One Day actor Leo Woodall has reflected on his first meeting with co-star Ambika Mod.
The White Lotus alum plays Dexter in Netflix’s new hit miniseries, while former This Is Going To Hurt star Ambika portrays his on-screen friend and love interest, Emma.
So far, the show has been a huge hit for Netflix, with critics heaping praise on the two lead actors’ on-screen chemistry.
The pair went through several “chemistry reads” during the audition process, which Leo admitting he was keen to act alongside Ambika when they first met – even if their initial conversation didn’t get off to the best start.
“She was talking to another potential Dexter, and I was like, ‘Oh God, how do I get in here?’” he told ABC News.
“I said, ‘Oh, nice shoes’. And it was like, not mid-scene, but it was while we were supposed to be working and it kind of all just fell flat.”
Fortunately, that’s not quite how she remembers it.
“I met Leo at the chemistry reads and he was the second ‘Dexter’ I read with. He is so cheeky and charming,” she told the podcast Reign.
“He was so open and warm just immediately and it felt really easy, the scenes felt really playful and I think that’s really rare.”
She continued: “That was really half the battle because I think if that had been cast wrong, it would have been so much harder. You just can’t fake that stuff and I’m really grateful to have had an actor like Leo.”
Aside from these early “chemistry reads”, the pair didn’t have much time to work on their rapport before shooting began.
“We met for a gin and tonic before we started pre-production, we met on the Southbank to just have a chat. But that was it,” Leo told HuffPost UK before the show began streaming.
Elaborating to Variety, he added: “We met up for coffee, which then turned into a gin and tonic around lunchtime, the day before we went into pre-production, just to kind of have a natter.”
“You don’t really have time,” Ambika added during our interview. “I’d just finished a job, [Leo] had just finished a job, we went straight into rehearsals, so you just have to [build that chemistry] in real time.”
In the lead-up to One Day, Leo also spoke about the surprising reality of shooting the show’s dramatic ending, while Ambika shared how the backlash to Anne Hathaway’s accent in the original film adaptation of the story affected her going into the filming process.
One Day is now streaming on Netflix.