The cast of ‘Baby Reindeer’ spoke up: “You have to practice self-protection”
During the 10-hour flight from London to Los Angeles, Richard Gadd decided to deal with about 250 unread messages on my phone. He has been overwhelmed since his Netflix series, baby reindeer, obtain phenomenal state last month. After stepping off the plane and going through customs, he was met by a large number of fans. He wondered if someone famous had been on his flight. Then he saw what they were holding: posters with his image. Baby reindeer Change me, Donny Dunn. “They’re going crazy,” Gadd said. He signed as many as he could. The crowd followed him as he left.
“It felt like you left your living room window open and there was this noise of people screaming in there,” Gadd later said from a stuffy conference room in West Hollywood. “You have to practice self-protection [in] moments like these.”
No racing. EQUAL baby reindeer, an under-promoted small-scale British production that attracted tens of millions of views around the world, losing this year’s Emmy race, leaving Gadd and his co-stars in the dust. enjoy Jessica shoots a gun And Nava Mau—sitting next to him on this sunny Wednesday afternoon—under a microscope. The series is based on Gadd’s real-life experiences, following a struggling comedian and bartender whose traumatic past leads to a dangerously toxic dynamic with his stalker, the is Martha and is played by Gunning on the show.
The empathetic, darkly humorous approach to two vulnerable characters finding hope and despair in each other resonated globally. It also caused controversy, as the scope of the show led viewers to try to track down the real-life stalker as well as the powerful television producer who sexually abused Donny.
Gadd and his teammates had just finished an epic photo shoot and were still reeling from the previous night’s celebration Baby reindeer For your consideration event. At the same time, a Scottish woman named Fiona Harvey declared that she was an inspiration for Martha, and announced that she would speak out in an extensive video interview with Piers Morgan. (In that interview, which took place after I spoke with Gadd and his co-star, Ms call Baby reindeer “defamed” and claimed that Gadd was “obsessed” with her. Netflix’s UK policy director King Benjamin repeat on Wednesday that the streamer and producers had taken “every reasonable precaution in concealing the real-life identities of those involved in that story.” Vanity fair Gadd has been contacted for comment.)
From reindeerDuring the film’s premiere, Gadd repeatedly said that he could not and would not talk about Martha’s background, and emphasized that the real and fictional versions of her were fundamentally different. “I think it’s bad for art,” he said of his audience’s desire to find inspiration for their art. reindeerthe characters of. “I spoke out publicly against it and said I wanted to stop. I think that has had an impact.”
I asked if he would have done anything differently, if he knew the show would become as big as it has? “I can’t control the Internet, and no matter what I do, you don’t know how people will react to things. You can never predict the future,” he said. “You can’t doubt yourself or spend the creative process doubting yourself.”
For everyone involved baby reindeer, The past month has had a lot to do. “I have had to remind myself that I am not an infinite resource and that I can actually do my work and serve my purpose better by protecting my energy and practicing boundaries. strong gender,” said Mau, who plays Teri, Donny’s girlfriend. “But it was truly the overwhelming love I received from people everywhere.”
Mau’s nuanced performance sets the stage for the series, in which Teri navigates her feelings for Donny as his psychological wounds surface — and Martha’s anger as she becomes aware of her relationship. this system. While Teri was not featured in the series finale, Mau felt a sense of closure after filming a scene that did not make it into the series finale. In that scene, Teri leaves Donny a voicemail months after their breakup, telling him that she saw his viral video—in which he reveals being sexually assaulted in a stunning monologue — and that she hopes he finds peace. “It’s a very nuanced, loving, clear, mature and healing message,” Mau said.
Gadd shared with me a snippet of Teri’s dialogue in that scene: “’I just want to say that I’ve seen how much you’ve struggled, and I hope what you’re going through right now helps you achieve peace. some peace in life. Now I’ve met a new man, so don’t call me back. I thought I should let you know. Anyway, good luck honey. Enjoy it.’” Gadd decided not to include that scene to maintain a level of surprise and heartbreak in the edit. We learn about Teri’s future more subtly without that extra context. “You have to kill your loved ones,” he said.
