Rwandan-born film actor Ncuti Gatwa has been nominated for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Scotland as best Television actor. The 26 year actor, who also has Scottish citizenship best known for his role as Eric Effiong in the Netflix series Sex Education, was nominated alongside other prominent names such as Chernobyl star Alex Ferns and Bodyguard actor Richard Madden. Ncuti Gatwa took to Twitter to express his shock on the nomination on Wednesday, using expletives to ask what is going in his life in the wake the huge success that has followed his role in the Netflix series. “I really cannot believe this! Thank you so much BAFTA Scotland,” Gatwa tweeted. The actor got huge acclaim for his role in the series which debuted in January. Born in Rwanda on October 16, 1992, Gatwa has not lost touch with his Rwandan roots, maintaining the Rwandan flag alongside the Scottish one on his profile. The actor grew up in Edinburgh and Dunfermline, in Scotland and graduated from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow with a Bachelors of Arts Acting in 2013. The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which is one of the worlds top-performing arts education institutions in music, dance, drama, production and film education, also took to Twitter to congratulate Gatwa and Madden who are both alumni. “Congratulations on your @BAFTAScotland nominations to our fab @BAactorsRCS graduates Ncuti Gatwa and Richard Madden In May 2018, it was announced that Gatwa would star alongside Gillian Anderson and Asa Butterfield in the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education. His role has received praise from critics and cultural commentators, who noted his character was not relegated to the cliché of gay or black best friend stock character. The awards, including those for Outstanding Contribution, will be presented at this year’s prestigious ceremony, hosted by Edith Bowman, on Sunday 3 November at the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow Central. Red carpet coverage will begin at 17.00 and the ceremony will be live streamed from 19.00 on Facebook. A special awards highlights programme will be broadcast on BBC Scotland at 22.00, which will also be available on iPlayer. “We are hugely excited about this year’s awards, with the nominations yet again showcasing the wealth of creative talent in Scotland’s Film, Television and Games industries,” said Jude MacLaverty, the Director of BAFTA Scotland. “We are delighted to say that entries in 2019 were up by almost 50 per cent from 2018, which demonstrates an increase in the volume of work being produced here and which is clearly highlighted by this year’s shortlist,” BAFTA is a world-leading independent arts charity that brings the very best work in film, games and television to public attention and supports the growth of creative talent in the UK and internationally. editorial@newtimesrwanda.com
