John Barrowman was born in Scotland, and moved to Illinois when he was eight years old. He is bi-dialectal, doing much of his stage and acting work in his American accent, but speaking with family in his Scottish accent. He moved back to Britain in 1989 when he was hired to play the lead in Anything Goes. He took on a number of West End roles, including the leads in Sunset Boulevard and Miss Saigon and a dramatic play entitled Rope, while working as a children's television presenter and came back to America briefly to work on short lived shows such as Central Park West and Titans. He then bounced around Broadway, West End and the LA Stage for a number of years before moving back to Britain permanently. He won the role of Captain Jack Harkness in the new Doctor Who series and went on to star as Captain Jack in its adult spin-off Torchwood. John married Scott Gill, his partner of fifteen years, in December 2006.
Presented a childrens TV show in the UK called "Live & Kicking" .
He has performed his cabaret show in New York; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; and Milwaukee.
Appeared as an extra in The Untouchables - the scene in the police academy where Sean Connery is recruiting Andy Garcia.
He was nominated for a 1998 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actor in a Musical of 1997 season for his performance in The Fix.
Husband of British architect Scott Gill.
Was six months from graduating from the United States International University of San Diego. Hes been asked to return but has stated that hes learned more by doing than any teacher could teach him.
Voted best guest actor by readers of Doctor Who Magazine for his five episodes in 2005 season.
Spent some time in Los Angeles chasing movie and TV roles. Made final three in casting for the role of Will in "Will & Grace" . When he didnt get the part, he demanded an explanation and found he had been rejected as "not gay enough.".
He was joined in a civil partnership (a commitment ceremony which accords same-sex couples many of the same rights as opposite-sex couples in the UK) to his longtime love, architect Scott Gill, at a ceremony in Cardiff Bay on Wednesday 27 December 2006. They were subsequently married in California on 2 July 2013.
He has classified his voice as being a "lyric baritone with a low baritone bottom and a tenor top.".
He drives a high-efficiency diesel Mercedes, which is run on Sun diesel. Hes in the market for an electric car, as it is more environmentally efficient.
He recently flew in a Hawker fighter jet representing the Royal Air Force, because Captain Jack (his character in "Torchwood" ) is in the RAF.
He signed a four-record deal with Sony for doing a very eclectic mix of covers of songs he really likes and things fans have asked him to sing. He wants it to reflect himself, so it will have some musical theater numbers, some pop, and even some country. His first tour started in 2008.
Played Mr. Bumble in Joliet West High Schools 1983 production of Oliver! alongside Anthony Rapp (as Oliver) and Andy Dick (as Dr. Grimwig).
According to his autobiography, when the part of Will in "Will & Grace" came down to him and Eric McCormack , the producers decided to go with Eric because, as they told John, he (John) was "too straight-acting." John, meanwhile, is openly gay, but they went with a straight actor for the role.
He is one of six actors to play the same character (in Barrowmans case, Captain Jack Harkness) in both "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" . The others are Freema Agyeman (playing Martha Jones), Eve Myles (playing Gwen Cooper), Naoko Mori (playing Toshiko Sato), Gareth David-Lloyd (playing Ianto Jones), and Lachele Carl (playing Trinity Wells).
Although he predominantly speaks with an American accent, he says he always speaks with his parents in his natural Scottish Accent.
Was a big fan of Doctor Who growing up.
Owns a Dalek from the season one finale of Doctor Who and has it placed near his front door.
Is a huge fan of Carol Burnett.
Married his long-time partner, Scott Gill, in California on July 2, 2013.
(October 2006) Dr. Who spin-off Torchwood starts on BBC Three with Barrowman as the lead character, Captain Jack Harkness.
(September 2008) Filming Torchwood Season 3 and preparing for release of new album: "Music, Music, Music" in November.
(December 2009) Appearing in a pantomime play called "Robin Hood - The Pantomime Adventure", in Cardiff, Wales, UK at the New Theatre, Cardiff from 12 December 2009 through 24 January 2010.
(August 2005) Appearing in "A Few Good Men" at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.
(May 2008) In London acting as a judge on the show "Id Do Anything."
(September 2009) Played Albin/Zaza, a lead role, in the musical "La Cage aux Folles" at the Playhouse Theatre in Londons West End from 14 September through 28 November 2009.
Was asked by Steven Moffat to appear in the season six episode A Good Man Goes To War but he had to refuse as he was busy shooting Torchwood: Miracle Day.
He auditioned to play the Ninth Doctor.
He was awarded the MBE in the 2014 Queens Birthday Honours List for services to Light Entertainment and to Charity.
He was awarded the MBE in the 2014 Queens Birthday Honours List for his services to Light Entertainment and to Charity.
Singer: New album: "You raise me up".
His character in Torchwood, Captain Jack Harkness, appears in the Mobile game "Doctor Who Legacy", from Tiny Rebel Games and Seed Studio. Released in November 2013. Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones, from Doctor Who and Torchwood, appears in it.
(October 14, 2014) Was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the Queens Birthday Honours List for his services to Entertainment and Charity.
(13/12/2014 to 4/1/2015) Stage Panto "Cinderella" (Buttons) Clyde Autitorium, Glasgow, Scotland. Jonathan Kiley, executive producer.
(February 2015) Panto Fan Awards - John Barrowman: Winner Award for his Outstanding Contribution to Panto.
20-May 2008 NewNowNext Awards - Nomination Brink of Fame Actor.
20 May 2008 NewNowNext Awards - Best Gay Kiss: Jack (John Barrowman) and Ianto (Gareth David-Lloyd) on Torchwood.
(5 May 2015) Announced he will return to one of his best-known roles on British television when a new Torchwood audio drama is released later this year.
3 October 2014: Its his 25 anniversary in Showbiz.
18 December 2015 Film Forever - Poll The greatest screen couples of all time unveiled. Top 10 TV couples. Number 5. Captain Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones, Torchwood (2006-2011) The pairing of Jack and Ianto gave Torchwood the perfect chance to explore both the wider universe and the small, individual complexities of human affection.
Carol Burnett Susan Egan and he awarded the 1998 Back Stage Garland Award for Performance for "Putting It Together" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
5 November 2016, The Human Rights Campaign - 17th annual Awards (Palm Springs). This year the Visibility Award is being presented to internationally known actor, author, and entertainer John Barrowman MBE. Barrowman will receive the award for his continued advocacy for the LGBTQ community.
He has played the same character (Malcolm Merlyn) on four different series: "Arrow" , "The Flash" , "Supergirl" and "Legends of Tomorrow" .
2 February 2017 @ukpantofanaward Best Male Lead Award in Pantomime.
. . . I wanted kids to like him, and I wanted women, men, I wanted,everyone to like him. But first I wanted people to hate him. I wanted,them to think he was arrogant and pushy and too sure of himself. And I,wanted them to follow the arc of the change he went through in the,final episodes of Doctor Who.
I would wish that people would accept people for who they are, not be judgmental, allow people to live their lives and enjoy themselves and that would be my wish for people.
