Learn more about Ncuti Gatwa's career ahead of 'The Importance of Being Earnest'

The star of Doctor Who and Sex Education makes his National Theatre debut later this year.

All eyes are on Ncuti Gatwa, one of the most exciting talents to have emerged in recent years. Not only is he the current Doctor in Doctor Who but, this Christmas season, he’ll be returning to the stage to star in Oscar Wilde’s beloved comedy The Importance of Being Earnest at the National Theatre.

Gatwa was born in Rwanda in 1992. His family fled the country in 1994 during the Rwandan genocide, and arrived in Scotland. They first settled in Edinburgh and then moved to Dunfermline when Gatwa was 15. He studied acting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow, graduating in 2013.

In 2015, Gatwa played a supporting role in the BBC adaptation of Scottish writer Iain Banks’s novel Stonemouth. His mainstream breakthrough role came in 2019, when he was cast as Eric Effiong in Netflix’s Sex Education. Playing the British-Ghanaian-Nigerian gay best friend of the protagonist Otis (Asa Butterfield), the character was praised for the way in which he transcended stereotypes. Gatwa won a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Male Actor in Television in 2020, and received three BAFTA Award nominations.

In 2022, Gatwa was cast as the 15th Doctor in the BBC’s beloved sci-fi series Doctor Who. He made his debut in the role in “The Giggle” on 9 December 2023, in which David Tennant’s Doctor handed over the reins. His first full series premiered in May 2024 to huge acclaim. The Guardian called him “possibly the most charismatic person on the planet”.

On the big screen, Gatwa played Nick in The Last Letter to Your Lover, and Artist Ken in Barbie. He also plays the title role in Audible’s all-star audio adaptation of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield.

Gatwa has been appearing on stage for over a decade. We take a look at some of the theatrical roles that have shaped his career thus far, including roles in plays by William Shakespeare, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Alice Childress, David Greig, and more.

Various roles at Dundee Repertory Theatre

Gatwa began his stage career at Dundee Rep in 2013, as part of the theatre’s graduate scheme. At Dundee Rep, Gatwa appeared in plays as eclectic as David Greig’s Victoria, Euripides’ Hecuba, Alan Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind, Stuart Paterson’s Cars and Boys, and adaptations of Roald Dahl’s The BFG and Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.

Fun fact: Ncuti isn’t the first Doctor Who to have performed with the company, as William Hartnell, the very first incumbent of the role, performed in two shows with them in the 1940s, and David Tennant was a member in the early 1990s.

Romeo and Juliet

The following year, Gatwa played the scene-stealing role of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet for HOME Manchester, performed in a site-specific production at the city’s disused Victoria Baths. Gatwa received a Commendation in the Ian Charleson Awards for his performance.

Shakespeare in Love

In 2015, Gatwa made his West End debut in Lee Hall’s adaptation of the Oscar-winning film Shakespeare in Love at the Noël Coward Theatre. He played Wabash, the shy, stammering tailor and aspiring actor, played by Mark Williams in the film version.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Emma Rice’s debut production as artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe (2016) was a joyous affair that tore up the rule book. Gatwa played Demetrius to Ankur Bahl’s Helenus (formerly Helena). London Theatre’s review admired the “the freshness and vivacity of the lovers, beautifully played by Ncuti Garwa and Ankur Bahl (Demetrius and Helenus) and Edmund Derrington and Argana Vasan (Lysander and Hermia)”.

Gatwa and Rice also worked together on 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips, based on the book by Michael Morpurgo.

Trouble in Mind

Gatwa appeared opposite Tanya Moodie and Jonathan Slinger in Alice Childress’s 1955 drama about racism in theatre, directed by Laurence Boswell at Notting Hill’s The Print Room (now the Coronet Theatre). London Theatre’s review applauded the way in which there was a “sublime warm-hearted generosity to the performances”.

Other stage appearances

Gatwa also appeared in Pamela Carter’s Lies at Hackney Wick’s Yard Theatre (2015) and The Claim at Sheffield Crucible by Tim Cowbury and Mark Maughan. His most recent stage performance was as the dashing Captain Jack Absolute in Sheridan’s The Rivals at Newbury’s scenic Watermill Theatre in 2018.

The Importance of Being Earnest

This winter, Gatwa returns to the stage as Algernon Moncrieff in Oscar Wilde’s sparkling comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Max Webster at the National Theatre. There couldn't be a more perfect play and role to showcase his talent for comedy. Starring opposite Sharon D Clarke and Hugh Skinner, there’ll be charisma to burn on the South Bank this Christmas!

Check back for The Importance of Being Earnest tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credits: Wolf Marloh, BBC/Disney, Simon Tanner