Vulture spoke to Gatwa about how the show avoided making Eric a stock character, the story behind his jaw-dropping prom look, and how he predicted Eric’s surprise hookup from the very beginning. It isn’t until a shocking revelation from another student that Eric discovers he’s less alone in that struggle than he assumed. How to reconcile walking in his truth - be it in all-traffic-cone-neon or gold heels - with what that means for both his masculinity and his safety makes for heartbreaking tension between Eric and his father (DeObia Oparei). But the real masterclass comes from his best friend Eric, played by breakout star Ncuti Gatwa, whose life as one of only two out gay students at the school clashes with his home life, where he’s the eldest son of two devoutly religious African parents.
Netflix’s newest gift to teens is Sex Education, a show seemingly set within a fever dream of suburban England, where one student, Otis, ( Asa Butterfield) becomes the underground sex whisperer to his entire high school, solving his classmates’ confusion over everything from masturbation to scissoring. Spoilers ahead for Sex Education, season one.
