While many movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival have taken an exuberant and celebratory approach to detailing the lives of members of the LGBTQ+ community, Plainclothes resonates for the exact opposite reason. At a time when U.S. legislators are fighting to rescind minority rights, filmmaker Carmen Emmi’s anxiety-ridden period piece about an undercover cop tasked with seducing and arresting gay men hits altogether too close to home. Tom Blyth (of The Hunger Games prequel fame) plays the lead role, Lucas, who lives in near-total denial of his attraction to men until he meets Andrew (Russell Tovey).

Even without words exchanged, it’s clear onscreen that Lucas views Andrew as much more than his next target from their first interaction. As Plainclothes progresses, the two dance around each other with a mix of paranoia at being caught and delightful abandon at the thought of finally being free together. But more than Lucas’ career is in jeopardy — he has his family to think of, and he doesn’t feel ready to open up to his grieving mother in the wake of his father’s death. Andrew also has his own reasons for keeping the relationship under wraps, and their secret meetings build an inescapable tension that mounts as the minutes click on.

ScreenRant interviewed Plainclothes actors Russell Tovey, Maria Dizzia, Amy Forsyth, and Alessandra Ford Balazs, as well as producer Colby Cote. They were all unified in their praise of star Tom Blyth, who could not be present due to filming The Cry of the Guards in Senegal, and pointed to director Carmen Emmi’s pᴀssion in putting the story together. Several of the actors gave updates on their other projects as well, ranging from a Doctor Who spinoff to The Gilded Age season 3.

Russell Tovey & Tom Blyth Were Kindred Spirits On The Set Of Plainclothes

The actor also shares excitement for his upcoming Doctor Who spinoff series.

ScreenRant: The Plainclothes reviews are raving about your chemistry with Tom Blyth. Can you tell me what it was like to build that intense relationship together?

Russell Tovey: Well, Tom’s obviously a brilliant actor. I think we both love telling stories, and we both love acting, and these parts came along. We both knew that we were going to do this, we had to really commit to this.

There is a real level of intimacy when you see the movie that takes a lot of vulnerability. But Tom Blyth is an incredibly open, vulnerable human and actor. I like to say that I myself am an open book — probably too much at times in my private life — but I felt like we really wanted this to work. We wanted to serve the script, we wanted to make Carmen Emmi proud, and here we are. It’s really a magic movie.

There are scenes between Blyth and Tovey that are surprisingly intense – surprising even to the characters themselves, as the feelings that transpire between Lucas and Andrew are unlike anything either have experienced. But the frenetic pace of their romance is also thanks in large part to the pᴀssion of writer-director Carmen Emmi, who took a very unique approach to the story and heightened the tension through the use of hidden cameras for certain scenes.

Plainclothes takes place in the ‘90s, but as Tovey says, “It’s even more relevant today.” Recent policy proposals, executive orders, and other actions taken by the U.S. government have struck LGBTQ+ communities in the country (and around the world) with a sense of dread that Emmi’s screenplay captures perfectly. But while Tovey acknowledges that reality, he did not feel any of that dread when collaborating with the first-time director.

Russell Tovey: We sH๏τ that at the beginning of last year and, of course, what’s just happened in the last week is, quite frankly, terrifying.

But to work with Carmen was such an honor. From the first instant, we just giggle like little school boys, we do stupid voices, but then we do the work. He’s a wonderful man, incredibly talented, and I’ve absolutely loved working with him. We’ve been doing Sundance together, we’ve been doing all the press junkets together, and it’s just been so joyful.

Another creative that Tovey finds a joy to work with is Russell T. Davies, who has returned to helm the latest iteration of Doctor Who. While Tovey played Alonso Frame in the 2017 Christmas special “Voyage of the Damned,” his lead character in the upcoming miniseries The War Between the Land and the Sea is shrouded in mystery.

Though Tovey was reticent when it came to providing any details about the series or his character, he was effusive in his praise of Davies as a creator.

Russell Tovey: The biggest privilege I’ve had is to work again with Russell T. Davis, who is a hero of mine. I worked with him in Doctor Who, and I did Years and Years with him where I was Daniel Lyons, and now I’ve come back as a character in The War Between the Land and the Sea. It’s brilliant.

It was joyful every single day, and I was so proud and excited to be there. I think people are going to be really, really buzzed to see it.

Maria Dizzia Breaks Down Her Mother-Son Bond With Tom Blyth In Plainclothes

The actor also discusses a different mother-son dynamic in Agatha All Along.

Maria Dizzie plays Marie, Lucas’ loving mother who nevertheless knows nothing of his Sєxuality. The actor explained their dynamic very poetically, both affirming the mutual support that underscores their interactions and highlighting the gulf of secrets through which they are wading:

Maria Dizzia: One of the most important things about Marie is that such a huge part of her son is unknown to her. He has this whole life that she doesn’t know about. And even though it’s a very close-knit family and she supports him and cares for him so much, there is this huge divide between the two of them.

ScreenRant: We’ve been hearing rave reviews about Tom Blyth’s performance already. What can you say about building that family dynamic with him?

Maria Dizzia: The first time that we met, we had a rehearsal, and we rehearsed the dance together. It was so easy to just fall in love with him as a mom; he was just such an incredibly open actor, and he’s both really tender and also goofy, and it was great.

I also felt like you could see just from the very beginning how much he cared. His pᴀssion was really caught fire, and when you’re in a scene with him, you just couldn’t help but feel dedicated to everything that was going on.

ScreenRant: This is also Carmen’s debut feature film. What was it like seeing him step into this leadership position and collaborating with him on the project?

Maria Dizzia: Collaborating with him is beautiful. One of the things that I like about Carmen so much is that he is a very modest person, and a very easy person to be with on set. But at the same time, he’s also very much in charge. I think that’s a really hard combination; to hold power in that kind of soft way, and he really did it.

He could think on his feet because it was a first-time feature, and crazy stuff went down. It was great to see him problem-solving and doing it, and I was really proud of him the whole time.

This is not the first time in recent memory that Dizzia has played a mother who knows nothing about her son, as she just came off a supporting role as Rebecca Kaplan in Agatha All Along. After her son’s death in a car accident, his body is inhabited by the spirit of Wanda Maximoff’s son Billy, something even he doesn’t know until the end of the season.

Despite being grateful her son is alive and healthy, Rebecca senses that William is not as he seems throughout the season. But if she learned the truth, that her flesh-and-blood son was lost to her and replaced by Wanda’s creation, would she still want him in her life? Dizzia had a very thoughtful response:

Maria Dizzia: I think that she would want to keep it. I think that she would also really still have to mourn the soul of her son, but there are a lot of ways in which her new son is a gift to her. It just seems like the universe gave her something, and so I don’t feel that she would reject him.

Amy Forsyth Felt Inspired By Plainclothes Director Carmen Emmi’s Approach To The Story’

Forsyth also explained why there won’t be as much Carrie Astor in The Gilded Age season 4.

Another important figure in Lucas’ life is his ex-fiancée, Emily, played by Amy Forsyth. Their dynamic in Plainclothes is particularly fascinating, given that he deeply loves her despite not being able to be in love with her. And the relationship seems equally as warm in real life, seeing as Forsyth gave Blyth a shoutout on the press line and declared, “I adore him.”

She gushed about his performance, as well, teased that the movie would unveil a whole different side of him – and teasing fans that she got to know him as a person on set.

Amy Forsyth: Yeah, I think the world knows a version of Tom, and I feel really lucky that I got to meet the real Tom. He was super welcoming and loving, super down to meet up and hang out and talk about [our characters]. We had to build a relationship, and so we got to spend time together. We talked about music a lot, shared a lot of songs, made a playlist, and sang a little bit. Yeah, he’s really easy to get to know.

ScreenRant: This is Carmen’s feature film directorial debut. What was it like to see his pᴀssion unfold as he stepped into his leadership role, and what did you guys learn from each other?

Amy Forsyth: I think it’s shocking that this is his debut. He has had such a clear voice from the beginning. From the second I read the script, it was so clear, and it was the same thing on set. He was unwavering in his vision for this film, and he leads with grace and pᴀssion. He’s open to collaborating, and he’s just a gentle soul, but he knows what he wants and he knows what he’s making.

I think it’s a hard thing to do, and he does it so effortlessly. I think watching him lead with such confidence was something that [helped me]. I would love to direct one day, so that’s something I learned from him.

Forsyth has also appeared in several episodes of a very different period piece, HBO’s The Gilded Age, where she plays Carrie Astor. Despite her character being rather important, she is still not in every episode, and the actor offered an explanation for her sparse appearances in the upcoming season 3:

Amy Forsyth: Yes, I’m around. Well, I am there. I was also a little doing a bit of double duty, as I was doing a show over on The Great White Way [Stereophonic on Broadway], so I was not available as much as I would’ve liked to be. But I’m around, and you might meet some more of my family members.

More About Plainclothes (2025)

A promising undercover officer ᴀssigned to lure and arrest gay men defies orders when he falls in love with a target.

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Source: Screen Rant Plus