Richard Gadd

Richard Gadd (born 11 May 1989) is a Scottish writer, actor and comedian. He created and starred in the 2024 Netflix drama series Baby Reindeer, based on his one-man show. He earned two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for writing and acting in the series.

Early life and education
Richard Gadd was born in the village of Wormit, Scotland.

He was educated at Madras College and studied English literature and theatre studies at the University of Glasgow. He trained at the Oxford School of Drama, completing a one-year course in 2012.

Comedy
Gadd's early Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows Cheese & Crack Whores (2013), Breaking Gadd (2014) and Waiting for Gaddot (2015) all debuted at the festival and went on to have runs at London's Soho Theatre. Waiting for Gaddot won an Amused Moose Comedy Award in 2015 as well as a Scottish Comedy Award for Best Solo Show in 2016. It was also nominated for a Malcolm Hardee Award for Innovation and a Chortle Award for Innovation.

Gadd's 2016 Fringe show Monkey See Monkey Do won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Comedy Show and was also nominated for a Total Theatre Award for Innovation. Later that year, Gadd won a Chortle Comedian's Comedian Award and was nominated for an Off West End Theatre Award for Best Performer. The show then had several sell-out runs at Soho Theatre, toured the UK and Europe, and had a run at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, where it was nominated for the 2017 Barry Award. In 2017 it was broadcast on Comedy Central as part of their Soho Theatre Live series.

Gadd's next show, Baby Reindeer, about his experiences with being stalked, premiered at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It won two awards: The Scotsman Fringe First Award for New Writing and a Stage Award for Acting Excellence. The show then went on to a five-week run at The Bush Theatre in London where it won an Off West End Theatre Award for Best Video Design, as well as receiving a nomination in the Best Performer category. The show later transferred to the Ambassador's Theatre in London's West End, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A few months later, the show went on to win the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. In 2024, Netflix released a seven-episode drama based on the play. According to a recent report by Barclays, the success and popularity of Baby Reindeer resulted in a notable annual increase in spending on digital subscriptions. Gadd lost 28 kilograms to play the fictionalized version of himself in order to feel "vulnerable and fragile".

Acting and screenwriting
Gadd is also an actor, starring opposite Daniel Mays in the 2017 BAFTA-nominated BBC Two single drama Against the Law. Other acting credits include BBC Three's Clique, Sky Arts's One Normal Night, Sky One's Code 404 and E4's Tripped. As a screenwriter, Gadd worked for Netflix's Sex Education, and has written episodes of Ultimate Worrier for Dave and The Last Leg for Channel 4, where he was also a correspondent. He's also had several projects aired on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland.

Personal life
Gadd identifies as bisexual. Gadd has said that he was sexually assaulted by a man he met earlier in his career. He dated a transgender woman. He has said that he was later stalked and sexually assaulted by an older woman. These events were dramatised in his 2019 Edinburgh show and a Netflix series Baby Reindeer. The depicted woman, Fiona Harvey, denies Gadd's accusations and depiction of her, has never been to jail, and is pursuing Netflix for defamation.

Gadd is an ambassador for We Are Survivors, a UK charity dedicated to helping male survivors of sexual abuse.