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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tina Campbell

Barbie star Ncuti Gatwa makes surprising confession about iconic 'I'm Just Ken' Oscars performance with Ryan Gosling

Ncuti Gatwa has revealed a surprising confession about performing alongside Ryan Gosling and fellow Kens at this year's Oscars.

The Rwandan-Scottish actor, 31, featured in the blockbuster Barbie film, which included a show-stopping five-minute dance sequence to Gosling's song "I'm Just Ken".

Gatwa eagerly joined the performance at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre in March, where the track was up for best original song.

Joining them were fellow co-stars Simu Liu and Kingsley Ben-Adir, plus, Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash and musician Mark Ronson for a moment in Hollywood history that can only be described as iconic.

While the song ended up missing out to Billie Eilish's What Was I Made For, it certainly won the people's award for best performance.

Ncuti Gatwa pictured performing with Ryan Gosling and his fellow Kens at the Oscars (AFP via Getty Images)

Appearing on the latest episode of The Graham Norton Show, Gatwa said he absolutely loved taking part - but admitted that not everything went to plan.He explained: “I was having the time of my life.  It was so much fun.  If you watch the performance, I actually got all the moves wrong but had such a good time.”

Elsewhere on the BBC show, Gatwa shared his excitement as he gears up to star on stage in The Importance of Being Earnest at the National Theatre next month.

He said: “We started this week, and we are still sitting at a table dissecting the script.  It is very silly, fun and camp – it is a traditional production infused with a modern lens.”

He also gave the Irish talk show host an update about filming for Doctor Who.

Ncuti Gatwa was appearing on The Graham Norton Show (PA)

Gatwa was announced as the Fifteenth Doctor in Doctor Who in May 2022 and made his first appearance last December in one of three special episodes celebrating the show’s 60th anniversary.

He said: “It is all going well.  We did the second series this year, the Christmas special is coming up, and we are filming a third series next year.” 

And, on his recent trip to Comic Con, he says: “It was incredible – it was like nerds’ Olympics.  It was intense but beautiful and ‘Whovians’ are the sweetest and best fans.”

Also joining Norton on his famous red sofa this week are Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, Miranda Hart, Kevin Kline and Rag 'n' Bone Man performs live in the studio.

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