Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa will debut as The Doctor this year and he sees it as a huge challenge.
As he prepares for his return as Eric Effiong in the fourth and final season of Sex Education, Ncuti Gatwa has another big acting challenge to face this year. In November, during the celebration of 60 years of the franchise, the actor will be introduced as the new protagonist of Doctor Who.
First released in 1963, the science fiction series has become not only an emblem for the genre and the BBC, but also one of the most popular productions in pop culture. Many great actors have had the honor of playing the legendary Doctor, and Gatwa will soon join the roster for at least two seasons after Jodie Whitaker became the first woman to play the character on the main series.
Beyond the excitement that the opportunity to become such an important character can bring to any actor, it also comes with a lot of pressure. Speaking to Rolling Stone UK, Gatwa compared his upcoming project to James Bond in terms of the weight that comes with taking on such a relevant and popular role within British culture, confessing to feeling really nervous:
“I’m very nervous. I have a lot of sleepless nights where I lie awake feeling my heartbeat,” he says. It’s hard to imagine the pressure he must suddenly be feeling, but it’s understandable nevertheless. Doctor Who is a science-fiction family show that has run, on and off in some form, for 60 years. It’s also a nexus of so much of British culture. Like James Bond, the Doctor is a character through which Britain learns to understand itself, as much an icon of our changing times as a fictional being. The show’s connection to British identity means tensions can run high and fans can be cruel at times, seemingly over-protective because they feel that the show is something they own. They can also be bigoted in the most predictable ways.”
He also weighed on the challenge it represents for him to be the first Black man to become Doctor Who’s main star:
“I’m the first Black man to play this character. The British press can be very mean,” he says of the reaction to his casting. But Gatwa is determined to remain steadfast in the face of criticism. “I just have to focus on the job and stay true to what the Doctor is: a mad scientist alien who has adventures and cares about everyone,” he says.
What to Expect from Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who
For now, details about the plot of the next season of Doctor Who starring Gatwa are being kept under wraps. But, during the interview, Gatwa revealed some details of his vision for the character and what makes him different from previous versions:
“My Doctor is emotionally vulnerable. He hides it with humour, but he’s lonely. I can’t say much more than that; I don’t want to spoil anything. But he’s also energetic! The poor cameramen struggled to keep up.”
The actor will be introduced in the specials of the 60 years, where he will share the screen with legends of the series such as David Tennant, and great guest stars such as Jonathan Groff or Neil Patrick Harris, who will play the main villain.
Doctor Who follows the adventures of the Time Lord, a being who travels through time and space in a spaceship known as the TARDIS and which is shaped like a British police box from the 1960s, the time the show first aired. With the assistance of different companions, which in the case of Gatwa will be the actress Millie Gibson, the Doctor visits both the past and the future in order to save different civilizations while facing powerful enemies.
