Richard Gadd Says Portraying Himself inBaby ReindeerWas the 'Right Artistic Choice,' But 'It Was Hard'

Mar. 15, 2025

Richard Gadd.Photo:Ed Miller/Netflix

Ed Miller/Netflix

In a recent interview withThe Hollywood Reporter,Gadd opened up about the11-time Emmy nominatedshow. Speaking about why he didn’t choose another actor to portray him, Gadd said he felt taking it on himself would be more powerful for the audience.

He continued: “It generated a lot of conversation. A lot of people would watch the show and be like, ‘Oh, my God, it’s the person that it actually happened to,’ and I think that blew people’s minds a bit.”

Richard Gadd.Ed Miller/Netflix

Looking back, he said he is glad he made that decision, even though going through the motions of his past trauma —relating to sexual abuse and stalking— all over again was difficult.

“I think it was the right artistic choice, but it was hard,” he said. “Nobody wants to revisit a really challenging period in their life.”

“Every production is a very difficult thing,” he explained. “It’s a hard thing to manage, but I felt very ready for it when it came. I’d been writing television for years — I’d come close before on projects but never quite got them over the line — and it just had to be the way I wanted it and I had to go about that with conviction.”

“I’d like to think I went about it with confidence,” he later added. “It didn’t faze me having a lot of power suddenly on my project. That was good for me because I had to have that kind of control to go through this process.”

He concluded: “I think nobody thought that it would be the stratospheric, Emmy-nominated success that it became. And it was overnight.”

Still, Gadd said he is grateful for the success of the limited series, calling the Emmy recognition “wonderful.”

“I’m very grateful and aware that it’s quite rare to garner everyone’s attention at once as the show seemed to do. It’s just been so intense,” he said. “Something can be wonderful, but you also need a slight break from it. I think that’s maybe where I’m at.”

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source: people.com