Ncuti Gatwa on working with Ryan Gosling on ‘Barbie’: “I just drowned in his eyes”

Sex Education star and new Doctor Who actor Ncuti Gatwa has done an interview and fashion shoot for Elle UK.

Gatwa was one of the winners of the recent Elle UK Style Awards. He picked up its ‘Modern Pioneer’ award and is one of five front cover stars for the new issue. Inside, he talks about working on the recent Barbie movie alongside Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

The 30-year-old says he was super nervous on the set of his first major Hollywood movie.

“I was so nervous I hardly spoke for the first month [on set].

“There was a time when I was talking to Greta [Gerwig] and I turned around and Ryan Gosling was looking at me, and his eyes were so blue that I just… fell over. I just drowned in his eyes.”

He praised the movie’s makers for ensuring a welcoming and empathetic set.

The Rwandan-Scottish actor also talked about how his breakout role in Sex Education, playing gay teen Eric Effiong, helped him.

“It undid a lot of the internalized hate I had.

“I’ve experienced racism my whole life, and while I always believed in myself, always knew [racists] were stupid and uneducated, I guess it did misinform my view of how the world works.

“It makes you think everyone has that opinion and you’ll constantly have to fight through life – then you learn that you don’t: you can find a tribe, you can find your people.”

“Shout out to [screenwriter] Laurie Nunn for giving nuance to this gay, black character and gifting him to the world. He’s so fierce and unashamed.

“It was healing for me, and great for people to see themselves represented. It taught me the importance of representation: it’s so powerful and necessary.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Gawta becomes angry when it’s suggested that some people might view his casting as a “box-ticking exercise” in diversity.

“First of all, you don’t know anything about me. Secondly, tick f*cking boxes! People need to be f*cking seen. What are you going to do, tell the same stories? Have the same people fronting things for all of eternity? Representation and inclusivity and branching out… it enriches us all. How embarrassing. You people with your tiny mindsets – open a book, look out the window and then f*ck off.”