Doctor Who Actor Ncuti Gatwa Comes Out As Queer
Image: Ncuti Gatwa Instagram
Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa has officially and casually come out as Queer.
In an interview with Elle UK, Gatwa, 30, shared his Queerness as he recalled a story that happened a few years ago at Manchester Pride.聽
‘I Thought I Was The Only One In The World’
鈥業 remember being at Manchester Pride, going through the streets with all my boys, shaking my cha-chas, living it up, when I saw this woman who looked exactly like my auntie. She wasn鈥檛 鈥� but I knew she was Rwandan,鈥� he said.聽
Gatwa spoke to the woman and asked her why she was at Pride.
He continued, “I can feel myself getting emotional just thinking about it. We were holding hands, and she said to me, 鈥業 don鈥檛 really know why I鈥檓 here. I鈥檓 just here.鈥� I told her, 鈥楬oney, you don鈥檛 need to know. You absolutely. Do not. Need. To. Know. You鈥檙e here. Be proud of who you are”.聽
鈥淚 had never met another queer Rwandan person before. I thought I was the only one in the world.鈥�
Gatwa was born in Kigali, Rwanda. At the age of two, he moved with his family to Scotland to escape the Rwandan genocide.
View this post on Instagram
‘You Can Find A Tribe, You Can Find Your People’
In May 2022, it was announced that Gatwa was cast as Doctor Who, becoming the 14th actor to take on the role.聽
Prior to being cast in the titular role on Doctor Who, he was best known for playing gay teen, Eric Effiong in the Netflix series Sex Education.
Speaking about playing Eric in Sex Education, Gatwa said, 鈥淗e鈥檚 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鈥檚 so powerful and necessary.鈥�
He went on to share that, 鈥淚t undid a lot of the internalised hate I had. I鈥檝e 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鈥檒l constantly have to fight through life 鈥� then you learn that you don鈥檛: you can find a tribe, you can find your people.鈥�
I鈥檝e been eagerly awaiting the Arrival of the Next Dr. ? Particularly since he was going to be of the homosexual persuasion. Turns out HE is going to be a total & complete N鈥� Cutie. Already deserving the Reward of 鈥楬IS 鈥楥ompanion鈥�, always spinning around the galaxies, universes to universes on Board