Jessica Gunning, the actor who plays Martha Scott in "Baby Reindeer," said she "avoid" knowing about the real woman her character was based on.
The true crime series was written by its lead actor and creator Richard Gadd, who said he based Scott on a woman who stalked him several years ago. The show also features some of the real messages that his stalker sent him.
Since it was released in April, "Baby Reindeer" has blown up, and has been watched over 60 million times, according to Netflix. The buzz grew as audiences tried to find the real woman who Scott was based on. A 58-year old woman, Fiona Harvey, was harassed on social media as a result of the show.
She later came forward to discuss the series on "Piers Morgan Uncensored," and threatened legal action against both Gadd and Netflix.
When Gunning was asked by The Hollywood Reporter about audiences tracking down Harvey online, she said: "Honestly, I've tried to avoid anything like that because I don't really know. I don't know much about the real person. I tried to know the least about the real people as I could, just because I didn't want it to blur my view.
"I saw the character so clearly in my mind that I didn't want anything to complicate that, because I'm not doing an impersonation. I'm doing my interpretation of her. Like Richard said when he posted that message on social media, that's not the point of our show."
Social media users also harassed actor and producer Sean Foley after theorizing that he was the older TV producer who sexually assaulted Gadd, an incident which is depicted in "Baby Reindeer."
"He has every right to tell his story, and he's done so through his point of view, through his eyes. I felt like it was one of the bravest things I've ever seen. I completely get the impulse," Gunning continued.
True crime shows like "Baby Reindeer" blur the line between entertainment and reality, something that Gunning understands.
"There's a fascination nowadays with true crime stories, let alone something that's gone as big as this show has, and I understand that armchair detectives has become a thing," she said. "But it's a shame. That's not the essence of our show."
