Born on November 14, 1981, Russell Tovey is an openly gay actor who grew up in Billericay in Essex where he attended Shenfield High School. As a child actor, he was cast in the children’s series Mud as the character Bill, as well as Dennis Sealey in the TV series Look and Read. He was then offered guest roles on shows like Hope & Glory, Agatha Christie: Poirot, Silent Witness, and Servants, before originating the role of Rudge in Alan Bennett's play The History Boys at the National Theatre. On Broadway, Tovey made a name for himself in various productions. In London, he starred in His Girl Friday, The History Boys, Henry V, and Howard Katz, and graced the theater scene in Hong Kong and Sydney as Rudge, the role that catapulted him to stardom. In 2007, Tovey landed the recurring role of Rob's gay producer, Ben, in the BBC Three comedy Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive. In the same year, he booked appearances in BBC Three comedy Gavin & Stacey playing Budgie, a friend of Gavin and Smithy's, in three episodes, and then in the Doctor Who Christmas Special "Voyage of the Damned" Tovey continued to flaunt his acting chops in the theater world when he bagged the lead role in A Miracle at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre as Gary Trudgill, a British soldier returning to Norfolk from abroad. Subsequently, he landed the role of werewolf George, one of three supernatural housemates in the comedy drama Being Human. Tovey was also cast in film Huge and the two pilots, Young, Unemployed and Lazy and The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret.