Last summer, you almost definitely sawNcuti Gatwaas one of many Kens inBarbie.
You may also recognize him fromSex Educationor, most recently,Doctor Who.
His full name is Mizero Ncuti Gatwa.
On theBarbieset, Ncuti Gatwa once turned around to find Ryan Gosling looking at him, and “his eyes were so blue that [Ncuti] just…fell over."
2.He’s a Librasun, Gemini moon, and Scorpio rising.
3.When he was two, his family left Rwanda for the UK amidst the Rwandan genocide.
They settled in Scotland.
InBBC Scotland, he said, “Landscape wise [Rwanda] looks really similar to Scotland.
It’s a thing…I’m making it a thing.”
4.Hehasone brother and one sister.
And then there were just kids from all over the world.”
They’ve given me my work ethic and I guess a sense of responsibility.
I guess they instilled in me a sense of walking through this world.
He toldBBC Scotland, “I remember my mum being like… ‘everyone looks the same’.
She wasnt but I knew she was Rwandan…It just blew my mind that she was there.
I can feel myself getting emotional just thinking about it.
We were holding hands, and she said to me, ‘I dont really know why Im here.
Im just here.’
I told her, ‘Honey, you dont need to know.
Be proud of who you are.’
I had never met another queer Rwandan person before.
I thought I was the only one in the world.”
Ive never been in the closet, you know.
I just never talked about it.
The work I do is whats important."
He got the audition forDoctor Whoa week later.
He prepped by binging the entirety of the 2005 revival series in a week.
He toldRolling Stone UK, “I fell in love with it.
When you watch it, you forget all your troubles.
You go to space, or to another time.
You have adventures.”
Ncuti said, “This person survived a genocide.
This person fits in everywhere and nowhere.
The Doctor is me.
I decided that I had to get this role.”
Your existence when youre a marginalized person is political.
So yeah, I was like…
I dont think Ill get it.
And then I did, and I thought Wow… Oh shit…. Oh shit!
What have I done?!
And then once the shock of it all left my system, it was a no-brainer."
11.Ncuti is the first person of color to play a main, series-leading regeneration of the Doctor.
He’s also the first openly queer actor toplaythe Doctor.
14.To help him understand his characters, hedecideswhat their astrological chart would be.
For him, astrology, “probably filled a gap that religion left.”
He toldRolling Stone UK, “I found astrology so accepting.
It helped me accept my own darkness, and other peoples darkness, too.
I had a very… badbreakup.
I ended up becoming homeless after it.
I understand their motives now.
I dont forget their actions, but I can forgive their motives.”
He toldNews 18, “It’s actually hugely fascinating and a real skill to master.
18.He thinks of costar Asa Butterfield as a “little brother.”
Which was confusing because Ryan was Ken!”
he toldRolling Stone UK.
20.While filmingBarbie, he was so nervous that he barelyspokeon set for the first month.
He toldElle, “I just drowned in his eyes.”
Black History Month is here!
