Ncuti Gatwa

Mizero Ncuti Gatwa is a Rwandan-Scottish actor born on 15 October 1992. He is best known for his role as Eric Effiong in the Netflix series Sex Education, which ran from 2019 to 2023, and for playing the Fifteenth Doctor in the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who from 2023 to 2025.

Gatwa was born in the Nyarugenge District of Kigali, Rwanda, to Josephine and Tharcisse Gatwa. In 1994, his family fled the genocide against the Tutsi and relocated to Scotland, living in the Edinburgh suburb of Oxgangs before moving to Dunfermline when he was 15. He attended Boroughmuir High School and Dunfermline High School before studying acting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting in 2013, and the institution later awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2022.

After graduating, Gatwa began his professional career on stage through the Dundee Repertory Theatre acting graduation scheme. He made his television debut with a minor appearance in the BBC Scotland sitcom Bob Servant in 2014. That same year, he received a commendation at the Ian Charleson Awards for playing Mercutio in a production of Romeo and Juliet at HOME in Manchester. He followed this with roles in the 2015 television miniseries Stonemouth, Kneehigh Theatre's production of 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, and a 2016 staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare's Globe.

Gatwa achieved widespread recognition in 2019 after landing the breakout role of Eric Effiong in Sex Education. His performance won him the 2020 BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor in Television and earned him three consecutive British Academy Television Award nominations for Best Male Comedy Performance between 2020 and 2022.

In May 2022, Gatwa was cast as the protagonist in Doctor Who, becoming the first Black actor to lead the series. He made his on-screen debut as the Fifteenth Doctor in December 2023 and starred in the show's fourteenth series. His performance earned him the 2024 BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actor and a nomination for a Critics' Choice Television Award. He left the program in May 2025 after completing an 18-episode tenure across two seasons.

In addition to his television roles, Gatwa appeared as Artist Ken in the 2023 film Barbie and performed the song I'm Just Ken at the 96th Academy Awards. He returned to the stage in late 2024 as Algernon Moncrieff in The Importance of Being Earnest at the National Theatre, followed by a role as Christopher Marlowe in Born with Teeth in 2025. His other screen projects include the 2025 feature film The Roses, hosting the series finale of Saturday Night Live UK in May 2026, and upcoming roles in the films Frank and Percy and The Queen of Fashion.