'It's beyond what any of us imagined' Baby Reindeer star Nava Mau on the hit Netflix series' success

With writer-director-star Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer currently captivating viewers on Netflix across the globe, The Queer Review's editor James Kleinmann spoke exclusively with actress Nava Mau who plays Teri opposite Gadd's Donny on the extraordinary limited series based on a true story. During the conversation, Nava shares her first reaction to the script, and discusses her approach to playing the character, her experience of working with Richard Gadd and Jessica Gunning who plays Martha, and the audience's response to the show.

Nava Mau was a series regular on HBO Max’s LGBTQ+ darkly comic drama series Genera+ion, created by Daniel and Zelda Barnz. She wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the compelling and moving short film Waking Hour, that premiered at LA’s Outfest Fusion in 2019 before playing at festivals around the world. A production fellow on Sam Feder’s groundbreaking Netflix documentary Disclosure, Nava has also produced the short films Sam’s Town and Lovebites. Outside her experience in the entertainment industry, she has worked in the fields of healing justice and culture change with community-based service providers, student organizations, and survivors of violence.

[TT_]

Teri was a great character, the voice of the audience.

[igaudion]

She is the standout in the show. I found myself just constantly terrified someone would hurt her. Really great performance.

[sdxjldg]

Love how this show actually portray trans people as just being regular people. not just making everything about there character relating to the gender identity.

[Aloddff]

Nava made Teri so real. a well written character beautifully played

[julietcappetta]

Hope we see a lot more of Nava and Jessica Gunning - really great acting. Such an intense, multi-layered series. Respect to Richard for so bravely and openly facing all these demons head on and coming out stronger. A true inspiration. I hope this will help victims of abuse and stalking to not feel alone as well as give them strength, courage and a voice to speak up.

[Nthirank]

Omg what a stunning lady 😍😍😍😍 we need more of Nava, everyone's talking about the main two actors, but Teri is just pure love 😍

[ailinguajardo]

I loved her character, so caring and empathetic! I would have loved for Teri and Donny to end up together, but he didn't deserve her.

[emmapearce]

Beautiful actress, amazing show!! A real privilege and learning experience to bear witness to Richard's story.

[GrinnerUK]

I'm not the only straight and confused man to Fall in love with Teri. Such a great actress Nava is. Beautiful . Loved the whole show and can relate to so much of it x

[Bespoke]

She was really great in this! Need more roles like this for trans actors! Hope to see more of Nava! ❤

[RobAndrews]

I love her performance in the show. The way she delivered her lines are how people in real life would say them in real situations. Didn't look like she was acting

[Fable]

So natural, so beautiful Nava Mau, love her so much!
I'm very happy I saw her in this series "Baby reindeer". Great work.
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[ktisawesome]

Nava and Jessica deserve BAFTA's for their insanely good acting!

[cultural.narratives]

Without a doubt, she's the perfect fit for the role. Her performance is unparalleled, and it's evident that she completely owns the character. It's as if the role was tailor-made for her talents, and she executes it flawlessly. Truly, no other actress could have delivered such a captivating portrayal.

[laurenbenzine]

love love love ❤️ thank you for this beautiful interview.

[MarinaMrls]

I really liked her character, she's a great actress.

[OccamsSledgehammer]

Absolutely amazing show! Nava is freaking GORGEOUS!

[shaun]

I always considered myself as so straight but felt myself falling in love with Nava's character. Stunning.

[KJosette]

Nava is so beautiful and elegant!
I loved her character!

[GrotrianSeiler]

Such a great performance, she has a lot to be proud of.