British Actors You Should Know: Ncuti Gatwa

Ncuti Gatwa is one of those rare and spectacular actors living every other young actor’s dream: a much-deserved meteoric rise to stardom. Though he may seem like an overnight success, his breakout role in Sex Education only came after years of hard-won minor roles in theater and bit parts in sitcoms and limited series. Gatwa has also spoken candidly about his brush with homelessness for several months before landing his role in Sex Education. 

The actor has been open about how his personal experience as a Black gay man and survivor of the Rwandan genocide has impacted his career and influenced the characters he plays. As a lover of astrology and Beyoncé (he’s a Libra if you were wondering), a strong voice on social issues, and an all-around style icon, everything about Gatwa speaks to today’s Gen Z and millennial audiences. He may be young and early in his career, but he’s here to stay, and his star is only rising higher. 

He will have a role in the forthcoming (and highly star-studded) satirical drama film The Roses, which is currently in production, and Gatwa’s second season of Doctor Who is set to air in early 2025. For U.S. fans of Gatwa’s work on screen wondering how his talents transfer to the stage, he is about to star in the National Theatre’s The Importance of Being Earnest, which will get a cinema screening in the U.S. in February 2025. While we wait for the next wave of Gatwa goodness, here are some of the most notable roles of his career so far.

In the 2021 romantic drama The Last Letter from Your Lover based on Jojo Moyes’ novel of the same name, two women separated by over five decades of history discover a mysterious letter that captures their hearts and sparks their curiosity. In the present day, journalist Ellie Haworth (Felicity Jones) finds the letter in an archive, leading her to research the letter’s mysterious author and recipient. Gatwa plays Ellie’s coworker Nick, another journalist at her paper. 

From a 2024 perspective, The Last Letter from Your Lover criminally underuses Gatwa’s talents, but it reminds us that he didn’t spring onto our screens fully formed; he’s been working for it!

The Last Letter to Your Lover is streaming on Netflix.

The 2014 sitcom Bob Servant Independent, renamed Bob Servant, is a Scottish series created by Guilt's Neil Forsyth. The first six episodes were broadcast in 2013 on BBC 4 and BBC 2 Scotland. Set in Broughty Ferry (a suburb of Dundee), the series starred Succession's Brian Cox in the title role of Bob Servant, a local cheeseburger tycoon, and Jonathan Watson (Annika) as his right-hand man, Frank. 

The series ran two seasons and featured many high-profile and up-and-coming guest stars, from Shirley Henderson to Derek Riddell. Gatwa turns up in the Season 2 premiere as one of those affected by Bob's first attempt at a comeback.

Both seasons of Bob Servant are streaming on Roku.

Though a comparatively minor role, Gatwa’s part in the 2023 blockbuster Barbie cemented him at the center of one of the most intense pop cultural moments in recent memory and put him in front of millions of viewers for the first time. Gatwa played “Artist Ken” paired with his Sex Education costar Emma Mackey as “Physicist Barbie.” 

All respect to Main Ken Ryan Gosling, (or Secondary Ken, Simu Liu), but it’s hard to imagine anyone more Ken than Ncuti Gatwa with his toned physique, dazzling grin, and easy, breezy attitude.

Barbie is streaming on Max.

Based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Scottish author Iain Banks, Stonemouth starred starring Christian Cooke as Stewart Gilmour, forced to flee the town five years previous due to a scandal where he was caught cheating during a wedding. Now forced to return due to a funeral, Stewart had to deal with the fallout from his indiscretion, involving his being engaged to one of the two major rival gangs in town. 

Peter Mullan, Sharon Small, and Gary Lewis are also co-stars in the series. Gatwa plays PC Dougie in the two-parter, the local bobby trying to keep the peace.

All episodes of Stonemouth are streaming on BritBox.

The historical drama Masters of the Air tells the true story of American aviators in World War II who were part of the 100th Bomb Group, a bomber crew that suffered staggering casualties while fighting in Germany. Though the miniseries is a story of American history, Gatwa stars alongside other notable British and Irish actors, including Callum Turner (War & Peace), Anthony Boyle (Manhunt), and Barry Keoghan (Saltburn). 

In an all-too-brief appearance, Gatwa plays 2nd Lt. Robert H. Daniels, one of the Tuskegee Airmen. In a credit to Gatwa’s star power, the series’ marketing might lead viewers to expect him to have a much larger role than he actually does.

Masters of the Air is streaming on Apple TV+.

Gatwa’s breakout role as Eric in the comedy-drama Sex Education delighted viewers for the show’s run from 2019 to 2023. A Netflix production, the young adult series follows the lives of students, parents, and staff at the fictional Moordale Secondary School. At the center of the drama is Otis (Asa Butterfield), an awkward student whose mom, played by Gillian Anderson (The Crown), is a sex therapist.

Gatwa plays Otis’s best friend, Eric Effiong, whose strong character arc across the seasons sees him contend with bullying, sexuality, faith, and heritage, all with his signature big heart and even bigger personality. On playing Eric, Gatwa told Elle, “He’s so fierce and unashamed. It was healing for me and great for people to see themselves represented.”

All seasons of Sex Education are streaming on Netflix.

If Sex Education was Gatwa’s breakout role, Doctor Who is the role that has placed him solidly in the ranks of Britain’s acting greats. When Gatwa was cast as the Fifteenth Doctor in the rebooted reboot of the BBC’s long-running sci-fi series in 2022, fans rejoiced at the prospect of the first Black and openly queer actor to play the role. For all the celebration about Gatwa stepping into the role, there were detractors, to whom Gatwa said (speaking to Rolling Stone), “[Doctor Who] evolves and it regenerates. I feel like it’s about time, and I am here. For all you damners out there, I’m not going anywhere.”

The buzz ahead of his first appearance on the screen was intense, culminating in a surprise early appearance in one of the show’s 60-anniversary specials, where Gatwa inherited the role from David Tennant. Since then, he has met and exceeded fans’ high expectations, bringing the iconic character new dimensions of emotion and joy. As with Sex Education, Gatwa brought his own experience to the role, both as a queer person and as a survivor of genocide. 

As he described his take on the Doctor to Rolling Stone, “This person survived a genocide. This person fits in everywhere and nowhere. I am the Doctor. The Doctor is me.” 

The newly rebooted Doctor Who is streaming on Disney+.