Richard Gadd - On Shame, Sexuality and Success
How To Fail With Elizabeth Day
Does Pain Fuel Creativity?
Richard considers whether suffering drives his work and worries creativity may change with comfort and success.
Richard Gadd is the creative talent behind Baby Reindeer - the Netflix show which won six Primetime Emmys, two Golden Globes and garnered 84.5 million views within its first 45 days.
Gadd began in stand-up, and by 2016 he’d won a Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe. His work became known for its compulsive storytelling, blending dark comedy with a kind of philosophical kink for asking audiences the most uncomfortable questions.
Now Gadd returns with Half Man, a six-part drama co-production between HBO and the BBC, which Gadd created, wrote, executive produced and stars in.
In this episode we talk through his childhood, how it felt to be abruptly catapulted into being the most googled man on the planet following the release of Baby Reindeer and the complexity of identity and sexuality.
✨ IN THIS EPISODE:
03:13 Fame and Self Worth
05:37 Writing Dark Truths
06:52 Baby Reindeer Explosion
08:00 Becoming Ruben
09:40 Half Man Meaning
10:57 Workaholism Origins
23:58 Family Support After Trauma
24:30 Comedy Meets Abuse Healing
26:13 Rebuking Shame
27:51 Fame And Re Triggering
29:12 Stubbornness And Casting Martha
33:03 Sexuality Beyond Labels
36:15 Grudges Empathy Forgiveness
40:13 Athlete Failure And Closing
💬 QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
I never wanted fame. I just liked the idea that one day I would make a piece of art that was culturally important because then maybe I would learn to like myself.
It doesn't matter your intelligence, where you come from, your upbringing, anything… it’s about the hours you put into it. Hard work trumps everything.
I think actually that we have but scratched the surface of sexuality in a way... there are so many complications to it.
🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS:
You can watch Half Man on BBC iPlayer every week
Join the How To Fail community: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
Elizabeth’s Substack: www.theelizabethday.substack.com
📚 WANT MORE?
Stephen Merchant - the actor, writer and director on turning 50, failure in stand-up and what he learned from Ricky Gervais when he co-wrote The Office: swap.fm/l/Lta5mlFbVnPHyFb8R1n2
Phoebe Waller-Bridge - the creator of Fleabag talks about ambition, doubt and creating bold work: swap.fm/l/gTCOCJUmXX9t22mTABSa
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Website: www.elizabethday.org
Guest bookings for How To Fail only come from official @sonymusic.com emails
Elizabeth and Richard answer listener questions in our subscriber series, Failing with Friends. Join our community of subscribers here: www.howtofail.supportingcast.fm/#content
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Production & Post Production Coordinator: Eric Ryan
Engineer: Matias Torres
Assistant Producer: Shania Manderson
Senior Producer: Hannah Talbot
Executive Producer: Alex Lawless
How to Fail is an Elizabeth Day and Sony Music Entertainment Production.
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