Ambika Mod interview: ‘One Day’

Ambika Mod didn’t want the role of Emma Morley in the Netflix limited series “One Day.” The British actress and comedian had loved the original 2009 novel by David Nicholls and the 2011 film adaptation that starred Anne Hathaway. But after turning down the opportunity to audition, Mod realized that she’d “made a terrible mistake.” As the reveals in a recent chat with Gold Derby (watch the exclusive video interview above), “It’s so insane to me. It’s scary that this almost could not have been mine.”

Once she decided to go for it, the actress describes the long process that eventually paired her Emma with the Dexter of Leo Woodall. “This was a grueling audition process,” she recalls. “They really did their due diligence in not only finding the right Emma and the right Dexter, but also making sure that they, as a pair, were a cream of the crop pairing.”

Each episode of “One Day” chronicles the relationship between Emma and Dexter on a single day over the course of more than 15 years.  Mod says she relied on the book as well as discussions with the creative team in order to track the many changes in Emma’s external and internal lives between each episode. “I would always go through and jot down the major events that happens or the ways in which relationships had changed,” she explains. “Then if there were extra questions or extra gaps, I would just fill those in myself and make them up.”

Both Emma and Dexter are flawed in their own ways, but Mod argues that their bond stems from their ability to let their guards down around each other. “They are just able to be themselves with each other, as simple and cliche as that sounds,” she explains. “Actually what I love about the first episode it that it’s not this cosmic union. It’s not like ‘bam bam’ chemistry and sparks flying. It’s really awkward and stilted and there are so many missed opportunities. I actually think that’s much more indicative of how real life relationships work.”

The show has clearly resonated with viewers, becoming one of the top streaming shows of early 2024. The reason for this, according to Mob, is because it defies simple categorization. Mob calls labels like rom com or romance “reductive.” “It’s just life in all its spectrums,” she argues. “It’s just life in all its technicolor.”