Ncuti Gatwa wants to play the Shadow Man in live action ‘The Princess & The Frog’
"I would crush it! I would absolutely crush it! I want to play him," Gatwa admitted.
By Nick Reilly
Ncuti Gatwa has revealed his ambition to play the Shadow Man in a mooted live-action adaptation of Disney’s The Princess & The Frog.
The Scottish actor, who is set to portray the Fifteenth Doctor in Doctor Who, told Rolling Stone UK that he’s keen to play the villainous role after loose rumours earlier this year suggested that a live action adaptation of the 2009 film was in the works.
While Disney is yet to officially comment on the rumours, Gatwa believes that he would “crush the role” of Dr Facilier, aka the Shadow Man – the film’s nefarious Witch Doctor who plans to take control of New Orleans.
“I would like to play the Shadow Man because he’s fabulous,” Gatwa explained in the behind-the-scenes-video of his Rolling Stone UK cover shoot.
“He’s got a really fitted costume and a good moustache and he sings really cool songs and he’s just like mystical and magical and toys with the supernatural. I would crush it! I would absolutely crush it! I want to play him.”
Gatwa also admitted he’s keen to take on a villainous Bond role too.
“It would be nice to play something completely different from me,” he admitted.
“Would love to be a Bond villain, I would love to be a foe to Bond.”
It comes after Gatwa told Rolling Stone UK about his experiences filming the new Barbie film and how Margot Robbie took the whole cast to watch Magic Mike live.
Elsewhere, Gatwa showed off an exclusive look at a new Doctor Who outfit and also opened up on what fans can expect from the personality of his Doctor.
“My Doctor is emotionally vulnerable. He hides it with humour, but he’s lonely,” said Gatwa of his forthcoming reinvention of the ever-changing character. “I can’t say much more than that; I don’t want to spoil anything. But he’s also energetic! The poor cameramen struggled to keep up.”
Taken from issue 12 of Rolling Stone UK, out 13 July. Buy your copy here. The new series of Doctor Who premieres this autumn on BBC One in the UK and Disney+ in other territories.