Mimi Keene in Conversation with Chaneil Kular

ORIGINAL PHOTOS: Joseph Sinclair for Netflix

SPECIAL THANKS: Public Eye Communications

For Mimi Keene, pursuing an acting career may have happened because of an accident — she tells her fellow Sex Education cast member and close friend Chaneil Kular how not getting into grammar school as a child opened the door to new opportunities, and the journey that led her to the role of new fan-favorite Ruby Matthews in Netflix’s global hit show.

7-year-old Mimi Keene was walking to the tube with her mom to go home after an unsuccessful workshop audition, when a policeman came up to her and said, “I should probably get your autograph because you’re going to be famous one day.” Maybe he was onto something. A few years later, you may recognize the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts former student from her role as a teenager in the BBC’s long-running soap EastEnders, or her scene-stealing performance opposite Asa Butterfield in Netflix’s Sex Education. Here in conversation with Chaneil Kular — who plays Ruby’s friend Anwar, one of The Untouchables — the 23-year-old actress appears laid-back from her bedroom in London, realizing that they have come a long way since their first “Sex Ed” table read three years ago, when they were all strangers. As Mimi’s multilayered character got to steal the scene and hearts in season 3, and we are looking forward to seeing where she might go in the next one officially announced, she reflects on her hopeful beginnings, her personal growth since joining Netflix’s meaty project, and what she hopes to achieve next.