September 1, 2013 | Arts / Entertainment

Openly gay actor lands first gay role

Openly gay British actor Russell Tovey is coming to America after securing a role in HBO’s upcoming half-hour drama-comedy about the lives of a group of gay men living in San Francisco.

In Looking, the 31-year-old will play Kevin, a wealthy video game creator.

Tovey has experienced quite a bit of success in Britain, where he has starred in several TV series, including sitcom The Job Lot and as the main werewolf in the supernatural show Being Human.

This will actually be his first major gay role.

"Every character I play is straight, which is unique, my agent says, because it’s not really been done before that someone who is completely out is able to play straight roles," he said.

The eight-episode series, described as a gay ‘Girls’, was created by Michael Lannan. The three main characters are played by Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez and Murray Bartlett, as they hunt for love and good times. Scott Bakula has also joined the cast and will play Lynn, a wealthy and popular figure in the San Francisco gay community.

With HBO backing it up, this may make for some quality TV! Sadly, no air date has been given for the new series.