Director Carmen Emmi tried to "play it cool" after casting Russell Tovey in his debut movie Plainclothes. The filmmaker has been a huge fan of the British actor for 10 years, thanks to his performance in the TV show Looking, and he subconsciously wrote the character of Andrew in his drama with Tovey in mind. After the Being Human star signed up to play the role, Emmi tried not to let on how much Tovey meant to him until they wrapped the film and started promoting it. "(I didn't know) until we started doing press junkets, really. I didn't really know any of those stories," Tovey said in an interview with Cover Media. "I played it cool," Emmi quipped, to which the actor joked, "Super cool." The American Horror Story: NYC star added that it was flattering knowing both Emmi and his co-star Tom Blyth wanted him to play Andrew. "Tom said that he spoke to Carmen and Carmen said to Tom, 'Who do you think?' and Tom said that he suggested me as well so my ego's huge," he shared. "That was such a nice thing. It's lovely to hear. It's lovely to hear that your work connects." In Plainclothes, Blyth plays an undercover cop assigned to lure and arrest gay men, and he defies protocol by falling in love with a target, Andrew. Emmi explained that he felt a connection with Tovey because he watched his TV show Looking "right after (he) came out", and it gave him an idea of what his life could look like. "He's a part of that. I guess in writing (the part for him), I wanted to honour what he's done for me and for our community," he added. The director confessed that he "procrastinated" in reaching out to The History Boys actor about his film because he was "really nervous" he'd say no. "I especially didn't want to be rejected by Russell because he's such an icon in the queer community, but just in the acting community in general. So I didn't want to risk that," he said. "But my producer April sent him the script because she had a friend who knew him. She sent him the script and then she was like, 'Hey, Russell wants to meet with you,' and I was like, 'That's crazy'... I'm just glad it all worked out." Plainclothes is in U.K. cinemas from Friday 10 October.