- [Principal Groff] Good morning, Mooredale.
- [Narrator] With a brand new series
of "Sex Education" upon us,
we thought you'd like to learn some facts
you might not have known
about the people behind some of your favorite characters.
So let's start, of course, with Otis Milburn.
- Okay, oh, yeah, ha!
- [Narrator] The show's lead is played
by Asa Butterfield who is no stranger
to the small or big screen.
He's been acting since he was nine years old
and gained world-wide fame at 11
for his role in "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas."
In the show Otis and Jean,
played by the incredible Gillian Anderson,
have an interesting dynamic.
And Asa says his real-life relationship
with his mum isn't so different.
- I've noticed you're pretending to masturbate
and I was wondering if you wanted to talk about it.
- [Narrator] This may have something to do
with the fact that she just so happens
to be a psychologist and therapist, also.
(belching)
Outside of acting, Asa says he leads a pretty boring life
with his cats, Lyra and Atlas,
although he says he does make a mean beans on toast.
Fans, of course, will know Gillian Anderson
from before "Sex Education",
from shows like "The Fall", "Hannibal",
and the absolutely iconic role of Dana Scully
in "The X-Files".
- Mulder, are you suggesting
that the military is flying UFOs?
- [Narrator] She admits when she first got the script
for "Sex Education", she threw it in the bin.
Before her partner, "The Crown" writer, Peter Morgan,
convinced her to take another look at it.
They'll be teaming up next year
when she takes on the role of Margaret Thatcher
in the "Royal" series.
- S-E-X
- Didn't you wank off a courgette?
(audience laughing)
- [Narrator] And Gillian isn't so different
from her character, Jean.
She's also written a book about women's empowerment
and regularly shares Penis and Vagina of the Day updates
on Instagram, seriously.
Ncuti Gatwa plays Eric in "Sex Education"
but before becoming Otis's more-than-lovable best friend
in the series, he was on the stage.
He even played Demetrius in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
- I think it'll be nice.
- [Narrator] Eric has amazing style in the series
and Ncuti says he loves seeing
what he'll get to wear each day.
- Love the kimono.
- Oh, love that jumper! (growling)
- [Narrator] One of his favorite outfits
was the iconic prom outfit, a made-to-measure suit cut
from traditional Kente Ghanaian cloth.
Two suits were made for the scene
- Ready? and he says he struggled
to choose which to wear.
(laughing)
This season, we get to take a deeper look
at Ola's character.
Ola's played by Patricia Allison
and, like many of her Sex Ed castmates,
this is one of her first screen roles.
Although, last year she was
in the TV adaptation of "Les Miserables."
- Fire! (cannon booming)
- [Narrator] In season two, Ola catches her dad,
played by Mikael Persbrandt, with Jean.
Allison admits she didn't even have to act horrified
in the scene because she was so genuinely embarrassed.
- I'm sorry!
- [Narrator] Another cast member who was a theater buff
before jumping into the screen is Connor Swindells
who plays Adam Groff.
He landed his first lead role completely by accident
after making a bet with his friend to audition on a whim.
- And that's my dick.
- [Narrator] He initially wanted to be a professional boxer
before an injury made him step back and rethink.
Although their relationship was doomed in the series,
in real life Connor is dating co-star Aimee Lou Wood,
who plays his ex-girlfriend, also called Aimee.
- Where's the spunk, Adam?
- [Narrator] "Sex Education" is Aimee's screen debut,
although she did study acting at RADA.
And though her character is a fan of ham sandwiches,
Aimee herself is a vegan.
- My ham.
- [Narrator] It's impossible now to picture her
as anyone other than Aimee,
but she actually originally auditioned for the role of Lily.
The cast member who did end up landing that role
is Tanya Reynolds.
Before Sex Ed, you might have seen her
in shows like "Outlander", "Rellik",
and the Dawn French comedy, "Delicious."
She was also in a Diet Coke ad last year.
- [Ad Director] Mango from your hands so just more exotic,
more mango, you're a bird of paradise!
Oh, it's horrible, nope.
(imitating bird call)
- [Narrator] She's also a keen photographer
and her Instagram is full of her work.
Like Aimee Lou Wood,
Maeve Wiley was Emma Mackey's first professional acting job.
She says she didn't even have head shots before auditioning.
- You know you are so dark.
- What?
- Your humor, it's dark, I like dark humor.
Okay, bye. - Bye.
- [Narrator] Emma grew up in the Loire Valley
in rural France and is fluent in French.
She moved over to the UK only at the age of 18
to go to University in Leeds.
She says if she wasn't playing Maeve,
she'd like to play Eric.
Her Mooredale on-screen boyfriend is head boy
and heartthrob, Jackson Marchetti,
played by Kedar Williams-Sterling.
♪ And girl you're breaking my heart ♪
♪ but what can I do, baby ♪
♪ Baby, love really hurts without you ♪
- [Narrator] Kedar was familiar with the acting world
before joining the "Sex Education" cast.
You might have seen him in the CBBC series, "Wolfblood."
- Does he play football?
- Is that all you ever think about?
- Basically.
- [Narrator] Like Asa, Kedar loves his pets.
He's got five, three dogs, Jaffa, Angel, and Zulu,
and two cats, Marmalade and Toast.
So there you have it, some facts you might not have known
about the cast of "Sex Education."
Know any more?
Why not drop them in the comments below.
- How could you ever be broken?
(upbeat music)