Russell Tovey to play superhero The Ray

Openly gay actor Russell Tovey is going to play a gay super-hero on CW Network’s Arrow. Tovey will play The Ray.

“Arrow was a completely new take on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, in a new universe that had nothing to do with Smallville or its version of Oliver Queen/Green Arrow. The series proved quite the hit for The CW, and a second season renewal inevitably followed,” says DenOfGeek.com.

The official CW announcement gives details of Tovey’s character:

“Raymond ‘Ray’ Terrill was a reporter who discovered a group of government scientists working on a secret project to turn light into a weapon of mass destruction. But before he could report on his findings, the project head exposed Ray to a ‘genetic light bomb.’ The bomb failed to kill him and instead gifted Ray with light-based powers. With these abilities, Ray realized he could go beyond reporting on injustice — he could take action to help stop it. Calling himself The Ray, he was recruited by Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters to fight violence and oppression wherever it exists.”

“The Ray joins other LGBTQ characters on the series, like Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) on Legends, Central City PD Captain David Singh (Patrick Sabongui) on The Flash, and Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) on Supergirl,” EW coverage of the new episodes reports.

Tovey will also provide the voice for The Ray on an animated version of the character on The CW Seed.

“The four-part crossover will include Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, says Superherohype.com.

 “The upcoming crossover event will begin on Monday, Nov. 27 and conclude on Tuesday, Nov. 28. Arrow will air on Monday at 9 p.m. EST following Supergirl, and the other two will stick to their regular time slots,” according to EW.

Tovey has starred in ABC’s Quantico and HBO’s Looking. He is currently part of the cast of London’s National Theatre production of Angels in America. Tovey has also appeared in Doctor Who, the BBC version of Being Human and Sherlock according to Superherohype.com.

Copyright The Gayly – September 23, 2017 @ 4 p.m. CDT.