Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd reveals A-list star he’d love to work with after Independent Spirit Awards win

Richard Gadd is already thinking about his next big collaboration after his series Baby Reindeer swept the individual acting honors at the 2025 Independent Spirits Awards on Saturday.
The 35-year-old creator and star of the hit series spoke with DailyMail.com about a surprise star he’s interested in working with after he won the award for the gender-neutral best lead performance in a new scripted series at the ceremony.
The ceremony, which was held in Santa Monica, California, and hosted by former SNL star Aidy Bryant, featured major wins in the film categories for Oscar-hopeful Anora, while Shōgun managed to beat out Baby Reindeer for the best new scripted series award.
Although he seemingly has a bevy of British and American stars looking to work with him, Gadd sounded excited about the possibility of teaming up with a major wrestler-turned-film star: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
‘I love The Rock. I’m waiting for his call currently,’ Gadd joked when asked if he’d consider working with the Jumanji star.
‘No, he hasn’t been in touch,’ Gadd clarified, but he wouldn’t mind a call, as he is a ‘big wrestling fan.’

Richard Gadd, 35, opened up to DailyMail.com about the A-list star he’d love to work with while chatting shortly after winning the gender-neutral best lead performance in a new scripted series at the 2025 Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday in Santa Monica

Gadd won for his hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer (pictured), which he created, wrote and starred in
Even though that fact seems to surprise people, he admitted that one of his dreams would be a ‘road trip with me, The Rock, John Cena, and let’s just say Bret Hart.’
‘I don’t know what we’ll talk about, but we’ll do it,’ he continued. ‘They’ll be talking and I’ll just be there… ‘
Richard created, wrote and plays the lead role in Baby Reindeer, his hit dark dramedy thriller that was adapted from his autobiographical one-man show.
In the series, he plays a version of himself named Donny Dunn who works as a bartender and moonlights as an aspiring comedian.
One of his pub customer’s, Martha (fellow Indie Spirit winner Jessica Gunning), develops an unhealthy obsession with him that escalates to stalking.
The series also delves into his conflicted feelings about his relationship with his girlfriend Teri, a transgender American therapist (played by Nava Mau, who won the best supporting performance honor at the Independent Spirit Awards), and an abusive collaboration with a TV writer who takes him under his wing.
The series, which was released on Netflix, has been a hit with critics and fans alike.
Richard went on to share his advice to other stars who may be dealing with stalkers, including Piers Morgan, who recently revealed he was dealing with a situation that seemed to be straight out of the hit series.

Gadd’s series swept the individual acting awards at the ceremony, though it lost best new scripted series to Shōgun

Although he seemingly has a bevy of British and American stars looking to work with him, Gadd sounded excited about the possibility of teaming up with a major wrestler-turned-film star: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson; pictured January 5 in Beverly Hills

‘I love The Rock. I’m waiting for his call currently,’ Gadd joked, admitting he’s a huge wrestling fan. One of his dreams would be a ‘road trip with me, The Rock, John Cena, and let’s just say Bret Hart’; Johnson

Gadd stars in Baby Reindeer as a version of himself who is stalked by a woman who meets him in a bar (Jessica Gunning)
He urged anyone tormented by similar circumstances to ‘keep going’ and to not let it get in their way.
‘I think there’s times in my life where I felt like the pressure was so intolerable,’ he admitted. ‘I almost didn’t think there would be any sort of way out, but I think it’s almost cliché, the sort of time-is-the-greatest-healer type of thing, but it really is.
‘Every now and again in the darkness, there will be a crack of light, and then as the days go by, those cracks get bigger and ultimately suddenly you’re standing in sunlight,’ Richard continued.
‘It is strange, but I never thought it would end, but I think just the belief that one day it will was enough for me,’ he said on a hopeful note. ‘I think, no, nothing bad sustains forever. I do believe that, and I think that the simple two words would be, “Keep going…”‘
Gadd also weighed in on his Baby Reindeer followup, the upcoming HBO–BBC drama Half Man, which he created and will costar in with Jamie Bell.
The multi-hyphenate revealed he wants the new series to be a departure from the intensely personal and autobiographical Baby Reindeer.
After first joking that his next project would be a ‘musical,’ Richard called Half Man a ‘departure from the kind of autobiographical, semi-biographical stuff that I’ve done before, but it’s still dark.
‘It still explores the contradictions of the human condition, but it feels nice not to be turning in it all the time while I’m doing it,’ he explained. ‘So this one I wouldn’t say is a full departure.

Gunning won the breakthrough performance award at the 2025 Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday. She

Nava Mau, who plays Gadd’s character’s girlfriend on the series, also was award best supporting performance

Richard Gadd, who created Baby Reindeer and starred in the lead role, went on to win the top television acting prize of the night
However, he suggested it was ‘still probably totally what you’d expect from me,’ though its ‘subject matter’ might surprise Baby Reindeer fans.
He added that he hoped that working on something that wasn’t based on his own life would ‘be a healthy thing to do.’
His upcoming series charts 40 tumultuous years in the lives of brothers who are now estranged.
The action begins in the present, when Gadd’s character Ruben crashes Bell’s character Niall’s wedding, setting of an exploration of their traumatic relationship from decades earlier.
Gadd emerged triumphant at the Indie Spirit Awards on Saturday, winning best lead performance in a new scripted series, while Jessica Gunning won best breakthrough performance and Nava Mau won best supporting performance.
The Baby Reindeer creator said he wrote a speech for the night but joked that Anora filmmaker Sean Baker had stolen it with his soaring acceptance speech for best director.
He also joked that he didn’t think his chances were very good after The Penguin came on the scene and started snatching up awards at earlier shows.
Although that show’s second lead Cristin Milioti was nominated in the same category as Richard, its star Colin Farrell wasn’t nominated this time around.