- 6 minutes ago
From a burger van outside Dundee, to all of time and space in the TARDIS - Ncuti Gatwa has had quite the journey en route to Doctor Who...
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00:00The Doctor is in!
00:01Shooty Cat was first full season as the 15th Doctor...
00:05...has arrived and the man himself has had quite the journey to get here.
00:09He experienced...
00:10...homelessness, escaped to genocide in his home country...
00:13...and battled the Toymaker in his underpants...
00:15Throughout his early life and career, he also crossed paths with several Doctor Who alumni.
00:20Almost like some cosmic force has been drawing him towards the Who-niverse all along.
00:24I'm Ellie...
00:25...for Who culture and here are 10 things you didn't know about Shooty Cat were.
00:29Number...
00:30In 2010, his first TV role was with an Ood and a Sontaran.
00:34In the first...
00:35...episode of the second series of BBC Scotland sitcom Bob's Servant, Bob Py...
00:40...pioneers a new Meat Attack burger, which is bought by a young Shooty Gatwa.
00:44Gatwa's...
00:45...first TV role as a future victim of serious food poisoning is particularly interesting...
00:50...because of who he appeared on screen with.
00:52He was served his burger by Bob's loyal...
00:55...employee Frank, played by Jonathan Watson.
00:57Watson would go on to don the armor...
01:00...and potato heads of several Sontarans in Doctor Who series 13, including...
01:05...commander Skark, who really wanted to ride a horse.
01:08Bob's Servant himself was played by...
01:10...Brian Cox, who had previously voiced the Ood Elder in The End of Time.
01:14A year prior to Gatwa...
01:15...episode of Bob's Servant, Cox had also played Doctor Who co-creator Sidney Newman in the bio...
01:20...to pick an adventure in space and time.
01:22These connections got even more wibbly-wobbly when in 2020...
01:25...Gatwa was edited into an adventure in space and time in place of Matt Smith to...
01:30...enemorate Doctor Who's 60th anniversary.
01:32So there you have it!
01:33Doctor Who's past and future conve-
01:35...leaning around a burger van just outside Dundee.
01:38Number 9.
01:39He manifested his...
01:40...Doctor Who role.
01:41Based on his first few episodes alone, we can all agree that shooting...
01:45...Gatwa is exceptional casting as the Doctor.
01:48However, it was almost someone else in time...
01:50...entirely because he didn't even know they were auditioning.
01:52It was only when Gatwa texts his agent to...
01:55...to state his interest in playing either Doctor Who or Willy Wonka...
01:59...that he discovered that...
02:00...Russell T. Davis and casting director Andy Pryor...
02:02...were actually on the hunt for the 15th Doctor.
02:05He prepared for his audition by binging the first RTD era of Doctor Who.
02:09Even when-
02:10...with all that prep though, he still was unsure if he would win the role...
02:13...but consoled himself with the chance...
02:15...to network with a major industry figure like Russell T. Davis.
02:18Of course, he needn't have worried.
02:20RTD was so taken by his audition...
02:22...that he had to stop himself offering Gatwa the role on the...
02:25...spot.
02:26Still, we'd pay good money to see the alternate timeline...
02:28...where he manifested Willy Wonka...
02:30...instead of Doctor Who.
02:31Let's just hope it would have been more blockbuster movie...
02:33...and less low-budget glass...
02:35...let's go experience.
02:36Number 8.
02:37He experienced homelessness before his big brother...
02:40...break.
02:41It's an incredibly tough life as an actor...
02:43...especially when you're starting out on...
02:45...waiting for your breakthrough role.
02:46For example, Tom Baker worked on a building site...
02:49...to make ends meet before...
02:50...before he was cast as the Force Doctor.
02:52Gatwa himself had a difficult road to stardom...
02:54...and has spoken about...
02:55...his experiences with homelessness...
02:57...prior to being cast as Eric Effiong in Sex Education.
03:00Returning to the UK after working in America for a time...
03:03...he was unable to book roles for four months.
03:05...and eventually chipped away at his modest savings.
03:07He had to give up his flat and spent his time so for...
03:10...surfing at friends' flats...
03:11...who also sent him money for food.
03:13Of the experience Gatwa said...
03:15...nover surfing is tough.
03:16No matter how nice your friends are, there is a limit.
03:18I could see the strain I was...
03:20...putting on them.
03:21It felt awful being that guy...
03:22...using the electric and water but not contributing.
03:25When Sex Education came calling, his situation completely changed.
03:28However, it's clear that he...
03:30...he's fully aware that not everyone is as lucky.
03:32A level of awareness and empathy that makes him such a...
03:35...great fit for Doctor Who.
03:37Number 7.
03:38He went to the same high school as Madame...
03:40...Vastra.
03:41Another of Doctor Who's most notable Scottish stars that isn't a...
03:45...the Doctor is Niamh Mackintosh, who played Madame Vastra during the Stephen Moffat era.
03:49While it's...
03:50...it's unknown if she'll return alongside the 15th Doctor, but...
03:53...keep those fingers crossed, people.
03:54Gatwa...
03:55...and Mackintosh already have something in common.
03:57Though they were decades apart, both studied at...
04:00...Borromere High School in Edinburgh.
04:02Gatwa studied there until his family moved to Dunfermley...
04:05...where he was a student until moving to Glasgow.
04:07The school has moved locations since she...
04:10...he's time, but Borromere's current headmaster, Mr. Dempster, spoke of his pride at having...
04:15...once taught science to a future Doctor, saying...
04:18...I'm not sure that I can take any credit for his...
04:20...ascension to Time Lord status, but I can remember his incredible smile and infectious personality.
04:25Given that Bond himself, Sean Connery, turned down a place at Borromere High School, it's no...
04:30...wonder they're so excited to count Shuti Gatwa among their notable alumni.
04:34Number 6...
04:35...he's not allowed to swear in costume.
04:38When he met Millie Gibson at her audition...
04:40...to play Ruby Sunday, Gatwa remembers that he felt...
04:43...they would have been in trouble if they'd been at...
04:45...school together.
04:46This turned out to be quite perceptive, as both he and Gibson got a telling off from head...
04:50...the teacher, Russell T. Davis, quite early in their time on Doctor Who.
04:53In a fairly innocuous...
04:55...behind the scenes clip, Shuti and Millie were filmed walking past their trailers together...
04:59...and Shuti...
05:00...he introduces Millie as Millie effing Gibson.
05:03It's a throwaway off-the-cuff statement...
05:05...but RTD didn't see it that way...
05:07...and soon called Shuti into his office to give him a dressing...
05:10...down for his F-bomb.
05:11RTD said that he could say and do whatever he wanted while out of costume.
05:15But that he had to be more careful while dressed as the Doctor.
05:18Oh, how things have changed from the class...
05:20...when Tom Baker swore at K-9 in one of the BBC's annual Christmas tapes.
05:24No!
05:25Number 5.
05:26He's already won multiple acting awards.
05:28Though he's not quite...
05:30...beat up there with Academy Award winner Peter Capaldi...
05:33...Shuti Gatwa has won multiple...
05:35...awards for various stage and screen performances.
05:38The annual Newport Beach Film Festival...
05:40...honoured Gatwa and several other breakthrough British stars in 2020...
05:44...as part of...
05:45...of its celebration of UK talent.
05:47In that same year, he won a Royal Television Society Award...
05:50...for Best Male Comedy Performance for his work in sex education.
05:53Also in 2020...
05:55...Gatwa won a Scottish BAFTA for Best Actor in Television.
05:59He was nominated again in...
06:00...in 2022...
06:01...but lost out to Dougray Scott...
06:03...known to Doctor Who fans as Alec Palmer...
06:05...in Hyde.
06:06However, Gatwa didn't go home empty-handed that night...
06:08...as Peter Capaldi used his ex...
06:10...acceptance speech for the Outstanding Contribution to Film and Television Award...
06:13...to give the new Doctor some words of...
06:15...wisdom about the trip of a lifetime.
06:17With all of time and space to explore and scripts by Russell...
06:20...T Davis, it wouldn't be a surprise...
06:22...if Gatwa has to expand his trophy cabinet for the foreseeable...
06:25...future.
06:26Number 4.
06:27He's the second Doctor to work with Ryan Gosling.
06:30Everyone knows that Shooty Gatwa starred alongside Ryan Gosling in Barbie.
06:35We've...
06:35...all seen the image of Gosling wearing a fan-made 15th Doctor t-shirt...
06:38...and we all saw them bring...
06:40...the house down at this year's Oscars.
06:42However, Gatwa isn't the first Doctor to cross...
06:45...paths with the La La Land star.
06:47In 2013, 11th Doctor, Matt Smith...
06:50...was cast in Lost River.
06:52Gosling's flawed yet fascinating directorial debut...
06:55...Smith played Bully, a deranged criminal who's not above a bit of grandstanding.
07:00To play Bully, Smith had to shave his head...
07:02...which is why he's wearing a wig throughout his final Doctor...
07:05...who episode.
07:06Gosling has revealed that the Hello Stonehenge speech in the Pandorica Open...
07:10...was his inspiration for casting Smith in the movie...
07:13...which he caught a bit of when the episode was on.
07:15...TV.
07:16All of which is why, when Gatwa told Gosling he was going to be the Doctor...
07:19...Gosling...
07:20...replied with...
07:21...Doctor Who is the coolest show in the world, man.
07:23Interestingly, rumours emerged last...
07:25...year that Gosling will be appearing alongside Gatwa in Doctor Who.
07:29I mean, Stranger Things...
07:30...what have happened?
07:313.
07:32He's a doctor of many firsts.
07:34Shooting...
07:35...that Gatwa's casting as the Doctor is incredibly progressive and groundbreaking for...
07:40...several reasons.
07:41He's the first black male actor to play the Doctor in its 60-year history...
07:45...marking a huge step forward for the Hooniverse.
07:47Born in Rwanda in 1992...
07:50...Gatwa is also the first actor to play the Doctor who wasn't born in the UK.
07:54When he was...
07:55...he was just two years old, his family left Rwanda, fleeing the genocide against the Tutsi and...
08:00...arriving in Scotland.
08:01Predominantly raised and educated in Scotland, Gatwa now joins the ranks of...
08:05...the great Scottish doctors Sylvester McCoy, David Tennant, TWICE and Peter Capaldi.
08:10In another huge step forward for Doctor Who, Gatwa is also the first openly queer actor...
08:15...to play the Doctor.
08:16In an interview with Elle back in 2023, Gatwa movingly talked...
08:20...about the importance of representation...
08:22...and effectively described his interaction with a queer Rwanda...
08:25...and woman at Manchester Pride.
08:26Those charged looks between the 15th Doctor and Jonathan Groff's...
08:30...mysterious rogue could indicate that this will be part of the Doctor's identity too.
08:34Boldly re...
08:35...reinventing the character for modern viewers.
08:37Number two, he's a big fan of the...
08:40...the third Doctor.
08:41Gatwa has been brushing up on his predecessors ahead of Doctor Who...
08:45...season one, and he found a surprising kindred spirit in the form of John Pertwee.
08:50Speaking of...
08:50Talking about his love for the suave third Doctor in a chat with Rolling Stone...
08:54...he said...
08:55...the third Doctor's outfits.
08:57Lovely velvet jackets and frilly shirts.
08:59I feel...
09:00...a connection to him.
09:01Our Doctors are the only two who dress like sluts.
09:04I mean, it's a hilarious...
09:05...comparison, but it's also interesting to look at the links...
09:08...between the third and fifteenth Doctor.
09:10Pertwee had a different jacket and shirt practically every cereal.
09:14While Gatwa will have...
09:15...a different costume in seemingly every episode.
09:17Pertwee's Doctor was also teamed up with Eunice...
09:20...led by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
09:22While Gatwa's Doctor will be working alongside a unit...
09:25...lead by Kate Stewart.
09:26The flamboyant charisma of the real-life John Pertwee and the real-life...
09:30...duty Gatwa is also something that links both Doctors across the decades.
09:34And then one five...
09:35...a final, brilliant comparison between Pertwee and Gatwa...
09:38...courtesy of Shooty himself in the...
09:40...Radio Times is...
09:41...quote...
09:42...I do love a bit of Pertwee.
09:43He's always got his chachas out.
09:45Why...
09:45Do you like what that means?
09:46I don't think I want to know.
09:48Number one.
09:49He's an actual Docs...
09:50...sort of.
09:51Not only does he play the Doctor on screen, but Shooty Gatwa...
09:55...is also something of a Doctor in real life, too.
09:58In 2022, Gatwa was presented...
10:00...with an honorary doctorate by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
10:04The school at which he...
10:05...had studied acting.
10:06This made him not only our newest Time Lord, but also a Doctor of Drama.
10:10Located in Glasgow, the Royal Conservatoire is now a Doctor Who hitmaker.
10:14The chap you...
10:15...might have heard of called David Tennant.
10:17Also studied there in his youth, meaning that this one school...
10:20...is responsible for the current era of Doctor Who we find ourselves in.
10:23Not too shabby, really.
10:24Meanwhile...
10:25...the Glasgow School of Art, where Peter Capaldi studied, is also only a short walk away from...
10:30...the Royal Conservatoire.
10:31Let's all thank the centre of Glasgow for being an incredibly important location...
10:35...in the history of Doctor Who.
10:37And that concludes this list, but for more stories...
10:40...about our Doctors, why not check out how every Doctor Who got cast.
10:44In the meantime, I've been...
10:45...Eli for Who culture, and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.
10:50At this point, I'm going to talk to you this year, but I'm sure you'll be notified to the other one...
10:52...alors in Christmas...
10:53...their emperor is a public...
10:54...in the events of the立ち of the...
10:55...and the original day...
10:56...and the darkness...
10:57...in the appearance of the yellow...
10:58...sangely...
10:59...their emperor has become remembered once in the world.
11:00And this was the first century, we...
11:01Our character who hopes that he won the world with...
11:02...their entered the world through the world...
11:03...their monk-like...
11:04...their emperor has become remembered to the Зем.
11:09...their emperor has become remembered to the strength...
11:10...their emperor's voice in the world.
11:11...their emperor has become remembered.
11:13...theirRRR is very beautiful.
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