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Barrowman is best known on [[British television]] for his acting and his presenting work on theatre. His most prominent television role has been the 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 (TV series)|Any Dream Will Do]]'' and ''[[How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?]]'', as well as appearing on the celebrity [[ice skating]] show ''[[Dancing on Ice]]''.
Barrowman is best known on [[British television]] for his acting and his presenting work on theatre. His most prominent television role has been the 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 (TV series)|Any Dream Will Do]]'' and ''[[How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?]]'', as well as appearing on the celebrity [[ice skating]] show ''[[Dancing on Ice]]''.


Openly [[gay]], he was voted the 2006 [[Stonewall (UK)|Stonewall]] "Entertainer of the Year"<ref>{{cite press release | title=John Barrowman, Sugar Rush, Sheri Dobrowski, Mail on Sunday win accolades at Stonewall Awards | publisher=[[Stonewall (UK)|Stonewall]] | date=[[2006-11-03]] | url=http://www.stonewall.org.uk/media/current_releases/1524.asp | accessdate=2006-11-03 }}</ref> and was third in ''[[Broadcast magazine|Broadcast]]'' magazine's "Hottest Commodity" poll in [[November]] [[2006]].<ref>{{cite news
Openly [[bisexual]], he was voted the 2006 [[Stonewall (UK)|Stonewall]] "Entertainer of the Year"<ref>{{cite press release | title=John Barrowman, Sugar Rush, Sheri Dobrowski, Mail on Sunday win accolades at Stonewall Awards | publisher=[[Stonewall (UK)|Stonewall]] | date=[[2006-11-03]] | url=http://www.stonewall.org.uk/media/current_releases/1524.asp | accessdate=2006-11-03 }}</ref> and was third in ''[[Broadcast magazine|Broadcast]]'' magazine's "Hottest Commodity" poll in [[November]] [[2006]].<ref>{{cite news
| last = Murray
| last = Murray
| first = Paula
| first = Paula

Revision as of 23:10, 1 August 2007

John Barrowman
File:John-03072007.jpg
Born
John Barrowman
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85m)
PartnerScott Gill
WebsiteJohnBarrowman.net

John Barrowman (born 11 March, 1967 in Mount Vernon, Glasgow) is a British-American actor, musical performer, dancer, singer, and TV presenter who has lived and worked both in the United Kingdom and the United States. He currently lives in the UK. He became a United States citizen in 1985, and holds dual US/UK citizenship.[1]

Barrowman is best known on British television for his acting and his presenting work on theatre. His most prominent television role has been the 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 and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, as well as appearing on the celebrity ice skating show Dancing on Ice.

Openly bisexual, he was voted the 2006 Stonewall "Entertainer of the Year"[2] and was third in Broadcast magazine's "Hottest Commodity" poll in November 2006.[3]

Biography

Barrowman was born in Mount Vernon, Glasgow, where he spent 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 1975 the family was relocated to America with his father's work[4].

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 while still a freshman. Between 1983 and 1985 he performed in productions of Hello, Dolly!, Oliver!, Camelot, Li'l Abner and Anything Goes. 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 in the Cole Porter biopic De-Lovely, and he sang "Springtime for Hitler" in the 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.[5]

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 and The Phantom of the Opera (as Raoul).

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[6], 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 will play the title role in Aladdin at the Birmingham Hippodrome over Christmas 2007–8.[7]

He is probably best known in the United States for starring roles 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 cult film Shark Attack 3: Megalodon.

Barrowman, who is gay, 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 straight. "The sad thing is it's run by gay men and women," said Barrowman in a January 2006 article.[8] He later expressed contempt at the idea that all gay men act the same way.[9]

He has appeared playing an occasional character in BBC One's science fiction television series Doctor Who, since Queer as Folk creator Russell T. Davies revived the series in 2005. Barrowman first appeared as Captain Jack Harkness in The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances two-part story, and subsequently appeared in Boom Town, Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways in 2005, and in the 2007 season's Utopia, The Sound of Drums, and season finale Last of the Time Lords.

Barrowman continues in the role of Harkness in 2008's second season of Davies's Torchwood, an adult-orientated spin-off from Doctor Who, whose title is an anagram of "Doctor Who". The spin-off's first 13-week season of the - set in modern Cardiff- was shown on BBC Three, BBC One and the BBC's BBC HD satellite and cable high definition channel. Harkness is Davies's main addition to the roster of characters that have been careening through space and time parallel to The Doctor on BBC TV since 1963. In both shows Harkness appears to be omnisexual.

In the first series of Torchwood, Barrowman's character headed an organization apparently investigating crime and alien activity (In Tooth & Claw, episode 2 of 2006's Doctor Who season - without Harkness - Torchwood was created by Queen Victoria after her meeting with The Doctor at Torchwood House in the Scottish Highlands, during which she banished The Doctor and determined that Britain must be defended against alien/supernatural forces - hence Torchwood). Because of The Doctor's ministrations and a mistake his then companion Rose Tyler made, Harkness (a time agent from the far future who assumed the identity of a World War II flyer) cannot die.

Barrowman has also appeared in on a Doctor Who special of the BBC's The Weakest Link.[10]

In 2006, he was on the judging panel of BBC One's talent search show How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, which discovered Connie Fisher to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber's revival of The Sound of Music - a format which 'influenced' NBC's search for stars in a revival of Grease. And in 2007, he officiated on the panel of BBC One's Any Dream Will Do!, which discovered Lee Mead as the star in a revival of Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which opens at London's Adelphi Theatre on 17 July 2007.

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. [11] 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. [12]

On December 31 2006, Barrowman made two television appearances. The first was on BBC Television's Heaven & Earth,[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[13] 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 E!: Entertainment Television BAFTA Film Awards red carpet coverage with Ruby Wax.[14] 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.[15]

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." [1] "The West End had need of Lee Mead," he says on a post-final party on video posted at Andrew Lloyd Webber's website. [2]

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 [16].


Personal life

Barrowman has been with his partner, British architect Scott Gill, since 1991 when they met during a production at the Chichester Festival Theatre.[17] The couple have homes in London and the Bay Area, Cardiff.

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 became 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."[18][9][19] The two did have a small ceremony in Cardiff with around 40 friends and family.[20] Among the guests were the regular cast of Torchwood, along with Russell T Davies, the Doctor Who and Torchwood executive producer.[17] The civil partnership was covered by OK! magazine, which published pictures of the ceremony on 16 January, 2007.

Barrowman is signed to write his autobiography with Michael O'Mara Books, the book is to be called Anything Goes named after the Cole Porter song and musical of the same name and will be published in Spring 2008.[21]

Barrowman is bidialectal. He learned an American accent after school children picked on his Scottish accent when he moved to the USA.

While visiting the gardens at Highgrove, the home of HRH The Prince of Wales, he was "caught short", he said on 23 June2007's edition of BBC One's Would I Lie To You comedy quiz. While urinating in the garden, he set off an alarm.

On the comedy show Friday Night Project David Tennant posed the classic "marry, shag, throw off a cliff" question. Barrowman stated he would marry Alan Carr because he would keep a clean house, shag David Tennant because his nickname is 'David Ten-Inch', and cliff Justin Lee Collins because he has bigger hair than Barrowman.

Filmography

Year Title Type Role More information
2006 - to present Torchwood TV Series Captain Jack Harkness Torchwood at IMDb
2005 - 2007 Doctor Who TV Series Captain Jack Harkness Doctor Who (2005-) at IMDb
2005 The Producers Film Lead Tenor The Producers at IMDb
2004 De-Lovely Film Jack/Musical Performer De-Lovely at IMDb
2004 Method Film Reporter Method at IMDb
2002 Shark Attack 3: Megalodon Film Ben Carpenter Shark Attack 3: Megalodon at IMDb
2000 Titans TV Series Peter Williams Titans at IMDb
2000 Putting It Together TV Special The Young Man Putting It Together at IMDb
1996 Central Park West TV Series Peter Fairchild Central Park West at IMDb
1987 The Untouchables Film (uncredited) The Untouchables at IMDb

Recordings

Year Title Album Artist Label Notes
1994 Songs from Grease John Barrowman JAY Records Studio recording
1994 Godspell London Cast JAY Records
1998 The Fix Original London Cast Relativity
1998 Hey Mr Producer! Various Artists First Night Records Performing "One, Two, Three" from The Fix
2002 The Musicality of Andrew Lloyd Webber Various Artists JAY Records Performing "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
2002 Essential Songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber Various Artists Metro Music Performing "High Flying, Adored" from Evita
2002 Greatest Songs from the Musicals Various Artists Soho Performing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" from The Lion King and "Grease" from Grease
2002 Loving You Various Artists JAY Records Performing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" from The Lion King
2003 Anything Goes 2003 London Cast First Night Records
2003 Reflections from Broadway John Barrowman JAY Records Studio album
2004 Swings Cole Porter John Barrowman JAY Records Studio album
2004 De-Lovely Original Soundtrack Columbia Performing "Night and Day"
2004 The Producers Original Soundtrack Sony BMG Performing "Springtime for Hitler"
2006 Just So World Premiere Cast First Night Records
2007 Aspects of Lloyd Webber John Barrowman JAY Records Studio album (re-issue of 1997 album)

References

  1. ^ Holden, Stephen (2002-02-25). "Cabaret Review: Confessions of a Yankee Doodle Dandy". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-01-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "John Barrowman, Sugar Rush, Sheri Dobrowski, Mail on Sunday win accolades at Stonewall Awards" (Press release). Stonewall. 2006-11-03. Retrieved 2006-11-03. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Murray, Paula (November 24, 2006). "Russell is voted hottest brand on telly". Daily Record. Retrieved 2006-11-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ John Barrowman official website, biography section
  5. ^ "It's showtime on BBC1" (needs registration). September 2, 2005. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "1998 Olivier Awards winners and nominations". Albermarle of London. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
  7. ^ "John Barrowman to play Aladdin!" (Press release). Birmingham Hippodrome. 2007-06-05. Retrieved 2007-06-05. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Gay Doctor Who star was too straight for Will and Grace". Pink News. 13 January 2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ a b Williams, Andrew (November 2, 2006). "60 seconds: John Barrowman". Metro. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 2006-11-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Stanley, Alan (November 26, 2007). "Capt. Jack Returns To 'Doctor Who'". SyFy Portal. Retrieved 2007-02-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Cameron Robertson (March 13, 2006). "Exclusive: Dr's Jack takes on ITV sofa". The Daily Mirror. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? panel chosen" (Press release). BBC. June 6, 2006. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ a b 'Kurly' (December 15, 2006). "Catching you up through 2007". Torchwood.TV. Retrieved 2007-01-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Bafta Red Carpet". John Barrowman Official Site — News. January 10, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  15. ^ "JB on the Radio". John Barrowman Official Site — News. January 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  16. ^ John Barrowman - 27 July 2007
  17. ^ a b Oconner, Gavin (28 December, 2006). "Torchwood star in celebrity ceremony". icWales. South Wales Echo. Retrieved 2006-12-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "Any Queries". Attitude Magazine. December 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "Torchwood star's Cardiff big day". BBC News. BBC. November 23, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "Torchwood star's civil ceremony". BBC News. BBC. 2006-12-27. Retrieved 2006-12-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ Cooper, Jarrod (June 14, 2007). "Barrowman autobiography to come". News. Outpost Gallifrey. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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