When we first meet Martha on the smash-hit new Netflix series , she's seated alone on a barstool, seeming so abject and down on her luck that bartender protagonist Donny (Richard Gadd, also the show's creator) offers her a cup of tea on the house. As if to prove the old “no good deed goes unpunished” maxim, Martha quickly develops an obsession with Donny, sending him thousands of emails and hundreds of hours' worth of voicemails. it might seem easy to write her off as a garden-variety stalker, but actor Jessica Dunning portrays Martha with so much skill and pathos that the nature of her one-way bond with Donny ends up being achingly, exquisitely complicated.
Recently, spoke to Gunning about the show's success, her 17-year acting career, the outsized impact that has had on male survivors of sexual assault, and why she doesn't entirely see Martha as a villain. What has it been like seeing come into the world and cause such a stir? It's been really unusual and unexpected. I thought it was something pretty special from the first moment I read the scripts, if I'm honest.
I kept thinking, “If people watch this, I think they'll be really interested by it,” because I was as soon as I read it. I was like, “What a fascinating story,” but I don't think any of us expected it to be as big as it has become, which is incredible. I'm so incredibly proud to be part of it.
You know, I've been working as an actor for about 17 years, and I always say I just feel lucky to be able to w.