Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981) is an English actor He is best known for playing the role of a werewolf, George Sands in the BBC's supernatural drama Being Human. His other notable roles include Rudge in both the stage and film versions of The History Boys, Steve in the BBC Three sitcom Him & Her, Kevin Matheson in the HBO original series Looking and its subsequent series finale television film Looking: The Movie, and as Henry Knight on BBC TV series Sherlock. He has also starred as Harry Doyle in the drama-thriller series Quantico on the ABC network. In addition, he also stars as Ray Terrill / The Ray in the Arrowverse.
Tovey is the younger of two children, born to Carole Haynes (formerly Webb) and George Tovey who run a Romford-based coach service taking passengers from Essex to Gatwick Airport. Tovey has an older brother, Daniel. He grew up in Billericay, Essex, and he attended Harold Court School in Harold Wood and Shenfield High School. As a boy, Tovey said he "was an avid collector of various things and prone to participating in fads." His parents supported his efforts, taking him to archeological digs and museums, buying him a metal detector, and going to conventions for mineralologists. For a time he wanted to be a history teacher, but after seeing Dead Poets Society, The Goonies, and Stand By Me, he decided to be an actor. For a time during his teens, he worked as a kitchen assistant in Billericay's King's Head pub.