Denise Gough, born on February 28, 1980, is an Irish actress. She is known for her portrayal of Dedra Meero in the television series Andor, which premiered in 2022.
As a child, Denise Gough watched Star Wars and owned a toy that she believed to be the Death Star. Tony Gilroy, who served as the writer and executive producer for the television series Andor, was greatly impressed by Gough's performance in the play People, Places and Things. He felt that she would be perfect for the role. Subsequently, Gough's agent informed her that Star Wars had contacted them, and Gilroy reached out to her about a potential role. Gough initially had concerns because she was unfamiliar with Gilroy and had limited knowledge of the franchise. However, Gilroy assured her that he also had limited familiarity with Star Wars. He then provided Gough with an overview of Andor and sent her the scripts for the first three episodes. She found the scripts to be exceptional, even though her character, Dedra Meero, did not appear until the episode "Aldhani."
After an in-depth discussion about Meero with Gilroy, lasting an hour, Gough decided that she wanted to take on the role. Gough was drawn to the role because of the emphasis placed on the characters' humanity. Gilroy characterized Meero as both "fascist" and "badass" to Gough. When Gough inquired about Meero's history, Gilroy explained that she was an outsider who sought a position of power to gain a sense of control. In preparation, the actress only watched Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to avoid being overwhelmed with information and to prevent herself from simply replicating an existing portrayal. Instead, Gough focused on developing her character and exploring Meero's core traits. Gough admired the look and style of actress Jennifer Connelly in the television series Snowpiercer, and she emulated her composed elegance. Gough was also inspired by the villain Gustavo Fring from the Breaking Bad television series.
The actress enjoyed the opportunity to portray a female character navigating a male-dominated environment. She also appreciated the chance to illustrate how the pursuit of power and control can be dangerous for anyone, regardless of their gender. Gough believed that Meero felt she deserved a better position than the one she held. She also believed that Meero had a strong faith in the Galactic Empire and was convinced that her actions were justified. She found Meero's desire to control everyone and everything to be frightening, leading her to view the character as the opposite of Luthen Rael.
Gough relished playing Meero and supported her because she was surrounded by men who were not performing their jobs effectively in the room where she worked. The actress made sure to portray Meero as being just as ambitious as the most villainous men and to "color in all the shades" to create conflicting emotions in the audience. Gough believed that her character's need for recognition and achievement stemmed from a lack of psychological validation. Initially, Gough felt that Meero's uniform resembled Mon Mothma's too closely. During her initial fitting for Meero's uniform, Gough requested that the designer tailor the uniform and make adjustments in specific areas. He informed her that Kyle Soller had also had all of his Syril Karn costumes tailored. Gough then came to the conclusion that she and Soller would be a good match, as they both had OCD.
Scenes set on Ferrix were filmed on an elaborate set in Little Marlow, Buckinghamshire. According to Tony Gilroy, the Ferrix scenes were filmed first. On Gough's first day on set, she was present for Maarva Andor's funeral on the Ferrix set, where Gough and two Death Troopers walked through a large group of extras. When Gough began humming the Star Wars theme, all of the extras joined in, making Gough acutely aware that she was part of Star Wars. The actors then heard Fiona Shaw's voice, the actress who played Maarva, delivering a monologue. Gough was excited by Shaw's use of profanity at the end of the speech. She was impressed by the level of detail, which she believed was intended solely for the actors. Early in the filming of the episode "Announcement," Gough had to say that she needed a Multi-Sector Data Blend going back two years, but she struggled to pronounce the words correctly. She discussed this with director Benjamin Caron, and she was able to deliver the line after realizing that she needed to engage muscles that she typically only used on stage.
When Gough and Kyle Soller first met and filmed their scenes together, Gough realized that Karn was just as intense as Meero. They both tried to match each other's intensity and ambition. During the filming of Meero's rejection of Syril Karn outside the ISB Building in the episode "Nobody's Listening!", Gough attempted to convey her fury to demonstrate Meero's aversion to being touched by Karn. Gough later realized that the scene suggested that Meero had never been touched before. The actress enjoyed the scene in which Meero tortured Bix Caleen. She mentioned that her "Twitchy-face Gough" emerged naturally, possibly because her body language was so controlled. Caron instructed Gough to maintain a neutral expression and keep her hands behind her back. Gough initially had reservations about Meero being rescued by Karn in the finale. When Karn brought Meero into a small room, Gough found a way to ensure that Meero's first action was to reach for something to strike Karn with. Gough has received the scripts for the second season of Andor. She expressed her desire for the season to feature Meero out of uniform.