Richard Gadd thanks parents in speech for second Emmy win

 

Richard Gadd thanks parents in speech for second Emmy win

From CNN's Tori B. Powell

Richard Gadd has won the Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a limited series, anthology or TV movie, earning recognition for “Baby Reindeer,” a project he created based on his own harrowing experience with a stalker.

While accepting his award — which is his second Emmy of the night — Gadd thanked the show’s directors “for bringing out the best in me,” as well as his parents. 

“They’re the best,” he said of his mom and dad, adding that they’ve been through “some trying times as a family.”

“The thing I’m most grateful for is they never ever told me what I needed to do with my life and they never ever told me who I needed to be, and I think that’s the greatest gift a parent can give a child,” Gadd said.

“Baby Reindeer” is a dramatized version of real events that happened to series creator and actor Gadd. In the show, Gadd’s character, Donny, meets Martha (Emmy-winner Jessica Gunning) at the pub where he bartends. After he offers her tea on the house, Martha begins to stalk and harass Donny, sabotaging his life.

“Baby Reindeer” has topped most-watched lists worldwide since its debut in April, generating headlines and speculation about the characters and who inspired them. Gadd’s story is real, but he says the version that appears in his thriller miniseries has been altered for artistic and privacy reasons.