Ncuti Gatwa

Ncuti Gatwa (born 15 October 1992 ) is a Rwandan-Scottish BAFTA-winning actor who played the Doctor in Doctor Who, starting with series fourteen. Gatwa has had roles in television, film, and theatre.

While Gatwa wasn't the first black actor to portray the Doctor, being preceded by Lenny Henry, Daniel Anthony, and Jo Martin, Gatwa did hold the distinction of being the first black actor to spearhead the series in the titular role.

Early life
Gatwa was born in, Rwanda , on 15 October 1992 , but he and his family fled to Scotland in 1994 following the.

During his childhood, he lived in and Edinburgh, but he always different from everyone around him, as nobody, not student nor adult nor role model, shared his heritage in Scotland.

He describes himself as a "Rwandan-Scotsman", a term he coined.

Career
His first role in television was in (series two, The Van) as an unnamed customer in 2014. The series also starred Brian Cox.

Gatwa starred in Netflix's as Eric Effiong, an openly gay character who was prasied for not being a caricature, as one may expect from the typcial portrayal of black and gay characters in television and film, due to Eric being fully fleshed out as a character and never being played "second fiddle" to Otis (the primary protagonist of the series). The series also co-starred the likes of Gillian Anderson.

Casting and announcement
Russell T Davies explained with the casting of Gatwa, that his casting wasn't just about "diversity and representation", explaining...

Davies did also punctuate that he considered "diversity and representation [to be] very important." Russell later added: "Sometimes talent walks through the door and it’s so bright and bold and brilliant, I just stand back in awe and thank my lucky stars. Ncuti dazzled us, seized hold of the Doctor and owned those TARDIS keys in seconds. It’s an honour to work with him, and a hoot, I can’t wait to get started." When Gatwa was told that he had got the role, in around March, he didn't tell anyone about it, including his co-stars in the 2023 film.

On 17 April it was revealed by BBC entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba in a BBC News article that the Jodie Whittaker's successor as the Doctor was "expected to be revealed in the coming weeks".

On 8 May, Gatwa teased his role on the series on his Instagram account, where he posted a white image with the emojis of "❤️❤️➕🟦" on it; shortly thereafter, it was officially announced that Gatwa would be joining the series. Big Finish Productions quickly joked that people would start Tweeting at them about any boxsets featuring his Doctor.

Lenny Henry, prior to the broadcast of his role in Spyfall, criticised Doctor Who for never having "a black Doctor Who", jokingly adding "they would rather have a dog do Doctor Who than a black person. [Barking noise]." When Gatwa was announced in the role, Henry strongly praised Russell T Davies for the casting, stating "a lot of black fans have been looking at our watches for a while! More power to Russell T Davies."

By 27 May, however, Gatwa had to hire security for himself and his family following the announcement of his casting.

Doctor Who
As the Doctor
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