Russell Tovey have shared how his parents reacted when he told them he was gay, saying that at first his Dad thought it was something that could be cured.
The actor opened up in an interview with UK paper The Sunday Times to share what it was like coming out, and his mother Carole was there to share her memories too.
“I don’t think either of my parents were homophobic,” Russell told the newspaper, “they just didn’t know any gay people or anyone with gay kids. They had nothing to cling to.”
“My dad thought it could be cured,” Russell shared. “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. People react in different ways, there’s no rhyme or reason, but if you love someone you have to respect the process.”
Russell’s Mum said it took her husband George several years to accept that Russell was gay and happy, at one point suggesting hormone treatment as a pathway Russell might explore.
“I think it was to do with pride, his idea of what makes you a man. He thought we’d somehow made Russell gay.” Carole shared.
Russell told his parents he was gay when he was eighteen, but their relationship suffered as his father struggled to accept Russell’s sexuality, finally they reconciled 15 years later when his nephew was born.
Since first finding success on stage and then film in The History Boys, Russell’s had a strong of successes with Being Human, Looking, Banished, Quantico and Years and Years.
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