Alien force: Ncuti Gatwa has secret weapon as 'Doctor Who'

Ncuti Gatwa admits he has an ability to cry on cue…but he doesn’t want directors to know.

If they’re aware, “they rely on it,” he says. “And it’s not my only prayer.”

In the latest incarnation of “Doctor Who” (he’s the 15th Doctor), Gatwa has several opportunities to turn on the waterworks. Tears fall, he says, because Russell T Davies’ writing is so emotive and transportive. “It literally carries you through the episode,” he says.

Good thing, too.

Aware of “Doctor Who,” Gatwa wasn’t always pining to be part of the venerable show’s legacy. “I wasn’t a hardcore fan,” he says.

Conversely, the series was a constant in co-star Millie Gibson’s life. “It’s part of the British furniture,” she says. “I always watched it with my dad, and he watched it with my granddad. It’s just great how the show regenerates with its audiences.”

Bigger reach

Now aiming for a worldwide audience, “Doctor Who” will be seen outside the United Kingdom and Ireland on Disney+. That ups the ante substantially, Davies says, and helps introduce the franchise to thousands of newcomers. After leaving the series in 2010, he returned as showrunner and writer in 2023 to help create the international streaming version. “When I wasn’t working on it, I was a happy viewer, but when the BBC had plans to supersize it, I thought, ‘I can do that. I’d love to do that.’”

While the new version’s budget is larger than many of the early episodes’ ones, “ ‘Doctor Who’ survives not by money, but by being very inventive,” Davies says. “We’ve been given a nice bit of money for special effect, but we haven’t spent that on fleets of spaceships. I hope we’ve spent in the right areas, in inventive areas instead of just flashing the cash.”

Gatwa says the inside of his TARDIS is impressive. “It’s wheelchair accessible, the lighting is gorgeous, and I’ve got a walk-in wardrobe. It’s really, really nice.”

The time machine (or Time And Relative Dimension in Space, as it’s known) takes the Doctor and his companion, Ruby Sunday (played by Gibson) to all sorts of places, including the 1960s, when the British series began.

Davies was intrigued when a young friend, director Sam Arbor, told him if he had a TARDIS, he would use it to watch the Beatles record their first album. “The fact that a young man said that was really attractive to me,” Davies explains. “And here we are.”

Learning curve

For those who’ve never seen “Doctor Who,” this season will be a primer of sorts.

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“Almost every season tries to start from scratch,” Davies adds. “But this is on a platform that will reach (new) places. It’s being dubbed into languages it’s never been dubbed before.” And that’s where Millie Gibson as the companion comes into play. “She asks every single question that the viewer wants to ask.”

True to form, Davies has planted seeds within the episode that will blossom later. “On the simplest level, there’s the mystery of Ruby’s birth…and that question is answered. We’re not going to give you one of those five-year-long mysteries. This season’s finale reaches a devastating climax where all questions are answered and nothing is ever quite what you expect.”

Gibson says she and Gatwa had fun guessing where the TARDIS might go. “Where would you like to go? And I was like, ‘the 60s,’ probably.” Davies didn’t want to spill anything but “I was so thrilled when I found out.”

Gatwa says he fantasized about the 1920s, ancient Egypt and ancient Rome.

One place Davies didn’t want to go, however, is Atlantis.

“Doctor Who has seen the downfall of Atlantis three times,” he says. “They just forgot every time that they’d done it before. And, actually, every time it goes slightly better. But I wouldn’t do a fourth Atlantis, even though there’s a lot of flexibility.”

Making mental notes

To keep the stories straight, Davies says there is a list of where the TARDIS has been. “There isn’t an official bible. A lot of it is in my head. I don’t know the entire television history, but then the show has always been marvelously flexible.”

To make sure the 15th Doctor was right, Davies says he was looking for an actor who is “limitless."

"When you start, some actors are good at comedy or they’re not good at comedy. I wanted someone who is good at everything – someone who is good in ways I can’t even possibly anticipate – and we got that with Ncuti. And with Millie as his companion. I’m always chasing their talent and trying to catch up with them.”

That tear thing? It’s an asset. “He’s an editor’s dream because it’s so raw, so open, so emotional. For a male hero to be that in 2024 on screen is a wonderful thing.”