*In an interview with Attitude magazine, “Doctor Who” star Ncuti Gatwa opens up about facing backlash for his role as the show’s first Black lead while “white mediocrity” is always “celebrated.”
“We’re trained to be like, ‘If I’m not exceptional, I won’t be loved.’ Certainly, I think that was my thing,” Gatwa shared, per THR. “So, yeah, I think I’m just learning now like, ‘Oh, you are allowed to be loved.’ You don’t have to be excellent or aspire to that term, ‘Black excellence’. What the hell?”
He continued, “There’s so much white mediocrity that gets celebrated, and Black people, we have to be absolutely flawless to get half of [that] anyway. So, I’m slowly training myself out of that and being like, ‘No shit. You deserve love just for existing.’ And that has taught me to be a lot more loving as well, in a weird way.”
Last month, Disney+ released the trailer for the upcoming “Doctor Who” season, starring Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as his companion Ruby Sunday.
Here’s the new season synopsis: “The Doctor and his companion Ruby Sunday travel across time and space, with adventures all the way from the Regency era in England, to war-torn future worlds. Throughout their adventures in the TARDIS — a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box — they encounter incredible friends and dangerous foes, including a terrifying bogeyman, and the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet.” Watch the new trailer below.
Elsewhere in the Attitude magazine, “Sex Education” alum mentioned that his casting as The Doctor reflects the evolving diversity in the entertainment industry.
“We do see a shift happening in casting, in positions of power and in the status quo,” Gatwa explained. “I mean, not a fast shift, things could tip over the other way a little bit quicker, but you see people kind of malfunctioning because things are changing.”
In July 2023, Gatwa informed The Hollywood Reporter that he was disregarding any criticism in anticipation of the Season 14 premiere of Doctor Who, scheduled to debut on May 10.
“The British press can be very mean,” he said at the time. “I just have to focus on the job and stay true to what the Doctor is: a mad scientist alien who has adventures and cares about everyone.”
READ MORE: Disney+ Debuts New ‘Doctor Who’ Trailer | Watch
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