Baby Reindeer:
Jessica Gunning has recently won a SAG award for her performance in Baby Reindeer, and that comes as no surprise when considering her multi-faceted performance as serial-stalker Martha Scott - based on the real-life stalker of show creator Richard Gadd. Unlike depictions of stalkers in other media, Gunning gives a captivating depth to the character, deserving of the empathy, pity, and loathing which Gadd's narration evokes throughout.
Baby Reindeer is also a display of Yorkshire-born Gunning’s impeccable accent work, playing the irate Scottish Martha with ease. Gunning’s adaptability as an actor allows for this otherwise two-dimensional villain to have the layers and complexity needed to make Baby Reindeer a captivating car-crash that you just can’t look away from.
The Outlaws:
Beyond her ability to portray depraved criminals, Gunning becomes the backbone of Stephen Merchant’s nuanced crime-comedy series The Outlaws as Diane Pemberley, a former young offender turned community service officer. On the outside, Gunning’s performance may not seem more than the chip-on-shoulder, hard-arse comedic foil to the diverse cast of misfits and eccentrics.
However, thanks to Gunning, Pemberley is given a raw vulnerability when trying to prove herself to her superiors, rounding off the series’ complete cast of deeply complex characters on both sides of the criminal justice system. In the first episode, Gunning brings the tension when a heat gun goes missing under her supervision, and our cast of characters are individually sized-up – all the while a handgun is passed around right under her nose. If Baby Reindeer proved Gunning’s dramatic prowess – then The Outlaws establishes the sheer range of her talent.
Inside No.9:
Aside from my own personal agenda of recommending Inside No. 9 whenever I can, the anthology series showcases yet another example of Gunning’s dramatic range and comedic talent. In the first episode of the second season, Gunning portrays Shona, an outspoken Aussie backpacker who is forced to share a sleeper-train carriage with four strangers, a corpse, and even worse – Jack Whitehall. Gunning’s performance in Inside No. 9 concretes her ability to stand-out amongst an incredible cast, absolutely nail a totally different accent from her own, and master both comedy and drama in a particular scene involving a deer, a high-speed train, and an unfortunate end for some high-heels from NEXT.