Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa hails Madonna as his career inspiration
Ncuti Gatwa has revealed he sees himself as Madonna as he is constantly reinventing himself just like the legendary Material Girl.
The Doctor Who star admitted he feared being typecast after playing Eric Effiong in Sex Education, which preceded his role as the Time Lord.
Gatwa said: “I like to think of myself as Madonna. I’m still reinventing myself. Actors, we are transformers by definition. I think of myself as a shape-shifter, and I will shift into whatever shape you want.
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“I like each role to be very different from the last, and I like to use all the tools in my kit as an actor that I’ve learned through the university of life and drama school and all of that. I’m such a people-watcher. Human beings are amazing and terrible and very weird. We are sooo weird. I want to play every single type of human.”
The Rwandan Scottish actor, who considered quitting acting six years ago, believes he made it in Hollywood by being a shape-shifting maverick who bends to every role whether it’s the immortal Doctor Who or a gay high schooler in Sex Education.
“After season one of Sex Education, I spoke with my team and I was like, ‘The next thing that we do in the public eye needs to be completely different.’ So we waited a long time before accepting anything…
“But I was definitely worried about getting typecast because when you have a character that’s known for certain parts of their identity, I think it’s hard for people to see past that sometimes.
“He is just a really wonderfully written character. So if I was to play Eric for the rest of my life, that wouldn’t be terrible, but I do want to play everything.
“It’s more about me showing myself off than anything else. But yeah, it’s interesting to see how characters of colour and of queer identities are being written now, not so much as supporting characters or humorous characters—they’re full-bodied.”
Gatwa features on the cover of the 2025 Hollywood Issue of Vanity Fair magazine alongside the likes of Nicole Kidman, Glen Powell and Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney.
The other actors featured in Vanity Fair’s 2025 Hollywood issue is available on newsstands from November 27, are Dune star Zendaya, Zoe Saldana, Dev Patel, Bill Skarsgard, Josh O'Connor, Danielle Deadwyler, Jonathan Bailey and Blackpink rapper/actress Lisa.
The dozen stars who posed for the magazine made the list by "taking risks" with their roles and showing "what stardom should look like".
The actor also revealed he suffered from imposter syndrome while making the blockbuster movie Barbie.
He said: “It was a real test of my imposter syndrome. It was very Hollywood in terms of the cast and the budget and the infrastructure around it, but it also felt very much like we were rehearsing a play. It felt very authentic, like we were shooting a little indie that meant so much to us all, but it’s this massive blockbuster. What more could you want?”
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