Russell Tovey, clad in a jet-black sweater, his hair buzzed short, levels his piercing gaze at me. Somehow, even through the Zoom connection, he seems to make eye contact as he clarifies his approach as an out gay actor to taking on queer roles.
“Well, I don’t actively seek out a character whose sexuality defines them,” Tovey says. “I guess these things come my way, or I have connections with people and we discuss ideas, and it’s about storytelling and moving the dial forward with something, or exploring something in myself, which I really want to tap into to play a character.”
In the actor’s wide-ranging career so far, he’s tapped into playing everything from an angsty aughts werewolf on British series Being Human, to his acclaimed turn as a freedom crusader on Russell T Davies’ near-future dystopian drama Years and Years.
Of course, a good portion of Tovey’s LGBTQ fanbase first fell for the 43-year-old from Essex a decade ago as Jonathan Groff’s hot boss-turned-lover on HBO’s Looking.
“I mean, I love when a queer character comes along,” Tovey says. “I feel very compelled to keep telling these stories, especially in today’s climate. I feel very compelled to stay visible and to stay proud and to not go anywhere.”
Plainclothes: Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey
Tovey brings that visibility to a fascinating gay role in his latest film, Plainclothes, written and directed by Carmen Emmi. The ’90s-set erotic thriller co-stars Tom Blyth as a Syracuse cop assigned to an undercover detail that ensnares men cruising a mall restroom for sex.
Struggling with his own sexuality, Blyth’s Lucas is already conflicted about the assignment when he finds himself falling for one of his targets, Andrew, a closeted family man portrayed by Tovey. Under such compromised circumstances, both men wrestling with shame, the pair ignites a tempestuous romance.
“Well, I think that we all have wants and needs,” offers Tovey. “Andrew recognizes those wants and needs, and he doesn’t deny himself the act, but he denies himself the opportunity of love, of living a fulfilled, open, happy existence. This is a man that’s controlled by his shame and by conformity and by the boundaries that he’s set himself.”
Empathizing with his character still, Tovey says he longs for him to escape those boundaries. “But he won’t,” he concludes. He’s not a bad guy, according to the actor. “I just think he’s been pushed into a role as a father, as a husband.”
And, like many DL daddies before him, Andrew is upfront from the start of his affair with Lucas about where he stands. “I think it’s a real act of generosity that Andrew does with Lucas,” says Tovey, “because he could be a really bad hookup. He could behave terribly, but he doesn’t. He’s very clear, no gaslighting, no coercive control, no manipulation.”
Well, maybe there’s some manipulation, but certainly the film depicts their story as a good learning experience for the younger Lucas.
“And I find that really inspiring,” Tovey says, “because it isn’t something many people experience in their first time. Also in art, I don’t think it’s something that’s really shown. I think [often] there’s a lot of trauma involved, and I think with this, it’s nice.”
Plainclothes is rated R, and is playing in select theaters nationwide, expanding to theaters in the DMV on Oct. 3. Visit www.fandango.com.
A politician from Poland’s far-right Konfederacja (Confederation) party has quit after revealing his relationship with model Michalina Manios, an intersex woman.
In a joint interview with the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, Dawid Szóstak and Manios confirmed they were dating and said they want to "focus on what's important," according to Euronews.
The couple stressed their shared values, noting that both are Catholic and deeply respectful of tradition.
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the formative experience, when I was in high school, that propelled me to want to pursue this as a career," says James Sweeney. The career -- the "this" -- is filmmaking. And the film the 35-year-old director has logged onto Zoom to talk about is Twinless.
"Looking back now, what resonated so much about Buffy was that it reflected life and does not exist or cannot be contained in one genre," he continues. "It can be a comedy one week, a horror the next, a family drama the following. And is sort of a mix of the DNA and structure of a dark romantic comedy, but also a psychological thriller."
Nguyen Huong Giang, a transgender Vietnamese reality TV star, has been chosen to represent Vietnam at the 2025 Miss Universe pageant, becoming the country's first transgender contestant. Miss Universe Vietnam confirmed the historic selection in an Instagram post.
"The Miss Universe Vietnam Organization has made a special decision: to handpick an outstanding representative, someone who embodies feminine beauty, intelligence, confidence, resilience, and above all, a strong heart that never stops striving," the Instagram caption reads.
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