Actor Jason Isaacs has revealed his ordeal after being stalked by a female fan for a decade, describing it as his own ‘Baby Reindeer’ nightmare.
Speaking for the first time in detail about his ten-year ordeal, the Harry Potter and White Lotus star said he was ‘terrified he would be stabbed or his house would be burnt down’.
And he revealed his frustration at how the ‘next to useless’ police refused to take him seriously because he was being stalked by a woman.
On one occasion the British actor was advised by officers to ‘just knock her out’ after she was once again spotted lurking outside his home.
Another time the unnamed stalker was arrested outside his house, only to reappear banging on his front door a short time later because the police had released her by mistake.
The police even bizarrely suggested the 61-year-old, who played Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter, should change his name and occupation after the woman repeatedly harassed him.
Actor Jason Isaacs (pictured) said he was ‘terrified he would be stabbed or his house would be burnt down’ when he was stalked by a female fan for ten years
The Harry Potter star said the police were ‘next to useless’ and refused to take him seriously, with officers on one occasion advising him to ‘just knock her out’
Mr Isaacs said he took the stalker to court ‘a number of times’ to enforce restraining orders, only for her to get back in touch once they expired
‘That’s an insane suggestion,’ he said. ‘They were next to useless, the police. They kept insisting I must have had an affair with her. And I’d never met her.’
Referencing the cult Netflix series about a comedian pursued by a fanatical female fan, Isaacs said: ‘I went mad with it. I should have written a film about it. Baby Reindeer may be slightly more dramatic, but not much.
He told the i newspaper: ‘I was terrified my house would be burned down or I’d be stabbed and because it was a young woman, the police didn’t take it seriously for a long time.’ He added: ‘She might read this, which is disturbing.’
He has previously revealed that during the ordeal, which lasted years from 1998, he had to take the woman to court ‘a number of times’ to enforce restraining orders, only for the fan to ‘obsessively and constantly’ get in contact once the order had expired.
At the time, he said: ‘Friends make jokes about it, but then I explain what it is like having someone standing outside your door banging in the early hours of the morning and suddenly a chill goes over the room.
‘What was really strange was I’d be away from home for six months or a year filming and then it would start again the day I got back. So, I thought, ‘Wow, is she just standing in my street every day watching?’
