Telling and acting out a real-life traumatic experience was no mean feat for the cast of Baby Reindeer.
The gripping dark comedy series, which is slated for release on Netflix on April 11, details the dark and true story of Scottish comedian Richard Gadd’s stalking nightmare.
Richard’s ordeal began back in 2016 after one kind gesture sparked an obsession that resulted in him receiving over 40,000 emails, 740 tweets, 350 hours of voicemail, 100 pages of letters, and 45 Facebook messages over the following five years from the woman who received it.
The story is told through the fictionalised character, Donny Dunn (played by Richard himself), who develops a twisted and complicated relationship with a woman named Martha (played by Jessica Gunning) who initially appears friendly but her behaviour unravels into stalking – in both real life and online.
Speaking exclusively to the Express and other outlets, the cast of Baby Reindeer recalled what it was like reliving such a challenging series of events and prompted Jessica to recall a tough scene she and Richard had to film together.
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When asked if it was a challenge to portray such a prolific character, Jessica recalled a scene in which she felt like she “really connected” with Martha.
“There is this amazing line in the stage directions, I think it is episode six, where we’re in a courtroom where they [Martha and Dony] just clock eyes across the room and, it’s not a jump scare moment, it’s just two lost people and I think —” Jessica said as she began to tear up.
“Ugh, I’m getting emotional,” she admitted.
“I think that’s the key to both of them, I think they found each other in this time where both of them needed each other – not to be too cheesy – but that’s how I saw the two of them throughout,” the actress expressed as she held back her tears.
Baby Reindeer is available to stream on Netflix from April 11 in the UK.
