Russell Tovey strips off as closeted footballer in new film

PinkNews logo on pink background with rainbow corners.

Russell Tovey is stripping off again to play a gay footballer in an upcoming film.

The new film, ‘The Pass’, Tovey plays a footballer, still in the closet, who bares all the night before a big match.

The British Film Institute bills the film as “the story of three very different nights over 10 years in the life of a Premier League Footballer.”

Tooveyry 2

“Jason [Russell Tovey] is at the beginning of his career, and on the night before his first big international match he and long-time friend and team-mate Ade [Arinze Kene] share a hotel room, trying to beat the inevitable pre-match tensions with locker-room banter and teenage high-jinks.

“Out of nowhere Jason kisses Ade. The emotional repercussions of this pass, and the decisions that follow on and off the pitch, have a major impact on every aspect of the public and private lives of both men across the next decade.”

The film has been adapted from a stage show of the same name.

The original production also starred Tovey and Kene in the same roles.

A performance of A View From the Bridge had to be temporarily halted earlier this month – after an audience member fainted as Russell Tovey’s character removed his shirt.

Theatre fan Davin Cutchall said he was “mortified” after he passed out – moments after actor Tovey stripped off to reveal his rather impressive physique.

Speaking to Heat magazine, Tovey said that wanted to publicly apologise for the unexpected effect his body had on audience members.

“On behalf of my arms and nipples, I feel the need to publicly apologise for the effects felt by one of our audience members on a dark winter night in New York City,” he said.