The trans actress who played Richard Gadd's love interest in the hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer has praised the show's creator for his 'generous' nature and says he shared a lot about his real-life experience.
Nava Mau, 31, from New Mexico, writer and showrunner Gadd, 39, was 'very generous' in giving her information about his real-life ex, whom she was playing.
However, she added that, despite having a strong working relationship with the comedian, they used an intimacy coordinator on set due to the 'unique' circumstances.
The six-part series, created by Richard Gadd, is based on his own experience of stalking and horrific sexual assaults, showing his stalking ordeal unfold as the character of Martha (Jessica Gadd) becomes increasingly obsessed with him.
Teri is another leading character, appearing in all seven episodes, and is Gadd's trans girlfriend, who draws on his real-life experiences of a relationship with an unnamed trans woman.
The actress who plays Teri in Baby Reindeer, Nava Mau (pictured), revealed an intimacy coordinator helped navigate the show's 'unique' circumstances, despite Richard Gadd being 'very sharing'
In conversation with GQ, Nava commented on the 'unique' situation of playing a love interest based on someone's real life, which highlighted the importance of an intimacy coordinator to manage boundary work, consent, safety, and believability - something she said was 'helpful'.
The actress, who also featured in the HBO Max series, Generation, added that the intimacy coordinator, Elle McAlpine, helped encourage a genuine on-screen relationship between herself and Gadd.
Nava continued: 'It's a very unique situation to be playing a love interest to a character that is based on someone's real life, played by the real person who is also the showrunner and the only writer on the project.'
The actress valued the intimacy coordinator in this rare instance for tips on intimate scenes and how to convey the relationship as genuine.
Nava played Richard's love interest in the show, who is based on his real-life unnamed trans ex-partner
Pictured in 2021 HBO series Generation, Nava got her acting breakthrough in a similar way to new colleague Gadd, after writing and leading in Waking Hour - a film based on her real experiences as a trans woman getting into a relationship with a cisgender man
Despite welcoming Elle's presence on set, Nava explained that Gadd was 'generous' with information on his past experiences.
'Richard shared a lot with me. Richard was very generous with sharing, you know, pieces of his own experience and the real-life relationship that inspired this,' Nava said.
Donny's partner in Netflix drama Baby Reindeer is American therapist Teri, who he is in love with rather than his stalker, Martha.
Gadd, who both wrote and starred in the show, told The Independent, that Donny's relationship arc with Teri drew on his own experiences of a relationship with an unnamed trans woman.
'It's in the public consciousness now, but it wasn't back then, when I was dating,' he explained.
'It felt so new that it added a certain pressure, to me, that I really regret now. But that's what it explores in the show. This story was set back in a time when things were very different.'
Reflected in the series, Gadd added that feelings of shame around his sexuality kept him from telling the truth about his name and occupation from her.
However, he has also said that his girlfriend became 'the voice of reason in my life at that point' although he never 'listened to her as much as I should have'.
Elsewhere, Nava praised Baby Reindeer for the 'groundbreaking' inclusion of employing a trans actress in the show.
Born in Mexico City on May 14, 1992, Nava Mau was raised in San Antonio and is now an award-winning actress, director and cultural worker.
Her breakthrough bore many similarities to her new colleague Gadd's, as she both wrote and starred in Waking Hour - a short film based on her real experiences as a trans woman getting into a relationship with a cisgender man.
She played Sofia, a young trans woman who meets a cis man named Isaac at a party.
Nava said: 'This still feels groundbreaking to have a trans woman be one of the main characters in a series that feels like it's written in a respectful and loving and nuanced way, so it's an honor for me to have that opportunity'
Speaking to Out, she explained: 'I had recently started dating straight, cisgender men and as a trans woman I was not prepared. I had to learn a lot of hard lessons when I started dating straight cis men.
READ MORE: Inside the gruesome true story behind Netflix's Baby Reindeer'Waking Hour was inspired by personal experiences I've had, but I wanted it to end differently than how a lot of my stories have ended.
'I wanted Sofia to be a character who realizes in the moment that she can exercise choice because so often I have not realized that I have the power of choice. And I know that's the case for a lot of people.'
Nava then appeared in Netflix's 2020 documentary, Disclosure, to help investigate how trans people are depicted in Hollywood and how that had bled into wider American culture.
She returned to acting as a character called Ana in 2021 HBO series Generation - a series about high school students 'exploring sexuality, testing deeply entrenched beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their conservative community'.
Away from the screen, Nava spent eight years working around 'anti-violence, healing justice, and political education', according to her website. This has involved public speaking, panel discussions and consulting.
Nava is also an editor of the forthcoming anthology Paradise on the Margins: Worldmaking by Trans Women of Color.
