Jessica Gunning stars as stalker Martha in the deeply unnerving Baby Reindeer (Picture: Netflix)
Jessica Gunning is the name on everyone’s lips after her stand out performance as stalker Martha in Netflix’s eerie new comedy drama, Baby Reindeer.
Richard Gadd, 34, stars as hopeful comedian Donny in the seven part biopic he wrote based on his real-life trauma of a stalker, who one day arrived at the pub where he worked as a barman without any money so he gave her a free cup of tea.
Quickly he paid for that cup of tea, constantly hounded in disturbing messages before Martha infiltrated every corner of his life, shouting abuse at his gigs, crashing his dates and even making her way into his home.
It’s been hailed a masterpiece for its bravery, but also Jessica’s unnerving but compassionate portrayal of a woman with serious mental health issues. But for Jessica, once filming had ended she really struggled to shake off the ghost of Martha.
‘I always used to roll my eyes slightly when actors said “Oh god, it took me a week to say goodbye,” but because this is obviously based on a true story, and I know Richard now, I wanted to do the part justice so much I think I was constantly with her all the time in my head,’ she told Metro.co.uk.
‘Even when there were days I wasn’t in, I was thinking of Martha and the story, just wanting to do the best I could do.
Martha’s infatuation with Donny becomes dangerous (Picture: Netflix)
‘In that aspect, I didn’t really let go of her until we finished filming. I couldn’t really put her to bed.
‘When you do a job like this as well, it’s long hours, and you’re there, and you’re in it. With this, emotionally, everyone was really invested… it does dominate your life… it took a while to, kind of, say goodbye in a way.
‘I was really sad when it finished, to say goodbye to her.’
Jessica couldn’t leave Martha behind – even if she wanted to (Picture: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Richard has of course kept all details of the real Martha a secret but Baby Reindeer is extraordinarily open. All the deeply disturbing emails sent to Donny are a word for word carbon copy of the messages Richard received, the trauma which stopped Donny going to the police wasn’t just a plot point for Richard – he lived all of it.
We’ll never know how accurate Jessica’s interpretation of Martha is, but she’s played with empathy and honesty at the very least.
‘Jess is such a pro,’ Richard stressed. ‘I have to in every interview try to praise [Jess] in some way. It was an honour to see what Jess did, always off book, threw herself into everything… it was incredible to watch, it really was.’
‘I was lucky to have Richard’s script, which is genuinely the best thing I’ve ever read,’ said Jessica.
‘All the clues for the character for me were there. It was so rich and nuanced and thorough that I didn’t have to do much invention at all, really.
‘All my answers, all my clues were really in the script, and that’s how I approached it from the get-go.
‘I did a little bit of research before filming started, just into things like this thing called limerence, which is a kind of obsession with being obsessed with somebody, and obviously I’m aware of all those amazing films that are about stalkers.
‘But this was unlike any of those things, so I don’t think you can really prepare apart from using the material as much as you can. I was just absolutely blessed to have one of the best stories I’ve ever read to work from.’
Baby Reindeer is available to stream on Netflix now.
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