NCUTI GATWA
Plays Eric Effiong
What ups and downs will Eric go through this season? He’s now in a relationship with Adam (Connor Swindells), who seems to be getting more comfortable with his sexuality.
It’s not going to be plain sailing because they have such history with one another. It feels like this season is the first time that they are on an equal footing – not social status, but certainly the status within their relationship. They’re on a level with one another, and they’re in an official relationship. It’s not like they need to hide; neither one of them needs to feel shame. They are fully in this thing now, but how do they adapt to that? They’ve had the whole summer together solidifying their relationship – it’s not as solid as Eric would like, but there we are – and then we see how they go forth.
Eric’s very determined to live his most unapologetic life, and this season is the most determined he’s been. It’s quite interesting because it lends itself to decisions that aren’t always the right ones… He [also] explores his heritage and culture and how that incorporates into his journey in terms of his sexuality and accepting that.
How much of yourself do you see in Eric?
Eric is a very resilient character and that’s something I really connected to, and he’s just somebody who knows himself despite the world around him not knowing him. That’s something that I definitely related to, and aspects of his upbringing; I grew up in an African household, a church[-going] household. But I think – it’s interesting, that question is always funny to me because Eric is obviously over half my age [laughs]. Some of the decisions that boy makes, I’m, like, you need to grow up.
How do you prepare for the show’s intimate scenes?
I feel scared to say this answer, but I’m just going to say it… I’ve enjoyed them all [laughs].
Good!
We are all mates and we’re comfortable with and trust each other. Netflix have always been very thorough in taking care of us. Because we have that system in place that looks after our wellbeing, when you are in that space, you’re able to enjoy it… you’re able to laugh because everyone knows what they are doing. I find it – it’s the most primal way to connect to your character, learning how they get down: ah, Eric does it like that! [Laughs]
Eric has become a queer TV icon. What kinds of messages do you receive from fans?
We talk about the silliness and the fun of the show – which is really important to the programme and to each of our characters because it lightens things and it’s able to deliver messages in a more digestible way – then you get a message from somebody in Saudi Arabia or Nigeria, somewhere where being gay is illegal or there is a death penalty or it’s very homophobic, and you think, fucking hell, this show is important because it really is educational. We are so lucky to live in a country that you can be yourself in, to a certain extent, because there are places out there where you can die from just being who you are, and your family members can be –
if someone knows that you’re gay – they can be imprisoned, so your existence can endanger other people that you love and care about.
For all the stick that the left gets for being virtue-signalling or far too ‘woke’
“The messages of the show really matter, inclusion really matters, and thorough representation really matters”
or whatever, these messages really matter, the messages of the show really matter, inclusion really matters, and thorough representation really matters.
There was one message that I got from somebody in the Middle East… he was, like, “Every time I watched
Sex Education, I escaped to my dreams for 40 minutes,” and I was, like, wow, you escaped to your dreams? This is a dream to you? We’re having so much fun here doing this thing, but do you know what I mean, this guy has to escape to a place of acceptance through a screen.
Would you like to be a teenager nowadays?
I get blown away by the intelligence and progressiveness of the youth of today and their understanding and knowledge of things… but to be a kid now,
I don’t know, just purely because of social media alone.