Baby Reindeer’s Richard Gadd lost almost a third of his body weight in dramatic transformation for Netflix show
He said he wanted to feel 'vulnerable and fragile'
Warning: This article contains discussion of rape and sexual assault which some readers may find distressing
I'm sure many of us rattled through Baby Reindeer in a flash when it first landed on Netflix last month.
The seven-part drama - starring Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning - has attracted quite the cult following, with many people being totally obsessed with Gadd's 'true story' of how he was relentlessly harassed by a stalker, named Martha in the series.
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This obsession even lead to the 'real-life Martha' speaking out and doing a bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.
While the general plotline of Baby Reindeer is pretty harrowing in itself, it's clear there are a handful of scenes which are extremely disturbing both to watch as a viewer and to film as the actors.
And, following the TV show's global success, Richard has opened up about the heartbreaking reason for the dramatic weight loss he underwent to film Baby Reindeer.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the 35-year-old opened up about his 'hardest day on set', revealing that the scenes most difficult to film were 'the Darrien stuff'.
In case you're yet to watch the series, or need your memory jogging, one particularly shocking episode saw Richard being groomed, drugged and raped by a TV comedy writer named Darrien, who was played by British actor Tom Goodman-Hill.
Recalling his time on set, Richard explained: "It was really difficult going back there.
"I remember going to set for the diary days, the sexual assault days, and we sandwiched them together so it wasn’t so spread out.
"I think it was the right thing to do, so that it would only be two or three days where we had to stay in that zone."
He also revealed that he would be 'hoping for a major traffic jam' whilst en route to set during those days to have 'another beat to prepare and wrap [his] head around it to think'.
Richard continued: "The actor who plays Darrien, Tom Goodman-Hill, what a legend.
"I felt really safe with him, really comfortable. It’s weird to shoot a scene that you know have to shoot but don’t really want to. He was such a pro, such a good actor that he made it so much easier."
When asked how he was able to adapt once shooting such scenes were finally over, Richard said: "To play Donny Dunn, I had to go back to that head space where I was at the time [in real life], which was very raw and very damaged.
"I lost a lot of weight because I wanted to feel vulnerable and fragile in my body. I went from 96 kilograms to 68."
Due to this, Richard explained that there was 'a bit of piecing myself back together' when the filming process finished.
"Going back to that stuff is tough," he admitted. "It brings up stuff and makes you feel weird and a bit wonky.
"Ultimately, I sort of knew where I was striving for in the distance which helped."
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivors Trust for free on 08088 010 818, available 10am-12.30pm, 1.30pm-3pm and 6pm-8pm Monday to Thursday, 10am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-3pm on Fridays, 10am-12.30pm on Saturdays and 6pm-8pm on Sundays.
Topics: Baby Reindeer, Netflix, TV And Film, Celebrity, Health
Rhiannon Ingle