John Barrowman

Infobox actor
name = John Barrowman|

birthname = John Scot Barrowman
birthdate = birth date and age|1967|3|11|df=y
birthplace = Glasgow, Scotland, UK
domesticpartner = Scott Gill (since 1993)

John Scot Barrowman (b. 11 March 1967) is a Scottish actor, musical performer, dancer, singer and television presenter, who has lived and worked both in the United Kingdom and the United States. He currently lives in the UK with his civil partner Scott Gill.

Barrowman is best known on British television for his acting and presenting work for the BBC. His most prominent television role has been as Captain Jack Harkness in "Doctor Who" and its spin-off series "Torchwood". He has featured in such light entertainment shows as "Live & Kicking", "Any Dream Will Do", "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?", and "I'd Do Anything" as well as appearing on the celebrity ice skating show "Dancing on Ice". As a result of his family's move to Illinois when he was eight years old, [ [http://www.johnbarrowman.com/portfolio/bio.html John Barrowman official website] , biography section] Barrowman speaks in an American accent on screen but reverts to a Scottish accent when with family or in Scotland.cite news | title=John Barrowman - Christopher Fisher meets Captain Jack from sci-fi television series Doctor Who, now starring in his own spin-off series Torchwood | publisher=Scotland Magazine | date=December 2006 | url=http://johnbarrowman.net/outabout/press/2006/scotlandmagazine.html | accessdate=2008-03-15]

Barrowman is openly gay. He was voted the 2006 Stonewall "Entertainer of the Year" [cite press release | title=John Barrowman, Sugar Rush, Sheri Dobrowski, Mail on Sunday win accolades at Stonewall Awards | publisher=Stonewall | date=2006-11-03 | url=http://www.stonewall.org.uk/media/current_releases/1524.asp | accessdate=2006-11-03 ] and was third in "Broadcast" magazine's "Hottest Commodity" poll in November 2006. [cite news
last = Murray
first = Paula
title = Russell is voted hottest brand on telly
work = Daily Record
date = November 24, 2006
url = http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/tm_headline=russell-is-voted-hottest-brand-on-telly&method=full&objectid=18149622&siteid=66633-name_page.html
accessdate = 2006-11-25 ]

Biography

John Scot Barrowman was born in Mount Vernon, Glasgow, where he lived for the first eight years of his life. His mother worked in a record shop and his father worked for the Caterpillar heavy machinery company in nearby Uddingston. In 1976 the family was relocated to the United States by the company for which his father was working. [ [http://www.johnbarrowman.com/ John Barrowman official website] , biography section]

He spent the next few years of his life in Joliet, Illinois, where his father was a manager at the Caterpillar tractor factory. Barrowman graduated from Joliet West High School in 1985. While still in high school, he won parts in several musical productions even as a freshman. Between 1983 and 1985 he performed in productions of "Hello, Dolly!", "Oliver!", "Camelot", "Li'l Abner" and "Anything Goes". He also spent a summer working for an Illinois power company, a job arranged by his father to give him experience of manual labour. [cite news |first=Lee |last=Luaine |title=John Barrowman stars in BBC America's 'Torchwood' |url=http://www.miamiherald.com/272/story/216821.html |work=The Miami Herald |date=August 27 2007 |accessdate=2007-08-28 ] He attended university in San Diego, and returned to the United Kingdom in 1990.

Acting career

Barrowman's musical abilities have been featured in film: he had a duet with Kevin Kline singing "Night and Day" in the Cole Porter biopic "De-Lovely", and he sang "Springtime for Hitler" in the 2005 film of Mel Brooks' "The Producers", based on the Broadway adaptation of the original movie. He also recently performed in and co-presented a BBC One series on Saturday nights, entitled "The Sound of Musicals", in which performers from West End musicals sing songs from the shows. [cite web | url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1561687,00.html | title=It's showtime on BBC1 | format=needs registration | date=September 2, 2005 ]

His professional debut was in the 1989 London West End production of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes", playing Billy Crocker, a role that he reprised in Trevor Nunn's 2003 West End revival. He has also appeared in the West End productions of "Miss Saigon", "Beauty and the Beast", "Matador", "Hair", "Grease!", "Sunset Boulevard", Chicago and "The Phantom of the Opera".

He was also part of the musical "Godspell". He is a soloist in two songs, "We Beseech Thee" and "On The Willows". This 1997 CD is recorded for Jay Productions Ltd.

He was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 1998 for originating the role of Cal Chandler in "The Fix" [ cite web|url=http://www.albemarle-london.com/awards/AwardWinners.php?Award_Type=Laurence%20Olivier%20Awards&Year=1998 |title=1998 Olivier Awards winners and nominations |accessdate=2007-05-21 |work=Albermarle of London ] , a performance he repeated in Cameron Mackintosh's 1998 gala concert "Hey, Mr Producer!". He has played the role of Joe Gillis in "Sunset Boulevard" in the West End and, briefly, on Broadway. His only other Broadway credit is the Stephen Sondheim revue "Putting It Together" (1999–2000). In 2002, he appeared in the central role of Bobby in Sondheim's "Company" in the Kennedy Center's Stephen Sondheim Celebration.

He has also appeared in the West End in non-musical dramas, such as "Rope" and the 2005 production of "A Few Good Men", in which Barrowman starred as Jack Ross opposite Rob Lowe. He has starred in the pantomimes "Cinderella" at the New Wimbledon Theatre (Christmas 2005–6) and "Jack and the Beanstalk" at Cardiff's New Theatre (Christmas 2006–7). He played the title role in "Aladdin" at the Birmingham Hippodrome over Christmas 2007–8. [cite press release | title=John Barrowman to play Aladdin! | publisher=Birmingham Hippodrome | date=2007-06-05 | url=http://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/?page=106&nsID=213 | accessdate=2007-06-05 ] He is also set to play the lead in the "Robin Hood" panto at the Birmingham Hippodrome for the 2008-2009 season.

He is best known in the UK for his appearances in the "Doctor Who" TV series and its spinoff "Torchwood". In the United States these programs have been very popular on BBC America, but with its limited cable distribution his most familiar starring roles may be in several short-lived prime-time soap operas such as "Titans" with Yasmine Bleeth in 2000 and "Central Park West", as well as the low-budget film "".

Barrowman was under consideration for the role of Will in the popular US series "Will and Grace" but the producers felt he was "too straight" and the role went to Eric McCormack instead, who is heterosexual. "The sad thing is it's run by gay men and women," said Barrowman in a January 2006 article. [cite web | title=Gay Doctor Who star was too straight for Will and Grace | publisher=Pink News | date =13 January 2006 | url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-327.html] He later expressed contempt for the idea that all gay men act the same way.

He has played recurring guest character Captain Jack Harkness in BBC One's science fiction television series "Doctor Who", since the show was revived in 2005. The omnisexual time traveller first appeared in "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" two-part story, and appeared in the next three episodes, "Boom Town", "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways" . Due to the character's popularity, in 2006 Captain Jack Harkness was given his own spin-off series "Torchwood", which begins filming its third series in August 2008, following a team of alien hunters based in modern day Cardiff. Barrowman also reprised the role in the 2007 "Doctor Who" episodes "Utopia", "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords", and the two-part 2008 series [cite web
url = http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=133942&command=displayContent&sourceNode=244910&contentPK=18914884&folderPk=103546&pNodeId=244911
title = EG BIG INTERVIEW: JOHN BARROWMAN
date=2007-11-09
accessdate = 2007-11-09
publisher=thisisnottingham.co.uk] finale, "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End".

Barrowman has also appeared in a "Doctor Who" special of the BBC's "The Weakest Link". [cite news
last = Blair
first = Alan
title = Capt. Jack Returns To 'Doctor Who'
publisher = SyFy Portal
date = November 26, 2007
url = http://www.syfyportal.com/news423008.html
accessdate = 2007-02-12 ] He appeared in an episode of the third series of the BBC series "Hotel Babylon". [cite press release
title = Hotel Babylon series three: Credits
publisher = BBC
date = 2008-02-08
url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/02_february/08/babylon_credits.shtml
accessdate = 2008-02-12 ]

Presenting and guest starring

Barrowman appeared in the BBC children's Saturday morning variety show "Live & Kicking", in which he hosted the "Electric Circus" segment, reporting on technology news, before moving on to "The Movie Game", a children's television game show. In the late 1990s he was one of the regular presenters on Five's afternoon show "Five's Company".

During January and February 2006 Barrowman took part in the ITV1 series "Dancing on Ice", where Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean trained celebrities to compete in an ice skating show which took onboard many characteristics of a real ice skating competition. Barrowman's skating partner was World Junior Gold Medalist and three-time Russian champion Olga Sharutenko. Although a favourite to win, on 4 February, Barrowman and Sharutenko faced Stefan Booth and Kristina Cousins in the skate off and were eliminated by the judge's vote of 3 to 2.

Between 10 April and 14 April, 2006, Barrowman presented ITV's morning talk show "This Morning" whilst Phillip Schofield took an Easter Break. [cite web| url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16807139&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=exclusive--dr-s-jack-takes-on-itv-sofa-name_page.html | title=Exclusive: Dr's Jack takes on ITV sofa | publisher=The Daily Mirror | author=Cameron Robertson | date=March 13, 2006 ] Between 1 May and 5 May, 2006, Barrowman read bedtime stories on the CBeebies channel. In Summer 2006, he was on the Judges panel of BBC One's "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" music talent show alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Ian, and Zoe Tyler. [cite press release | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/06_june/06/maria.shtml |title=How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? panel chosen | publisher=BBC | date=June 6, 2006 ]

On December 31 2006, Barrowman made two television appearances. The first was on BBC Television's "Heaven & Earth",cite web
author = 'Kurly'
title = Catching you up through 2007
publisher = Torchwood. TV
date = December 15, 2006
url = http://torchwoodtv.blogspot.com/2006/12/catching-you-up-through-2007.html
accessdate = 2007-01-13 ] hosted by Gloria Hunniford. On it he talked about spirituality and civil partnerships. His second appearance was as a guest on a team with Craig Revel Horwood and Louis Walsh, on Graham Norton's one-off programme, "The Big Finish" which was also broadcast on BBC Television. It was a light-hearted look at news stories in 2006.

On February 11, 2007, he co-presented the BAFTA Film Awards red carpet coverage with Ruby Wax. [cite web
authors = JohnBarrowman.com Webmaster
title = Bafta Red Carpet
publisher = John Barrowman Official Site — News
date = January 10, 2007
url = http://www.johnbarrowman.net/news/newsindex.html
accessdate = 2007-01-13 ] He also guest-presented two editions of "Elaine Paige on Sunday", a pre-recorded BBC Radio 2 weekly musical theatre and film music showcase, broadcast on February 11 and February 18, 2007. [cite web
authors = JohnBarrowman.com Webmaster
title = JB on the Radio
publisher = John Barrowman Official Site — News
date = January 12, 2007
url = http://www.johnbarrowman.net/news/newsindex.html
accessdate = 2007-01-13 ]

In 2007 Barrowman was a judge in the BBC One TV series "Any Dream Will Do" to find a new star to play the lead role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in London's West End, won on June 9 by Lee Mead, of whom he said: "Lee won because he is polished, professional and close to perfection in what he does. He goes on stage and commands it, and one of the best qualities about him is that he doesn't analyse the song too much. He just gets out there and does it. I'm happy to give over my West End leading man's shoes for a while, to allow him to fill them.", [cite press release
title = Public vote says West End in need of Lee Mead
publisher = BBC
date = 2008-02-08
url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/06_june/09/dream.shtml
accessdate = 2008-08-13 ] on a post-final party on video posted at Andrew Lloyd Webber's website he commented "The West End had need of Lee Mead". [cite video
people = Bill Kenwright, John Barrowman
title = Bill and John at the Aftershow Party
medium = Windows Media Video
publisher = AndrewLloydWebber.com
location = BBC Television Centre
date = 2008-06-13
url = http://www.andrewlloydwebber.com/sections/news/newsdb.php?article=83 ]

He has also guested on BBC Two comedy panel quiz show "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" (Series 19, Episode 5) , challenging host Simon Amstell to a "gay-off", "Al Murray's Happy Hour", "The Charlotte Church Show", and "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross".

On Friday 27 July 2007 Barrowman guest hosted "The Friday Night Project", on Channel 4, with Justin-Lee Collins and Alan Carr, in which he discussed his role as Captain Jack Harkness, what ET could do with his finger, and showed his backside at the request of an audience member. [ [http://www.johnbarrowman.com John Barrowman - 27 July 2007] ]

In 2008 Barrowman presented a primetime BBC game show called "The Kids Are All Right" in which a team of 4 adults tried to win money by beating a gang of seven super bright kids. [cite press release
title = John Barrowman to host prime time BBC One show The Kids Are All Right
publisher = BBC
date = 2007-10-19
url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/10_october/19/kids.shtml
accessdate = 2008-02-13 ] The show was recorded in the new BBC studios in Pacific Quay in Glasgow. [cite web
title = BBC - Be On A Show - The Kids are All Right
work = BBC.co.uk
publisher = BBC
url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/showsandtours/beonashow/shows/the_kids_are_alright.shtml
format = SHTML
accessdate = 2008-02-13 ] On Saturday 16th February 2008, and Saturday 23rd February 2008, he presented the National Lottery Draw.On the 1st of March 2008 he appeared on the panel of the Eurovision Song Contest selection show, "Eurovision: Your Decision" on BBC 1, alongside Carrie Grant and Sir Terry Wogan.

On the 29 April, 30 April 2008 and the 1 May 2008 he presented This Morning.

On the evening of 29 April 2008 he spoke at the Oxford Union about his career, the entertainment industry and gay rights issues. The event was filmed for the programme "John Barrowman - The Making Of Me" for the BBC, broadcast on 24 July2008, in which Barrowman explored ideas of what makes people gay.

Beginning in June 2008, he featured as a judge on the Canadian version of "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?".

On Sunday 14th September 2008 he presented Andrew Lloyd Webber's 60th birthday party in London's Hyde Park with a host of guests such as Idina Menzel, Denise Van Outen, Elaine Paige, Lee Mead and the stars of "I'd Do Anything".

Personal life

Barrowman has been with his partner, Scott Gill, since 1993, after meeting during a production of "Rope" at the Chichester Festival Theatre.cite news
last = Oconner
first = Gavin
title = Torchwood star in celebrity ceremony
work = icWales
publisher = South Wales Echo
date = 28 December, 2006
url = http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/southwalesecho/news/tm_headline=torchwood-star-in-celebrity-ceremony&method=full&objectid=18339640&siteid=50082-name_page.html
accessdate = 2006-12-28 ] The couple have homes in London and Cardiff Bay.

Despite this long-standing relationship, Barrowman told Scotland's "The Herald" newspaper that he had no plans to marry, saying, "Why would I want a 'marriage' from a belief system that hates me?" However, he and Gill did become civil partners on December 27 2006. As Barrowman explained when the couple were interviewed by "Attitude" magazine, the couple do not want to call this a marriage: "We're just going to sign the civil register. We're not going to have any ceremony because I'm not a supporter of the word "marriage" for a gay partnership." [cite news
title =Any Queries
publisher =Attitude Magazine
date =December 2006
url =http://www.attitude.co.uk] cite news
last = Williams
first = Andrew
title = 60 seconds: John Barrowman
work = Metro
publisher = Associated Newspapers
date = November 2, 2006
url = http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/interviews/article.html?in_article_id=23649&in_page_id=11
accessdate = 2006-11-05 ] [cite news
title = Torchwood star's Cardiff big day
work = BBC News
publisher = BBC
date = November 23, 2006
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6173076.stm
accessdate = 2006-11-25 ] The two did have a small ceremony in Cardiff with around 40 friends and family. [cite news |title=Torchwood star's civil ceremony |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/6212729.stm |work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |date=2006-12-27 |accessdate=2006-12-27 ] Among the guests were the regular cast of "Torchwood", along with Russell T Davies, the "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" executive producer. The civil partnership was covered by "OK!" magazine, which published pictures of the ceremony on 16 January 2007.

Barrowman's autobiography, titled "Anything Goes", was published on January 24, 2008 with Michael O'Mara Books. It was named after the Cole Porter song and musical of the same name. It was published in the US on April 28, 2008 [cite news
title = Autobiography release dates confirmed
url = http://www.johnbarrowman.com/news/newsindex.html] His sister - English professor and journalist - Carole Barrowman wrote the book using her brother's dictations. [cite news
last = Weintraub
first = Joanne
title = His own universe
work = News
publisher = Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
date = September 4, 2007
url = http://www.gallifreyone.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?id=EElElZZVEyimhFKAnu&tmpl=newsrss&style=feedstyle] Barrowman is bidialectal. He learned an American accent after school children picked on his Scottish accent when he moved to the U.S. His accent is often called Mid-Atlantic. [cite web
url=http://www.playbill.com/news/print.asp?id=64958
title=Playbill: Dear John: Barrowman Puts It All Together on Broadway News
publisher=www.playbill.com
accessdate=2008-01-26] He stated while he was appearing on "The Friday Night Project" that he still speaks in a Scottish accent when he is with his parents, which can be seen during recordings of him with them for the show "The Making of Me" first broadcast on 24 July 2008 on BBC One. He can be heard slipping into his Scottish accent during the blooper reel included on the Season 1 DVD set of "Torchwood".

According to David Tennant's video diary of filming "Doctor Who" Series 3, Barrowman had a dog named Tegan after the Fifth Doctor's companion Tegan Jovanka, as well as another dog named Lewis. Tegan (the dog) was euthanized in October 2007. [cite web
url= http://www.johnbarrowman.com/tiger/tiger.html
title= In loving memory
accessdate= 19th January
accessyear= 2008
date= 12
year= 2007
month= 10] On 27 February 2008, Barrowman and Gill adopted another dog, a Jack Russell, whom they named Captain Jack. [ cite web |url= http://www.rexfeatures.com/set/740207
title= Pictures of CJ
accessdate= 2nd March
accessyear= 2008
date= 27
year= 2008
month= 02] Later in 2008 they adopted Charlie, a brown cocker spaniel and Harris, a black cocker spaniel. [ cite web |url= http://www.johnbarrowman.com/boys/theboys.html
title= Meet the Boys
accessdate= 10 October
accessyear= 2008
date= 10
year= 2008
month= 10]

Credits

Recordings

Footnotes

References

*citation|title=Anything Goes|first1=John|last=Barrowman|first2=Carole|last2=Barrowman |year=2008|publisher=Michael O'Mara Books|isbn=1843172895

External links

* [http://www.johnbarrowman.com Official site]
*imdb name|id=0057882|name=John Barrowman
*amg name|2:352259
*youtube channel|JohnBarrowmanTV
* [http://www.inbaseline.com/person.aspx?person_id=156035 John Barrowman at InBaseline]
* [http://www.johnbarrowman-spain.com John Barrowman Spain, página para fans en español]
* [http://www.afterelton.com/people/2006/5/intbarrowman.html/ Interview with Barrowman at AfterElton.com]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/torchwood/ BBC's "Torchwood" site]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/ BBC's "Doctor Who" site]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/joseph/ BBC's "Any Dream Will Do" site]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/maria/about/barrowman.shtml John Barrowman's "How Do You Solve A Problem Like A Maria?" Profile]
* [http://www.americantheatrewing.org/downstagecenter/detail/john_barrowman "Downstage Center" interview] at American Theatre Wing.org