The cast and creators take us inside Dexter and Emma’s love story.
Netflix
Warning: This post contains spoilers from Netflix’sOne Day.
Dexter Mayhew isn’t the only one who fell in love with Emma Morley.
Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod in ‘One Day’.Credit:Netflix
“Every young British woman related to that girl.
She’s just one of the most well drawn female characters in fiction.”
But when the idea was brought to him for a TV show, something clicked.
Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod in ‘One Day’.Netflix
“In a TV show, they can become something else.”
That is the overarching question for the series.
I felt that was very truthful to those kinds of relationships."
Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall in ‘One Day’.Netflix
“This is what’s so universal about the book.
I think that is an experience that so many people have,” Taylor continues.
“They’re brilliant characters, let’s just be with them over time,” she says.
Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall in ‘One Day’.Netflix
But how much time?
But the story doesn’t work without Emma and Dexter … which brings us to casting.
Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall both remember meeting at the chemistry read.
Leo Woodall and Ambika Mod.Ludovic Robert/Netflix
Both actors had a difficult task in front of them.
“She is, I think, the grounding character in so much of the novel.
So yeah, I felt pressure.
Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall in ‘One Day’.Ludovic Robert/Netflix
She’s written as white, she was played by the beautiful Anne Hathaway.
I just didn’t see it matching up.
I just fell in love with her all over again.”
“It was a dream situation,” Taylor ays.
“Ambika walked into the room and it was just instant.
There’s my dream for Emma.
There’s nothing archetypal about her.
She was complex, peculiar, she seemed quite withdrawn, kind of nervously ironic.
It reminded me of being that person in the ’90s.”
Woodall’s challenge was a bit different.
It’s not always easy to root for him.
Taylor says with a laugh.
“Times have changed.”
And that’s Leo.
He’s just divine."
Woodall was careful not to judge his own character.
“I definitely wanted to maintain the goodness about him throughout if I could,” Woodall says.
“There are times where that was pretty difficult.
But Woodall had no idea what he was in for.
Although the series largely shot chronologically, less than a week into production, they filmed episode 14.
“It was day four that we did the first year after that moment,” Woodall says.
Ludovic Robert/Netflix
We’ll say it again spoiler alert!
But “that moment” refers to something book fans have been dreading: Emma’s death.
“I just wanted to reinterview it for its place in the piece.”
“I was nervous because that is such an iconic moment in the book,” Mod says.
And so I was nervous for that scene.”
“I focused on her thought processes.
I really focused on that thought process and hopefully that conveyed.”
“It was horrible, I’m not going to lie,” Woodall says.
“But in a way, it was nice to get some of it done early.
Then I re-read the book, stayed up all night reading, loved it.
I couldn’t not take this job.”
Much like in Dex and Em’s story, that one choice changed everything.
One Dayis available on Netflix now.
