Russell Tovey, who has appeared in multiple Arrowverse crossovers including Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, has opened up about the years it took for his father to accept his sexuality and had initially wanted to "cure" him.
Tovey and his mother, Carole, both spoke with the Sunday Times and discussed the years after Tovey came out to both his parents at the age of 18, prompting his father, George to suggest they "get him hormone treatment." Tovey believes his parent's reaction to the news stemmed largely from a fear that his life would be made more difficult. He stated, "My dad [George] thought it could be cured. He was scared about what my life would be like. To him, being gay was a road of pitfalls and unhappiness; out of love he wanted to correct this weakness, to put cotton wool around me and protect me from all that."
Carole echoed her son's account, recalling, "George had a hard time with it. It took him about three years to come to terms with it. I think it was to do with pride, his idea of what makes you a man. He thought we'd somehow made Russell gay." She added, "He found it hard to see that Russ was happy and we had to accept it." Tovey expressed that he harbors no resentment about the period. "People react in different ways, there's no rhyme or reason, but if you love someone you have to respect the process."
Tovey concluded that despite the difficult process, he has a strong relationship with both his parents today. He said, "[Mom] is still the most important person in my life and I talk to her about everything." The British actor believes that his parents have a model relationship with each other as well, one which he hopes to emulate with his fiancé, Steve Brockman. "I want what my parents have," Said Tovey, "After 42 years they're still best mates and they laugh all the time. That kind of love doesn't come along every day."
Tovey joined the CW's superhero fray in 2017, voicing Ray Terrill on the animated web series Freedom Fighters: The Ray on CW Seed. , a reporter who is exposed to a genetic light bomb and gains light-based powers becoming the superhero persona, The Ray. He later went on to continue a live-action portrayal of Terrill throughout the Arrowverse.
Tovey is also widely known for his work on Being Human, the British, supernatural television series that followed the friendship between a ghost, a vampire and a werewolf living as roommates, trying to navigate their complicated relationship with humanity.
Source: BangShowbiz