We’ve all come to know and love ‘s in Netflix’s series . But apparently, there was another high-profile star in mind to play the stalker — beloved A-lister . According to an insider speaking to , creator ‘s agents were after someone with more notoriety to play the troubled character.
“A knowledgeable source says McCarthy met Gadd about the role but ultimately wasn’t interested,” the source claimed. However, Gadd wasn’t as keen either, with insiders claiming that he “micromanaged casting and fired agents after both they and Netflix pushed aggressively for Melissa McCarthy to be cast as Martha”. For the character to work, Gadd has said that he needed someone who could bring to life the complexities of mental illness and stalking.
“The show really hinged on an actor being able to deliver the nuances of Martha,” he told . “If somebody plays it as nothing but evil, nothing but weird, nothing but twisted, the show fails to take on the nuance that I think it needs to be an interesting piece of work.” And throughout the press run for the captivating drama, Gadd has been quite outspoken about how he’d always backed Gunning for the role of Martha.
“I’d always seen Jess in shows and thought she was criminally underutilised — always playing the comic relief character. There was an essence of something there that I could tell was bursting to get out,” he said. “I fought for her against the tide, but then one day she just came in and knocked everyo.
