Doctor Who's Ncuti Gatwa Addresses Fans' Assumptions About His Sexuality

Ncuti Gatwa is having a landmark year in his career with projects like Sex Education season four, the live-action Barbie movie, and the upcoming cycle of Doctor Who all premiering in the near future.

Through it all, certain fans have speculated about Gatwa’s sexuality. However, the actor has been notoriously careful about discussing his personal life and/or disclosing his sexual orientation.

In a new interview with British Vogue, Gatwa went the furthest he’s ever gone to addressing this topic. He told the publication:

“It’s a safety and mental health thing. After Sex Education, we all became public property, to an extent. You have to fight for your right to privacy after that, but you also do feel like you owe people something. 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. I also believe that everyone is on their own journey, and it’s important that no one feels an obligation to others in relation to what’s happening to them internally. And that’s what Sex Education is about: taking things at your own pace.”

Gatwa shared a picture from his British Vogue photoshoot on Instagram with the caption:

“alien superstar | PRIDE. IS. POWER. [rainbow flag]”

Even though Gatwa hasn’t yet provided a clear statement as to how he identifies in the sexuality spectrum, his reasons and boundaries for keeping things private have now been made very clear. It seems like the actor just doesn’t want to rush things while he’s working on growing his career and learning new things about himself as a person, which are things that should absolutely be respected by fans.

In the meantime, we’re getting a lot of Ncuti Gatwa on our screens in the near future, which is a big reason for celebrating!

Barbie opens July 21 in theaters.