Richard Gadd may be earning quite a few awards for his breakout Netflix series “Baby Reindeer,” but he’s not holding onto many.
“I tend to give most of them out to people, if you can believe that,” he told me Saturday at the Independent Spirit Awards, where he took home the prize for best lead in a new scripted series.
“I never want to reveal where they are in case people break into the house because some of them are obviously very valuable now, but [mom has] got a few, I’ll put it that way,” he said. “I think I’ve got about two awards in my house. I think I’ve got one of the three Emmys and I think I’ve got an Olivier.”
When gifting the awards, he tells the lucky recipients, “Thanks for everything you’ve done for me. I’m here and I’m alive because of you. Here’s an award to say thanks.”
He continued, “I’ve had some tough times in my life. A lot of good people have got me through them and I wouldn’t be accepting these awards if it weren’t for them.”
Gadd also revealed that John Cena once sent him a video telling me how much he loved “Baby Reindeer.” “I grew up watching wrestling…so that kind of blew my mind,” Gadd said.
Elton John called him to say he’s a fan. “I missed him and I phoned him back because he left me a voicemail,” Gadd said. “I phoned him and missed him and then I think he called me back again. That was surreal. Then there are people like Ariana Grande, who I just thought was so lovely. Considering she’s probably one of the most famous people in the world, she was just so humble and nice.”
“Flowers” Grammy-winner Miley Cyrus introduced herself to Gadd and his “Baby Reindeer” co-stars Jessica Gunning and Nava Mau at the Golden Globes. “She told me how much she loved the show,” Gadd said. “I don’t know how serious she was, but she was like, ‘If you need any theme music in the future, give me a shout.’”
At Sunday’s SAG Awards, Gadd is up for outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or limited series. He said he will be listening to music as he gets ready for the ceremony. “Weirdly, I’m listening to a band called Rap Bag at the moment,” he said. “They’re quite obscure, but they’ve got this amazing song I cannot stop listening to. They’ve got this amazing sort of ethereal, slightly shrill — not shrill, that sounds bad! — but it’s haunting.”
The 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will stream live globally on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Netflix.
Check out the video below to find out what Gunning says about meeting some of her idols during awards season.
