Reading the stars withSex Educations breakout scene-stealer.
Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Now its dinnertime, and hes ready to unwind.
Because I have just been obsessed with this thing: I just downloaded Co-Star and the Pattern.
For the uninitiated, these two horoscope apps hide out on every other 20-somethings phone.
I wouldnt say its mean, but its so precisely accurate.
Were real diplomats, like were always searching for balance.
In person, hes also immediately gregarious.
But Gatwas best-friend character, Eric, hasall the personality.
We had no idea, making it, how it was gonna take off, Gatwa says.
Its sweetly relatable, a show all about the Is this how I should feel?
and the Are we doing this right?
of early sexual experiences.
A lot of our sex education at school is so biological.
Theres a whole emotional side to it.
I love that were in a show that opens up conversations.
But Eric is such a fan favorite precisely because hes not just a best friend.
I know it sounds stupid, but for me, these tiny, little glimpses into peoples lives matter.
Reviews ofSex Educations first season praised Eric as a full, vivid character that goes beyond the black-best-friend trope.
He doesnt show up to punctuate the end of Otiss sentences.
He goes to class, dresses up in drag, kisses boys, and lives his own life.
[The writers] were not afraid to shy away from his African heritage, Gatwa adds.
They werent afraid to come and ask me what its like to grow up in an African household.
Gatwa was born in Rwanda, grew up in Scotland, and lives in London now.
As a child, he was a loudmouth with a performative streak.
Outside of that, oh, I was such a little chav!
(Chav, he clarifies, is slang for smart-ass.)
He graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2013 and spent his preSex Edyears trying to do theater.
And then my life changed, he says.
I was able to pay my bills!
Lets put it like that.
I was able to pay my bills and then some.
His first splurge with all that Netflix money was a Gucci fanny pack.
(It usually runs about $800.
)That was so obnoxious, he laughs, half-embarrassed.
It was red and just said Gucci on it.
I do love that fanny pack.
There are new friends coming into his life, new opportunities, new tangents.
And thats really how I feel!
