Russell Tovey

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Russell Tovey

Born 14 November 1981
Essex, England, UK
Occupation Actor

Russell Tovey (born 14 November 1981[1]) is an English actor from Essex.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Tovey began his career as a child actor.

In 2004 he played the role of Rudge in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys. He played in the original West End stage production as well as in the Broadway, Sydney, Wellington and Hong Kong productions and radio and film versions of the play.[2][3][4][5]

In addition to his work on The History Boys, Tovey has played roles in the Royal National Theatre’s productions of His Dark Materials, His Girl Friday, Henry V and Howard Katz. [6][7][8][9] His most recent stage role was the Groom in Brecht's A Respectable Wedding at the Young Vic theatre in London.

Do you have any dream roles?
I want to play really dark, fucked-up characters, I want to play characters like drag queens, rent boys, someone who has been abused, a rapist.
Russell Tovey, interview for attitude, January 2008

In Spring 2007, Tovey had a recurring role in BBC Three comedy Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive, playing Rob's gay producer, Ben. In the same year he made guest appearances in BBC Three comedy Gavin & Stacey playing Budgie, a friend of Gavin and Smithy's, in two episodes, and then in the Doctor Who Christmas Special "Voyage of the Damned".

In 2008, Tovey appeared in the comedy drama Being Human, which premièred on BBC Three on 18 February 2008 [10], and onstage in The Sea at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He also guest starred as the boyfriend of a drug dealer and suspected arms dealer in the fifth episode of the first series of Ashes to Ashes.

He is gay and in a stable relationship.[11]

[edit] Selected credits

[edit] Television

Year Programme Character Broadcaster
2008 Ashes to Ashes: The Smoking Gun Marcus Johnstone BBC One
2008 Being Human George Sands BBC Three
2007 Doctor Who: Voyage of the Damned Midshipman Alonso Frame BBC One
2007 Annually Retentive (5 episodes) Ben BBC Three
2007, 2008 Gavin & Stacey (1.5, 2.6) Budgie BBC Three
2005 My Family and Other Animals Leslie Durrell BBC
2005 Messiah IV: The Harrowing Robbie McManus BBC One
2003 Servants John Walters BBC Wales
2001 Agatha Christie's Poirot: Evil Under the Sun Lionel Marshall ITV1
1996 Spywatch Dennis Sealy BBC

[edit] Theatre

Year Play Character Theatre Location
2008 The Sea [12] Billy Hallercut Theatre Royal Haymarket London
2007 A Respectable Wedding [13] Groom Young Vic London
2006 The History Boys Rudge Broadhurst Theatre, Broadway New York
2006 The History Boys Rudge Sydney Theatre Sydney
2006 The History Boys Rudge St James Wellington
2006 The History Boys Rudge Lyric Theatre, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Hong Kong
2005-6 Hergé's Adventures of Tintin [14] (aka Tintin in Tibet) Tintin Barbican Arts Centre London
2005 The Laramie Project Sound Theatre London
2004-06 The History Boys Rudge Lyttelton Theatre, Royal National Theatre London
2003-04 His Dark Materials Roger Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre London
2003 His Girl Friday Ralph Sweeney Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre London
2003 Henry V Boy Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre London
2002 Plasticine Royal Court Theatre London
2001 Howard Katz Cottesloe Theatre, Royal National Theatre London
2000 The Recruiting Officer Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester

[edit] Film

Year Title Character Production
2006 The History Boys Rudge BBC
2001 The Emperor's New Clothes Recruit FilmFour

[edit] External links

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Russell Tovey (IMDB listing). Retrieved on November 24, 2006.
  2. ^ Internet Broadway Database: Russell Tovey Credits on Broadway. Retrieved on November 5, 2006.
  3. ^ National Theatre : Productions : The History Boys 2004. Retrieved on October 17, 2006.
  4. ^ The History Boys - Arts Reviews - Arts - Entertainment - smh.com.au. Retrieved on October 17, 2006.
  5. ^ John Smythe: theatre reviews: NZIAF-THE HISTORY BOYS: More is more. Retrieved on October 17, 2006.
  6. ^ National Theatre : Productions : His Dark Materials Part I 2003-2004. Retrieved on November 24, 2006.
  7. ^ National Theatre : Productions : His Girl Friday. Retrieved on November 24, 2006.
  8. ^ National Theatre : Productions : Henry V. Retrieved on November 24, 2006.
  9. ^ National Theatre : Productions : Howard Katz. Retrieved on November 24, 2006.
  10. ^ Press Office - BBC Three presents Being Human. BBC Three (2007-11-06). Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  11. ^ “About a Boy”, attitude, January 2008, ISSN 1353-1875 
  12. ^ Smith, Alistair (2008-01-28). The Sea. The Stage. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  13. ^ Berkowitz, Gerald (2007-04-05). The Big Brecht Fest I - The Jewish Wife/A Respectable Wedding. The Stage. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  14. ^ Austin, Jeremy (2005-12-16). Herge's Adventures of Tintin. The Stage. Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
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