On the verge of football superstardom and sponsorships are teenagers Jason (Russell Tovey) and Ade (Arinzé Kene). The two boys huddle in their hotel room the night before their first Champion League match, anxiously harping on tomorrow's plays, teammates' sex tapes, and which one of them will skyrocket to fame. But with the cramped quarters, anxiety, and raging hormones comes a kiss that changes the trajectory of both of their lives.
Over the next decade, Tovey's character struggles to reconcile his sexuality with his celebrity. If image is everything, who's underneath?
PRIDE sat down with the film's star, Russell Tovey, for a glimpse into the making of the movie, why he loves playing gay roles, and his advice to anyone struggling to come out.
PRIDE: The Pass actually came out in 2016, but people in the states will finally have a chance to watch it on demand.
Tovey: Yeah, it keeps getting new life. New festivals show it, other countries get it released in their region on Netflix, and now the states are getting it on Netflix, which is incredibly exciting. It seems as it keeps taking more and more life.
The film's script was initially a theater production, in which you originated the role of Jason. What attracted you the character?
I just read the play and I thought, "This is amazing. I want to play Jason." That topic was fascinating to me. The character was so deep and he had a massive journey to go through. It just was a complete package. The challenge was there, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with that guy. It was just phenomenal that we're able to do the play. Then there was life beyond the play with the movie.
What was the transition like from a play to a film?
Well, we still set it over three rooms. The script basically stayed the same. We just had to make it more filmic and less like a play.
The film is in three acts, and in the first one, you and Ade are teenagers. In the last one, you're in your mid-thirties. Both of you look vastly different in the two scenes. How did y'all accomplish that age lapse?
The producers were like "What do you want to do? Do you want to do the young one first or do you want to do the one where you are now?" Well, I'm closer to older Jason's body frame at that point. So let's just do that.
It was over Christmas, which was a challenge with Mom's roast dinner cooking with the Christmas lunch and trying to avoid anything that would put any sort of weight on or retain any water. And then after Christmas, we did the scene when we were kids.
Jason struggles with his sexuality, his celebrity, and self-loathing throughout the film. I know that you came out pretty early in your career. Where there any parallels? Was anything inspired by your real life?
When I was younger, I just didn't ever want to get to a state where it would become such a big thing coming out. I just wanted to make sure there's no skeletons in the closet. I wanted to make sure that there wasn't any bullshit really.
I just wanted to be free to be able to do and be who I wanted to be, in work and out of work. I've been doing it since I was a kid, so for me, the world of acting and being gay went hand and hand really. It's also been completely normal and accepted, so it didn't feel like a massive big deal for me to do it.
And you know, I did a lot of plays and I think the theater was a lot easier, my journey coming up. If I'd been like a movie star and went through that way, maybe it'd been a lot trickier and a lot more questions. But through the theater, you can just be who you want completely. That's the best thing about the theater communities, that everyone's so accepting and open and loving.
That definitely shows in your work. You've played a handful of gay characters on television and film, including on The Flash and Looking.
When I was younger I, I was worried about being gay, playing gay, being typecast. But then as soon as I embraced playing gay, accepted the roles, it just, everything's just sort of flourished completely. And I've had the opportunity to really get under the skin of these incredible characters and have the opportunity to work with the most amazing people. So it's been like a massive, wonderful thing for me.
Do you have any advice for people like Jason, struggling with their sexuality and that kind of internal conflict?
I've had it easy. I've been very fortunate and lucky.
I don't know what other people's shit is, you know? But I would say just be nice to yourself. Don't beat yourself up. Try to surround yourself with like-minded people. Get out to the gay bar and meet people and talk. Get off apps! Meet real world people.
Find good friends. That's the most important thing I had. Find good friends that you can just be yourself with, where you don't have to worry about anything. All your friends are like a family of choice for yourself and you need to be surrounded by people that you can just be yourself with. That's the most important thing.
Congratulations on your engagement!
Ha. Thanks!
The Pass is now available digitally and on Video On Demand. Watch the trailer below:
