“That’s really important because maybe I was the first one of that universe.”
Russell Tovey has reflected on his groundbreaking same-sex kiss on The Flash.
In 2017, the British actor made his debut in the DC Universe for the Crisis On Earth-X crossover as The Ray, a superhero with the ability to manipulate light who dwells on an alternate Earth where Nazis won World War II.
During part three of the four-part crossover, Tovey’s character The Ray shared a cute kiss with his partner, Wentworth Miller’s superhero Citizen Cold, marking one of the first ever same-sex kisses between two gay superheroes on TV.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Tovey revealed: “Loads [of people got in touch after it happened]. So many.
“I think what [Arrowverse mastermind] Greg Berlanti does with all of those shows is, and they’re targeted mainly at young adults, kids, is that he’s made it so accessible and just real and what it is.”
He continued to say that it was important because he played one of the first openly out characters in the universe, and noted that since then, there’s been characters from all across the LGBTQ spectrum, notably the L and the T.
“You’re seeing iconic comic book characters that so many people project onto, behaving in a way that you are maybe feeling,” he added. “If your hero is having the same feelings that you feel for another man, then what an endorsement that is.”
Tovey currently stars in ITV’s family drama Flesh and Blood.
He appears alongside Imelda Staunton, Francesca Annis, Stephen Rea, Claudie Blakley, Lydia Leonard, Sharon Small, Lara Rossi, Keir Charles, Vincent Regan, David Bamber, Stephanie Langton and Clara Indrani.
The series, which is written by Sarah Williams (The Long Song), tells the story of three siblings – Helen (Blakley), Jake (Tovey) and Natalie (Leonard) – who are forced to come to terms with their widowed mother’s (Staunton) new lover (Rea).
Flesh and Blood aired its first episode on Monday on ITV.
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