Russell Tovey

Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981)[1] is an English actor.[2] He is known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural drama Being Human,[3] Rudge in both the stage and film versions of The History Boys, Steve in the BBC Three sitcom Him & Her, Kevin Matheson in the HBO original series Looking and its subsequent series finale television film Looking: The Movie, Titanic midshipman Alonso Frame in the Doctor Who episode "Voyage of the Damned" (a role he reprised in a cameo in "The End of Time: Part Two") and as Henry Knight in BBC TV series Sherlock. He has also starred as Harry Doyle in the drama-thriller series Quantico on the ABC network

Early life
Tovey was born and raised in Billericay, Essex.[5][6] He is the younger of two children of Carole Haynes (formerly Webb) and George Tovey, who run a Romford-based coach service taking passengers from Essex to Gatwick Airport. Tovey has an older brother, Daniel.[7] He attended Harold Court School in Harold Wood and Shenfield High School. As a boy Tovey said, he "was an avid collector of various things and prone to participating in fads."[6]

His parents supported his efforts, taking him to archaeological digs and museums, buying him a metal detector and going to conventions for mineralogists.[6] For a time he wanted to be a history teacher,[6] but after seeing Dead Poets Society, The Goonies, and Stand By Me he decided to be an actor.[6] For a time during his teens he worked as a kitchen assistant in Billericay's King's Head pub.

Personal life
Tovey is openly gay. During his adolescent years, Tovey's sexual orientation caused friction within his family.[18] Although he says he came out to himself when he was 15 or 16, he came out to his parents when he was 18. Tovey and his father subsequently had a serious disagreement, with his father suggesting that, had he known earlier, he would have asked Tovey to take hormones or undergo some other medical treatment to "fix the problem". Tovey says his parents were deeply concerned about the possibility he might contract HIV, which might have contributed to the disagreement. The birth of Tovey's nephew Nathan in October 2004 helped them mend their relationship.[6]

In 2015, Tovey was the subject of public criticism from the LGBT+ press regarding comments he made about effeminate gay men.[37] In his interview with Tom Lamont of The Observer, the actor stated that his schooling made him feel as though he "had to toughen up", going on to say "If I'd have been able to relax, prance around and sing in the street, I might be a different person now."[38] Much of the criticism centred on what was perceived to be a passive criticism of effeminate gay men, with Tovey saying that "I thank my dad for that, for not allowing me to go down the path."[38] Tovey later apologised for the remarks and suggested they did not reflect his views.[37]

Tovey was reported to be dating rugby coach Steve Brockman from early 2016. They became engaged in February 2018 but separated in June of the same year. They reconciled in 2019

Acting
Tovey began his career as a child actor. He joined a local drama club and garnered the attention of a talent agent.[5] He worked from the age of 11 and missed so much school that his father suggested he should cut back, but his mother persuaded his father to let their son continue.[6] His TV career started in 1994, when he was cast in Mud, a children's series broadcast on CBBC.[5]

He left secondary school at the age of 16 and started a BTEC in performing arts at Barking College. He was expelled after a year for refusing a role in the school play in favour of a paying acting job. He acted in plays in Chichester under the direction of Debra Gillett, wife of Patrick Marber.[5] He met Marber through Gillett, and Marber cast him in the play Howard Katz at the National Theatre.[5] He also performed in His Girl Friday and His Dark Materials there.[5]

In 2004 he took the role of Rudge in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys at the Royal National Theatre as well as touring to Broadway, Sydney, Wellington and Hong Kong and playing the role in the radio and film adaptations.[8][9][10][11] He originally auditioned for the role of Crowther but agreed to act the part of Rudge after Bennett promised to beef up the role.[6] Insecure because he had not attended drama school as many of his peers had, he enrolled in numerous workshops and readings offered by the National Theatre.[6]

In spring 2007 Tovey had a recurring role in BBC Three comedy Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive, playing Rob's producer, Ben.[6] He played Midshipman Alonso Frame, in 2007 Doctor Who Christmas Special "Voyage of the Damned".[6] Russell T. Davies, the show's executive producer and lead writer, had suggested Tovey as a future replacement for David Tennant,[12] before it was announced that the Eleventh Doctor would be played by Matt Smith. Tovey reprised his role as Midshipman Alonso Frame in the 2009-10 Doctor Who Christmas special, "The End of Time"

Writing
Tovey is also an author, playwright and screenwriter. He has written three plays (all unperformed as of August 2010), and one of his short stories was published in women's magazine Company.[7] He also wrote a short film, Victor and as of August 2010 was seeking funding to produce the picture