How Romeo + Juliet star Claire Danes's tears inspired Baby Reindeer writer Richard Gadd

By JOHN PAUL BRESLIN, WEEKEND NEWS EDITOR - SCOTLAND Published: 19:53, 13 June 2026 | Updated: 19:53, 13 June 2026 Richard Gadd told Hollywood star Claire Danes he once wrote a whole essay about the way she cries, during a cosy chat on American TV. Scots writer Gadd, who enjoyed worldwide fame with his TV show Baby Reindeer, made the confession as he and Ms Danes interviewed each other as part of a CNN series called Actors on Actors. Opening up on his admiration for Ms Danes, 47, Gadd said it was ‘surreal’ to be sitting chatting to her. He then went on to describe the impact her performance as Juliet in Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 film Romeo + Juliet had on him. Gadd, who attended Madras College, in St Andrews, said: ‘I’ll tell you a little fact. Back at school… I think I must have been about 13 or 14, and to get us to learn Shakespeare, they let us watch Romeo + Juliet. ‘I remember writing an essay on Romeo + Juliet and particularly I remember an amazing bit in that where you wake up and Romeo is dead. You do this amazing, guttural sob. ‘I remember writing paragraphs about that sob and how impactful it was. So, there you go.’ Danes seemed flattered when Gadd told her how her performance inspired him Gadd said the essay he wrote about Danes' performancewas given an A by his teacher The scene from Luhrmann's modern take on the play, shows Juliet wakening up from a drug-induced coma to find a distraught Romeo beside her. Believing she is dead, Romeo drinks poison before Juliet realises what he is doing. He then dies in her arms with a grief-stricken Juliet left alone and crying before taking her own life with Romeo's gun. Danes appeared touched by Gadd’s essay revelation, replying: ‘And then you mastered the guttural sob. You saw my guttural sob and you raised it.’ The actress said she still remembers the scene distinctly, saying her performance was helped by Luhrmann's ‘epic’ scenery, which involved a vast tomb, filled with hundreds of flickering candles, tributes and religious icons. She added: ‘The world he creates helps elicit that feeling.’ Luhrmann's modern take on the Shakespearian classic featured music video-style editing, a pop soundtrack, car chases and gun battles. During the chat with Gadd, Danes also revealed she was chastised by DiCaprio on the set of the film for playing around with a prop gun that featured in the death scene. Danes was only 16 when she filmed Romeo + Juliet, while DiCaprio was older at 21. Danes described Luhrmann's set in Romeo's death scene as 'epic' Danes was also complimentary of Gadd's work on Baby Reindeer, above The chat between Danes and Gadd is part of the series Actors on Actors She said: ‘I remember just blithely playing with the prop gun and putting it to my head and Leo getting very serious and saying “Claire, we don’t do that. Don’t eff around”. ‘And he was right and I was just being a doofus.’ She added: ‘I remember the shock of the moment and being startled by my response, which is what we hope for and it doesn’t always happen. ‘But it got a good essay out of you so it was all worth it.’ Gadd, from the village of Wormit, in Fife, went on to reveal that his essay on the film was given an A grade by his teacher, adding: ‘I owe it all to you.’ The chat between Danes and Gadd, which can be watched on Variety’s YouTube channel, is part of the series Actors on Actors. Produced by broadcaster CNN in collaboration with entertainment magazine and website Variety, the shows see stars interview each other about their work. Previous shows have seen stars Timothée Chalamet and Matthew McConaughey talk to each other about their craft and high points in their respective careers. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.