Ruby Matthews Is the Best Part of ‘Sex Education’ Season 3

Yeah, I go the long way. You know why? Because you get to see all the little animals. It’s fun. I drive at night so I can drive round. You can either take two hours and a bit or you can take four hours. It was a good four hours. I just love driving. It’s my favorite activity in the world, which is why I love to do the driving scenes. Our director, Ben Taylor, quite likes my driving scenes. I always give it a little bit of action and try to make it look really good. 

That’s incredible, but do you ever stay over somewhere? I’d be exhausted being in the car that long. 

There are days where I’ll drive there and home the same day. You can’t wear me out with driving. I don’t get tired of it. I can drive all day. I could have been a driver.

You’re hilarious. When I was on the set of Sex Education in 2019, I asked them to drive me to Jean and Otis’s house because I needed to see it up close. It looks so magical overlooking the water, I almost didn’t think it was a real home.

It’s amazing. I did get to do some scenes there this season, which was really fun because I hadn’t been before. It’s beautiful. You almost can’t believe it’s real. You think someone must have drawn that, surely.

Who is the co-star that cracks you up the most?

I think it might be Ncuti Gatwa, who plays Eric. Yeah, definitely. He makes me laugh too much. 

Who is the co-star you can talk to about anything?

Ncuti and Chaneil Kular, who plays Anwar. It’s got to be a tie between Ncuti and Chaneil.

This season, you work very closely with Asa Butterfield, who plays Otis. What was that like?

Oh, we had so much fun. We had a lot of scenes together. Some scenes I was really nervous for, and he made me feel so relaxed. He makes you feel really comfortable, so we just had loads of fun. We also sang a lot. I taught him every word from Cardi B’s songs. It was just fun and games with him. It was brilliant.

Do you have any rituals or superstations before scenes? 

Literally nothing, except I like to drink whatever I’m drinking, whether it’s lemonade or water. I just want to make sure I’m hydrated and that I’ve gone for a wee because otherwise I might need to stop, and I don’t want to make it any more stressful than it already is. But it’s always fine. Once you get started, your inhibitions float away. If you’re filming something a little bit sensitive, it’s a closed set, so that’s helpful.