Russell Tovey opens up about emotional toll growing up during the AIDS crisis: ‘I’ve been so mixed up with it for so long’
“Things are f***ing rocky, so let’s build more lighthouses," says Tovey
By Aaron Sugg
Russell Tovey has revealed he went to therapy after leaving school, admitting that growing up during the AIDS crisis with no queer role models took a toll on his mental health.
The Attitude cover star spoke to the Guardian about his childhood as a closeted boy during Section 28, when homosexuality couldn’t be discussed in schools.
Tovey highlighted queer teen shows like Heartstopper as examples of positive portrayals of gay love – stories free from the fear and danger that surrounded sexuality when he was growing up.
“I’ve been so mixed up with it for so long” – Russell Tovey on the impacts of the AIDS crisis on his mental health
“They don’t consider death whenever they meet someone and go to bed with them,” he said. “It just doesn’t enter their mind and that, to me, just seems so healthy. I’ve been so mixed up with it for so long, for so many years.”
He added that this long-term anxiety ultimately led him to seek therapy.
“I think everyone should have therapy when they leave school,” Tovey said, crediting both therapy and his early love of acting with helping him grow into himself.
Since coming out to his parents at 18, the Plainclothes star has taken on numerous gay roles, including in Juice, Lookingand Years and Years.
“We police our feelings and what shame does” – Tovey on Plainclothes and the feeling of being gay
Set in Syracuse, upstate New York, in 1997, Plainclothes follows Andrew, played by Tovey – a closeted gay man who becomes the target of a police cruising sting that unexpectedly evolves into a romance.
Speaking to Attitude, Tovey said: “It’s a very powerful film about how we police our feelings and what shame does, and a matter of timing.”
Now considered an LGBTQ+ role model himself, he praised past trailblazers who paved — and continue to pave — the way for queer youth.
“Let’s build more lighthouses and be that fucking light” – Tovey being a role model for LGBTQ+ youth
“Things are fucking rocky, so let’s build more lighthouses and be that fucking light that shines out, so people can find you through this dark, cold water that we’re being plunged into,” Tovey concluded.
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