When I was younger, I had terrible skin… my mother has terrible skin. Male-pattern hair loss is starting to come in… my dad is bald. It’s so unfair; my brother’s tall, has perfect skin, great hair, but I’m like the runt. – Russell Tovey
I still feel I’m going to wake up any moment, and my skin’s going to break out all over. – Russell Tovey
I’m slightly obsessed with drag queens and performers. Their quips and their one-liners, their style, their singing… I find it fascinating. And thoroughly entertaining. I’d love to play one. – Russell Tovey
For me to play gay, it has to be something special because it might actually be more of a risk. So I’m waiting for that role – I want it to be something that moves things forward. – Russell Tovey
The only thing I can give to young gay people is that when I was growing up, there were no role models that were blokey that were men. Everybody was flamboyant and camp, and I remember going, ‘That’s not me, so even though I think I am gay, I don’t think I fit into this world.’ – Russell Tovey
I never felt I was attractive to women. I felt I was attractive to men when I was growing up. And even now, if a woman fancies me, I find that a bit alienating. – Russell Tovey
Someone outed me when I was 20, and I thought, ‘Well, that’s out there now…’ Nobody made a massive fuss because I wasn’t very well known. – Russell Tovey
I’ve got really good friends and family. My parents, after 30 years, are still incredibly in love, still make each other laugh, which is a beautiful thing to see. And my brother and his fiance are completely happy, so if I feel a bit lonely, I just go and sit with them and feel their love. – Russell Tovey
My big advert was for ketchup. I come home from school, cook my brother and sister their dinner, ride my bike in the garden. Remember that one? People cried at that advert. It won awards. I was 12. – Russell Tovey
I love my personal life and having a social life. And I didn’t ever want to have to compromise. – Russell Tovey
My mum used to think it was the pill that made you gay. There was too much estrogen in the water, and people started taking the pill in the ’60s, and it made everybody gay. – Russell Tovey
When I left ‘Being Human,’ that was painful because the show was going on without me. But with ‘Him & Her,’ we finished on such a high together that if it is the end, it couldn’t have stopped at a better time. But I hope with ‘Him & Her’ that we’ll get another crack of the whip: that the writer might change his mind and write some more. – Russell Tovey
I love musicals – that’s probably one of my most gay traits: that’s one of my giveaways! – Russell Tovey
I think if I met Frank Auerbach or Jeff Koons, I’d be more wobbly than if I met Robert De Niro! – Russell Tovey
I was so envious of everyone who went to Sylvia Young Theatre School. I wanted to go, but my dad flat-out refused. He thought I’d become some tapdancing freak without qualifications. And he was right in a way. I’m glad I didn’t go. That might have changed. – Russell Tovey
I get told a lot that I’m kind of carving my own path. That there are not many actors who are out and are able to play straight and gay, and everyone’s OK with it. – Russell Tovey
You can be cocky and confident, but when you start developing feelings for someone, suddenly your self-esteem drops a bit. – Russell Tovey
Brits are cool at the moment. We’ve taken over the world, what with ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Downton Abbey’, One Direction… to be British is to be fashionable. – Russell Tovey
I get letters and messages on Twitter saying I’ve become a bit of a role model, which is wonderful. – Russell Tovey
Every character I play is straight, which is unique, my agent says, because it’s not really been done before that someone who is completely out is able to play straight roles. – Russell Tovey
I grew up in Essex, and all my life I wanted to live in London – now I do. I feel very privileged to be able to live here. – Russell Tovey
I was a hairdresser’s assistant. I used to get 20p tips for washing an old woman’s hair. I used to get there at 8 A.M., leave at 6 P.M. and get รด?10. – Russell Tovey
When I was ten, I spent a school holiday watching a lot of films: ‘Dead Poets Society’, ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Home Alone’ and ‘The Goonies’. It completely inspired me. I told my parents I wanted to become an actor after that. – Russell Tovey
