Word-of-mouth Netflix sensation Baby Reindeer has taken the entertainment world – and the Internet – by storm.
Comedian Richard Gadd’s nuanced portrayal of his own real-life experience of being stalked by a woman has received rave reviews from critics and fans alike, but the heart of the show is stolen by Jessica Gunning, who plays his stalker Martha.
Previously starring in Pride and The Outlaws, Jessica has been lauded for her complex, sympathetic, emotional portrayal of Martha. Just like Baby Reindeer’s depiction of abuse and coming to terms with your sexuality, nothing is clear cut when it comes to Martha’s motivations and behaviour. The way Jessica portrays her character’s painfully obvious loneliness, vulnerability and (complicated) care for Donny establishes a nuanced portrayal of a stalker’s relationship to her subject.
A psychologist weighs in.
“I think that it’s the emotional honesty of the show is what people are connecting with,” she tells GLAMOUR, clearly reluctant to position the show as making “any sort of political point” about stalking and gender dynamics – and the ways in which the police and the law let down both culprits and victims of abuse, stalking and harassment by narrow-minded definitions of these offences.
In the show, Gadd’s character struggles to report his stalker due to various roadblocks put up by the police, including the gendered procedure they follow when it comes to women stalking men due to “physical differences”. He’s also asked why he took so long to report – a haunting question so many victims of abuse, assault and harassment may recall when they’ve tried to report.
Richard Gadd himself said during an appearance on This Morning last week that “fundamental change needs to happen” for victims reporting crimes like stalking, recounting his frustrating real-life experiences.
Jessica, however, is more focused on the individual story that Baby Reindeer tells and the impact it has had. “I think it's about people who've all gone through trauma,” she says. “And that's what bonds them all together, in a way.”
When preparing to play Martha, Jessica was fascinated by the concept of “limerence”, which has re-entered public discourse this year after the release of Netflix yearning extravaganza One Day, adapted from David Nicholls’ novel. She used it to flesh out Martha's initial feelings towards Donny.
The trans actress plays a breakout role in Netflix's new stalker drama.
“It's an addiction to being obsessed and in love with somebody,” she says, explaining that she used limerence to inform her performance as Martha, balancing out the at-times-sinister outcomes of her messages and exchanges with Donny.
“I would imagine her going home and almost daydreaming about those connections they had, and embellishing it potentially into more than it was. That's how things can snowball,” she says.
One of many things that has hit home about Baby Reindeer is its authenticity – it’s rejection of onscreen “bunny boiler” tropes when it comes to stalking and an insistence on telling a sympathetic, complicated story, in which both Martha and Donny come together damaged and traumatised in their own unique way.
Jessica sat down with GLAMOUR to talk about protecting the identity of Richard’s real-life stalker, the importance of Martha not being viewed as a villain and the ways that making Baby Reindeer has empowered her.
How has the response to Baby Reindeer so far made you feel?
It's been amazing. As soon as I read the script, I had that feeling in my gut that it was really unlike anything I've ever read before… It's the best thing I've ever read. I just had a feeling it was going to be something quite special just because of Richard's bravery – but the response has been immense.
Baby Reindeer episode 6 is dedicated to Harrison.
How did you go about researching your role as Martha, did you speak to any female stalkers or victims?
No, I didn’t speak to anyone who had stalked before and I didn’t speak to any [victims], maybe because it’s not a conventional black and white story. I felt like I had enough material and mileage in the script as it is, and also in Richard being there as my leading man. So I had enough information in terms of that from him.
There are several films that are famous for portraying female stalkers or stalking in general. But Baby Reindeer is unlike any of those. So there's not really much prep you can do apart from get all the clues you can from the script and the character that Richard created.
How do you feel about protecting Richard's real-life stalker, after being so close to her story? People have been trying to find her identity online…
I didn't know that was was happening. I would urge people not to be doing that. I think if that is happening, I think it's a real, real shame, because it shows that they haven't watched the show properly. That's not the point of it in any way. Netflix and Richard [Gadd] went to extreme lengths to try and make sure that the identities were kept private for a reason.
I think they should try and watch the show again, and really see what the point of it was – it definitely wasn't that. I deliberately didn't want to do an impersonation of somebody, I wanted to do an interpretation of this character.
How was it building a relationship with Richard Gadd offscreen, as he was reliving this traumatic real life story of his?
As an actor working with him, I felt a huge sense of responsibility to do the story justice, but also to make sure that he was OK. I think he’s worked on himself so much. he's already worked through a lot of stuff in his life and through his art, he's hopefully found some sort of catharsis through it. So I never felt like he wasn’t in control.
I just wanted to do the story justice and play Martha in a way that felt the most truthful and caring depiction of her as far as I could. It's so fragile, that dynamic and chemistry, to get right. It's really, really important.
"That's not the point of our show."
How important was it to you to portray Martha’s complexity, instead of as a one-dimensional villain?
She's never played as a villain. I think that's such an important thing. Because it's a much more muddy version – it’s not black and white, victim and villain. For me, it was always about finding the clues in he script from who she was as a character – she’s hilarious, endearing and fascinating, a multifaceted person.
When Donny goes to report the stalking initially, he’s asked “why didn’t you report sooner?” and there’s a very gendered approach to what is viewed as dangerous stalking, partially because of “physical differences” between men and women – what impact do you hope shining a light on these attitudes has?
I think Richard has spoken in the past about how he never wanted to make any sort of political point with the show. It’s not meant to make any sort of social commentary on stalking in general, even the police.
So I would hope that it affects people individually and emotionally… it allows people to go away and think about it, and challenges perceptions in a really interesting way.
What was important to you when it came to portraying what Martha was going through, mental health wise? How did you navigate that and take care of yourself?
I felt extremely connected to the character and incredibly moved by her, and so it was harder to shake than other characters I've played in the past.
Martha was a victim, not a culprit, according to Richard Gadd.
We see Martha grope Donny quite early on in the show – what was it like to portray a non-consensual act like that? How do you hope it flips the script on how sexual assault is portrayed onscreen?
We had two amazing intimacy coordinators, Jen and Elle, they were incredible and made sure that everybody felt extremely safe and protected. We choreographed all of those scenes to make sure that Richard especially felt safe with them. You have protective gear on, so nothing is felt, but I think it was obviously a hugely sensitive thing to try and tackle. Not only because the subject matter is so sensitive, but also because it's it's based on a true story that happened to Richard.
The bravery with which he’s told the story is what people are really connecting to. So many people that have been through similar things are saying that they felt seen and they feel it's such a an accurate portrayal.
What do you hope Martha and Baby Reindeer’s legacy is? How might it help victims and redefine how we look at gendered perceptions of stalking and assault?
I don't think that you ever approach a job expecting a legacy or a longer term reaction to something. So all I would say is that I hope people watch it, and feel something. I hope they take something away from it, these two characters being so lost, and both having experienced trauma in the past and you see that they've connected and found each other – I just want people to be moved by the story of it. And if there is bigger themes that come out of that, then that’s amazing.
Was there an empowering element to filming Baby Reindeer, and telling this story?
I think that TV can be trivialised as a mainstream everyday thing, but every now and then stories come along that have the ability to change someone's view on something, move someone, entertain – whatever that is. It's the thing that people turn to in their life, if they're lonely or want company.
I feel extremely passionate about how cinema, TV, books and art can really enrich and change people's lives sometimes. That true stories like this can move people… I feel very strongly about that. I think that more funding should be put into the arts because of that, because it can show different perspectives on something that you never knew before. And that's so exciting to be a part of.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
Baby Reindeer is available to watch on Netflix now.
“It’s a stalker story turned on its head. It takes a trope and turns it on its head.”
