I was drawn to her,” she added.
“I’ve never thought of her as a villain. I don’t think you can do that if you’re going to play a role like that. I’ve always seen her as multifaceted and complex.”
He is also sympathetic towards Martha. Gunning believes her character is hardly a loner and is reproducing “the life she should have.”
Martha lies about being a successful lawyer and has a law degree, but is fired for stalking a colleague.
Gunning has never met or investigated Martha, and Gad’s real-life stalker has a different name.
She says she didn’t want to know too much about herself and make things “fuzzy.” It’s an “interpretation” and not a “spoof,” she added.
The brutal honesty of Gadd’s writing, at times almost confessional, is evident throughout Baby Reindeer.
What’s even more amazing is that he essentially plays himself, reliving some of the worst moments of his life on screen.
Episodes depicting grooming, sexual assault, and rape are particularly harrowing.
Gunning said, “Especially during the filming of episode four, I would check in on Gad to make sure he was okay.” It was a really difficult time.
She added: “Richard was incredibly brave and vulnerable and open to reliving it all. I was so impressed by him.”
According to the actress, several people who watched the show contacted Gad to tell him how much the show “felt seen” by his writing.
“You can’t ask for anything more, can you?”
Gunning has been an actress for 17 years, appearing in films such as Pride and the BBC comedy Outlaws, and jokes that she has played 10 different police officers.
“I get a lot of work done,” she laughs.
“But Martha feels like the role of a lifetime. I was actually really moved by her.”
Gunning was aged with make-up for the role, and Martha’s Scottish accent was replaced in real life with one from her native West Yorkshire.
I told her that even though I knew she wasn’t Scottish, I had completely forgotten about it while watching the series.
I asked her if “Baby Reindeer” was a career-defining moment for her. “I don’t think of ‘Baby Reindeer’ as a starting point or a moment in time, but I’m really proud to be a part of it, and I think so many people are inspired by it. “I’m very proud to see such a response,” she said. She is, she says.
“It’s so exciting. I’m so happy that so many people are talking about it. I remember the day I received the script for my first audition. I read all the episodes in one sitting and it was just like, ”I think this might be the best thing I’ve ever read. ”
“Deep down I always knew it would be a great show.”
“Harsh and convincing”
The series topped the UK and US Netflix charts last week and has an unusual 100% rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes.
The Guardian said the show was “stressful and often distressing”, adding that viewers “should be forewarned and prepared to be disrupted”.
Gunning was surprised by the immediate success.
“When I watched all seven episodes, I thought this was going to be a cult hit and go viral in a few weeks. So I never expected it to turn out like this within a week of its release. I didn’t think so.”This kind of topic.
“So I think both me and Richard are just like, ‘Whoa.’ Especially Richard. He’s been so brave and his reaction has been incredible, so I’m so excited for him.”
Baby Reindeer is not easy to watch as both Donnie and Martha get inside the viewer’s head.
Gunning says appearing on the show was an equally intense experience. “Throughout the whole process, she was with me, Martha and Donnie,” she says. “I couldn’t stop thinking about them.”
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