Doctor Who schedule prohibited Ncuti Gatwa from starring in Golden Globe-winning movie
"Doctor Who's schedule changed and so we lost him."
It was an expectantly big evening at the Golden Globes with various buzzy films picking up awards on the night, including A Real Pain, which saw Kieran Culkin take home the gong for Best Supporting Actor.
The film follows Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg as mismatched cousins who embark on a trip to Poland to honour their grandmother but old tensions start to arise as they dive deeper into their family history.
While the film is most certainly being talked about – not just because of its Golden Globes win – it turns out that a certain Doctor Who actor could've also been set to star in A Real Pain.
Speaking at a Q&A at the Palm Springs International Film Festival (via Collider), Eisenberg (who also served as writer and director on the film) revealed that he was considering Ncuti Gatwa for one of the roles in the film.
While the role of Rwandan genocide survivor Eloge was played by Kurt Egyiawan (House of the Dragon) in A Real Pain, Eisenberg said: "With Kurt, I tried to cast a Rwandan actor. The only Rwandan actor we met with was this brilliant guy, Ncuti Gatwa.
"He's the current Doctor Who, and he was going to do the movie, but then Doctor Who's schedule changed and so we lost him. And so we were looking for a Rwandan actor, it was really hard to find a Rwandan actor.
"Kurt's family is Cameroonian and, at that point, I turned it over to Eloge, the real Eloge, and said 'Can you help me cast this so this feels respectful to your culture?'"
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Gatwa was born in Rwanda but grew up in Scotland, after he and his family escaped the country during the 1994 genocide.
While it was a close call for the Fifteenth Doctor to star in A Real Pain, the Eisenberg movie has continued to garner critical acclaim and now, awards.
Gatwa himself has also gone from strength to strength in his stint as the leading Doctor in the long-running sci-fi series.
With the Critics' Choice Awards coming up in a matter of days, Gatwa has been nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Series.
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Gatwa's nomination sees him going up against Jeff Bridges (The Old Man), Eddie Redmayne (The Day of the Jackal), Hiroyuki Sanada (Shōgun), Rufus Sewell (The Diplomat) and Antony Starr (The Boys).
At the time of his nomination last month, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies took to Instagram to congratulate Gatwa on his nomination, writing: "@ncutigatwa nominated for Best Actor! That’s a phenomenal achievement. Congratulations! What a Doctor!"
A Real Pain is released in UK cinemas on Friday 10th January.
Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
