Leo Woodall Felt 'Protective' Over Playboy Character Filming Netflix'sOne Day: 'Serious Responsibility' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Ambika Mod and Leo Woodall in ‘One Day’.Photo:Teddy Cavendish/Netflix

Teddy Cavendish/Netflix

It wasn’t the first timeLeo Woodallwas tasked with creating chemistry on the screen, butOne Dayjust felt different.

“There was a real vulnerability deep inside this character, where the face of him is [a] confident, privileged, golden boy, and I think digging deeper into him, there was a lot of fragility and vulnerability,” he says of his character, affluent Oxford playboy Dex.

“I felt a lot of empathy for him. I felt quite protective of him once I started to get closer to the role,” he continues. “And I also just think it was a beautiful story.”

Ambika Mod as Emma & Leo Woodall as Dexter in ‘One Day’.Ludovic Robert/Netflix

Ludovic Robert/Netflix

The story, which previously played out on screen in anAnne Hathaway-led 2011 film, sees a transformative chance meeting on Dex and Emma’s (Ambika Mod) final night at university change their lives. After spending the night together — half romantically, per Dex, half platonically, per Emma — the trajectory of both of their lives change completely, and they spend the next two decades reuniting on the same day every year, tracing hardships and successes, and alternating between denying their chemistry and accepting it.

“I think there was definitely a serious responsibility that me and Ambika both felt to tell their stories,” he admits, noting that Dex and Emma’s story “already meant so much to fans of the book.”

It “definitely was different” than his romance onscreen inThe White Lotus,which saw sparks fly between his character, cocky Essex boy Jack, andHaley Lu Richardson’s Portia, the floundering assistant to Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge).

Working on the Mike White hit series alongside Coolidge, Richardson and stars likeMichael Imperioli,Theo JamesandAubrey Plazawas “one of the best times ever,” he says. “A lot of it was kinda just one big holiday.”

Leo Woodall in ‘One Day’.Ludovic Robert/Netflix

It also brought some real-life love into his life, as he and costarMeghann Fahy’srelationshipsprouted from their time spent together in Sicily filming the show. Neither Woodall nor Fahy, 33, haveconfirmed their relationship statuspublicly, butthey had an adorable — and cuddly — date nighttogether at the2023 Emmysin January.

Nights like that — where much of the cast is reunited — are “definitely a rarity,” he says. “And it was really fun.”

ForOne Day, he broke the ice with Mod, 29, in a classically English way — over gin and tonics at lunchtime.

He continued of his and Mod’s bond, “We knew it was going to be a long road and we were going to have to lean on each other. And that was a great support network, I think."

Ambika Mod as Emma & Leo Woodall as Dexter in ‘One Day’.Netflix

Netflix

Woodall admits he’s “a sucker for a nineties romcom,” so it makes sense that his “favorite day” for Dex and Emma — between their meeting in 1988 and the show’s conclusion in 2007 — is when they’re finally content.

“When everything is just good and — spoiler alert! — they’re happy,” he shares. “That was very nice. There was no real drama for a minute. They weren’t falling out, they weren’t in different head spaces. That was very sweet to film.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

One Dayis now streaming on Netflix.

source: people.com