‘Sex Education’ Star Ncuti Gatwa On Netflix Show’s Instant Success: ‘People Are Sick Of The Same Old S***’

“It’s difficult to be a minority, and then to be a minority within a minority in the microcosm that is high school is such a mindfuck, but I think that makes Eric such a strong character. He is, to me, the strongest character in the show, emotionally. He’s so resilient, and that is because the world is still playing catch-up, and still trying to figure out how to deal with those two different groups.

“And we’ve seen the stereotypical black best friend, and the stereotypical gay best friend, before and there’s a danger of making them quite stock characters, and like caricatures or stereotypes. I really didn’t want to do that, because Eric has got so much heart to him, and he goes through such an important journey, and it’s a journey that so many people are going to be able to identify with, seeing themselves represented for the first time on a big Netflix show. So I definitely wanted to get it right, because I feel like he’s very important to a lot of people.”

The way the friendship between Eric and Otis, a straight character, is portrayed on screen is something Ncuti says he’s particularly proud of, and plays into a recurring theme of toxic masculinity that runs throughout ‘Sex Education’.

“I feel Eric and Otis’ friendship is one of the best elements of the show,” Ncuti enthuses. “It’s a beautiful thing. They’re very different characters, but they complement each other really well.

“They bring the best out in each other, they love each other, they’ve been friends since they were young, and they’ve got each others’ backs. They just understand each other, which is really lovely to see.

“On the show, we also see Eric and his dad, their relationship, and Adam and his dad, their separate relationship, even Otis and his dad – we’re dealing with a lot of different sides of masculinity, and trying to show that masculinity can be multi-dimensional.”