Ncuti Gatwa

Actor

96 Quotes

Face your front' is a saying in my parents' culture. 'Face your front, don't look left and don't look right.' Don't be comparing yourself to everybody else, yeah? Follow your own journey.

When we have gay characters on TV, they're just, kind of, gay for the sake of being gay. That's their personality. That's their whole backstory, that's their future story, that's their present story - it's just gay. Nobody's just gay.

My career had been going pretty well until I took a job touring America. When I returned, it took time to remind people I was back in town and available. For four months - actually a short time for an actor to be out of work - I couldn't book any jobs.

Buying my pain aux raisins and someone wanting a selfie was so confusing.

You don't need to bow down to peer pressure or be comparing yourself.

I was so skint when I moved down to London and I never had money, ever.

I grew up with a single mum, an immigrant mum who couldn't speak the language, no money, three kids on her back, coming from Rwanda, and she's done a sterling job with all three of us.

I think it's quite natural as an actor to compare yourself to how well other people are doing and how other people might've played that role you auditioned for. There's a lot of comparison you can do as an actor, which is natural, because it's a competitive industry. However, we're all individuals, so you can only ever be yourself.

I love theater, and I love that you have to be so intensely in the character and you have to hit that place every single night. It's just really good training. It was just a very good way of falling in love with my craft.

Costume really helps you feel in character.

I have faith, but I'm not the biggest fan of organised religion. There's a lot of hypocrites in church. A lot of hypocrites.

My mum and dad were born into nothing and came to this country with nothing. They've had to make so many sacrifices so I wouldn't have to make any, and always supported me.

I developed depression. But I never let people know how down I was feeling. That would have been another burden for my friends to take on. My mind became my biggest enemy.

As an actor you have good spells and bad spells.

Make-up are the first people the actors go to on set every day - they see you at your most vulnerable. Then they paint the character on you, they're integral to that transformation. It's such an intimate art form that you develop a really close relationship with your make-up artist.

The strangest place I have been recognised is a urinal. I was like: 'Why are you talking to me now?' That is the weirdest thing, but the most uncomfortable is when you are on the street and someone just grabs you.

The only thing stopping me from being on the streets was the fact I had friends. But you can use up that goodwill. Or you feel scared to ask people for help. Your pride kicks in. So my life before 'Sex Education' was so different. To go to my audition, I had to get my friend to transfer me 10 quid so I could top up my Oyster card.

You get on the tube and you notice everyone's looking at you, and you're like, 'What's on my face?' It always takes me a couple of seconds to remember I'm on a Netflix show that airs to the entire world.

Because my parents are Rwandan, there was always a lot of colour and artwork in our house and that informed my love of bright and vibrant clothes.

To be able to show your creativity or your creative expression on your body is a very powerful thing.

1 of 5
1 2 3 4 5