Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa has acknowledged he may have left people perplexed when stopping short of defining his sexuality earlier this year.
The actor, who is taking over as the new Time Lord, had his breakout role in the Netflix series Sex Education, playing openly gay teenager Eric Effiong.
Back in June Ncuti, 31, appeared in British Vogue’s Pride issue shoot, in which he spoke about ‘fighting for his privacy’ following public speculation about his sexuality.
‘It’s a safety and mental-health thing,’ he said at the time.
‘In setting my boundaries, I knew I wanted to separate the private and public, and that I never wanted my personal life to overshadow my work.’
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However, he’s now spoken about the ‘confusion’ his comments caused, leading to even more questions about how he identifies.
‘I’m aware of the confusion it caused but I kind of thought that my participation in [the Pride issue] was a statement,’ he said.
‘Not to come for anyone, but I was like, you know, two plus two equals four.
‘I couldn’t be louder about this. I literally got naked,’ he added when speaking to British GQ for its December/January issue.
However, he did say that while coming out in the UK was no longer widely deemed a taboo for the queer community, it was still difficult for those figuring out how they identify to be met with constant questions.
‘If you think it’s that easy, I’m happy for you. That’s a very privileged position to be in,’ he said.
‘To think that sexuality is so easy, and talking about sexuality is so easy and existing with one’s sexuality is so easy.
‘I’m so glad that you think it’s that easy, because the world isn’t like that.’
In the interview Ncuti, who was born in Rwanda, also held back tears speaking about seeing other queer people like him ‘succumbing to a reality that’s been forced on them’.
While neither homosexuality nor homosexual acts are illegal In Rwanda, homosexuality is considered a taboo topic and same-sex relationships are not legally recognised.
Thinking of queer people in his country of birth, the actor said he would ‘love this person to sneak out at night and come to Pride, or come to a gay bar and live their best life, but a film plays in my head of that person [being confronted by] bouncers, who are like “No, you can’t come in because you’ve not stamped gay on your head”.’
‘They should be able to come in and have a little taste of actual joy,’ he added.
In August, Ncuti opened up about his sexuality for the first time, recalling a moving incident from years ago with Elle UK.
‘I 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,’ he shared.
‘We were holding hands, and she said to me, “I don’t really know why I’m here. I’m just here.” I told her, “Honey, you don’t need to know. You absolutely. Do not. Need. To. Know. You’re here. Be proud of who you are”.
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‘I had never met another queer Rwandan person before.
‘I thought I was the only one in the world.’
GQ Men Of The Year Celebration 2023 is in association with BOSS.
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Doctor Who returns on Saturday 25th November on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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