Ryan Gosling told Ncuti Gatwa that Doctor Who is ‘the coolest show in the world’

Plenty of people thought the casting of Ncuti Gatwa as the new star of Doctor Who was a great decision on the part of showrunner Russell T. Davies. Among them? Ryan Gosling.

The Drive actor was shooting Barbie with Gatwa in May of last year when the BBC announced that the Sex Education actor was set to play the two-hearted time traveler on the British sci-fi show. “I remember Ryan Gosling bounding up to my trailer like, ‘Doctor Who is the coolest show in the world man! I’m the biggest fan,'” says Gatwa in a new interview with British Vogue. “And I was like, ‘What the hell?’ This show has incredible reach.”

Ryan Gosling, Ncuti Gatwa

Ian West – Pool/Getty Images; Karwai Tang/WireImage Ncuti Gatwa and Ryan Gosling

Gosling does seem to be a genuine fan of both Gatwa and Doctor Who, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Last June, the actor was photographed wearing a Doctor Who t-shirt featuring Gatwa as the show’s titular Time Lord, prompting Davies to joke on Instagram about suing the actor for wearing “illegal merch.”

The next month, Gosling appeared on the U.K.’s The One Show and praised Gatwa: “I am such a big fan of Ncuti’s, he’s the coolest and him playing Doctor Who is like, the most exciting thing that’s happening right now.” (Of course, if Gosling is that big a fan he should know that Gatwa is playing the Doctor, not Doctor Who, but we’re prepared to give him a pass this once.)

Gatwa believed he had little chance of being cast as the Doctor when he auditioned. “I was just like, ‘There’s no way I’ll get this,'” he told Vogue. “‘It’s a British institution and there’s no way they’ll cast a Black man.’ So, I just had fun.”

Gatwa also discussed the struggle of keeping his casting a secret before it was announced. “I’d often get a little tipsy in Soho House, make a new best friend in the bathroom, tell them and run off,” he says. “Thankfully, it never got out.”

Story continues

The actor previously talked about the difficulties of keeping the news a secret on the day his casting was announced. “I’ve known since about February this year, so it’s been tricky trying keep this under wraps, because I’ve got a very big mouth,” Gatwa told the BBC. “It feels amazing, it feels really amazing. It’s a true honor, this role is an institution, and is so iconic, and it means a lot to so many people including myself, and so it means everyone feels seen as well, so that everyone can enjoy it. So I feel very grateful to have had the baton handed over and I’m going to try to do my best.”

Doctor Who will return in November with a trio of 60th anniversary special episodes starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate. After that, Tennant and Tate will hand off to Gatwa and costar Millie Gibson. Gatwa’s first episode as the Fifteenth Doctor will air over the Christmas holiday season.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly’s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content: