Who is Jessica Gunning? Meet The Brilliant Actress Behind Martha From 'Baby Reindeer'
“If I ever tried to play the stalker side of Martha, you’d lose her completely because she isn’t a villain," said Gunning about her leading role in Baby Reindeer.
If you haven't peered into Netflix as of late, a series titled Baby Reindeer may be your next must-watch. The series, which details the true story of how comedian Richard Gadd was stalked, has caught the attention of media fanatics around the globe who have taken to the internet to discuss the show. It's hard to imagine why not, as it's always interesting to see a reaction to true stories on our screens, hence our fascination with true crime and biopics. Yet Baby Reindeer is unique in that Richard Gadd served as the writer, creator, and star of a true story that recounts the traumatic experiences he had with a female stalker.
In the show, Martha, a successful lawyer, walks into a bar in a distraught state. When Gadd's character, a bartender and part-time comedian, Donny, shows Martha kindness, Martha clings to it and begins to constantly appear at Donny's workplace, send him inappropriate messages, and attack the woman he's dating at the time. In the series, Martha is played by English actress Jessica Gunning, who, despite the crazy nature of Martha's character, has expressed empathy towards her.
“If I ever tried to play the stalker side of Martha, you’d lose her completely because she isn’t a villain," said Gunning about her leading role in Baby Reindeer to Vanity Fair.
Despite the show's recent release on April 11, Gunning is already getting a massive amount of kudos and applause for portraying Martha as a complex and layered character rather than simply portraying her as a villain.
"Much like the show she stars in, Gunning expertly balances humor, drama, and suspense through a complex and well-written character like Martha," read a review on Complex.
"Gunning has garnered plaudits aplenty for her performance, including her Scottish accent, and the Pride and Back star detailed today how she has mastered a strong Bristol accent in The Outlaws, which is set in the English city in the southwest," read an article on Deadline.
There's no doubt your interest in the 38-year-old actress has peaked. Read on to learn more about Jessica Gunning, the woman behind the performance that's getting Emmy-buzz.
She's actually English
Despite her excellent Scottish accent in Baby Reindeer, Gunning is English and hails from West Yorkshire, England. Gunning revealed that in preparation for many of her roles, she works with accent coaches whenever she tackles an accent that's not natural to her. As per Deadline, Gunning also worked with an accent coach for The Outlaws where she had to practice a Bristol accent.
“I work with an accent coach and try and do as much work as I can,” Gunning reportedly said. “And it’s amazing having so many crew from Bristol, so I would ask them, ‘How do you say this?’ or, ‘How do you say that?’.”
She's appeared on various British TV Shows and Films Including Back and Summerland
In addition to Baby Reindeer, Gunning has been in numerous other TV shows including The Outlaws where she starred alongside acclaimed British comedian and actor Stephen Merchant. Another sitcom Gunning was a part of is entitled Back where she plays a bartender at a failing pub in Gloucestershire. She has a few films to her acting credits as well as she played small roles in Summerland and Pride.
She's empathetic towards her character, Martha
Despite Martha exhibiting disturbing behavior due to her instance to pursue Donny against his will, Gunning shared that she empathizes with Martha.
“The truth of it, for Martha, is this is the first time in a long time she connects to somebody who compliments her, who’s nice to her, who spends time with her," Gunning told Vanity Fair.
“I think it’s such an interesting, almost a love story in a way — how these two lost souls find each other at this time of their lives. Both of them are kind of unseen before they see each other," the actress adds.
When talking to the BBC, Gunning added that she made it a point to not ask Gadd too many questions about the real Martha as there needed to be a distinction between the character and the person.
Gunning was Gadd's first choice for Martha
As per Vanity Fair, Gadd had seen Gunning in quite a few shows before and thought she'd be perfect for the role of Martha.
“I’d always seen Jess in shows and thought she was criminally underutilized — always playing the comic relief character. There was an essence of something there that I could tell was bursting to get out," the comedian and actor said to the outlet.
She's insistent that fans not look for the Real Martha
With the release of the show, fans have been on a witch hunt to figure out who Gadd based the characters of Baby Reindeer on with people rampantly looking for the real individual who inspired Martha.
"If you like the show and you are a fan of it, you should stick with the story of Martha and Donny being what connects you, not trying to do any detective work and find out any real identities," the actress recently told BBC Scotland’s The Edit.
Gadd has also insisted that fans stop speculating about who the people being his show are stating that by doing so, people are "missing the point."
"Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show,” Gadd recently said via his Instagram story.
