John Barrowman: "Doctor Who"s Action Hero

The character of Captain Jack proved so popular in the UK that Davies has now been commissioned to write a spin-off series for him, Torchwood, which will air in the UK in the autumn. Aimed at a more adult audience than the family-oriented Doctor Who, and set in the present day, Torchwood has been described by Davies as "a British sci-fi paranoid thriller, a cop show with a sense of humour. It's dark, wild and sexy, it's The X-Files meets [British character-based twentysomething drama] This Life.”

Barrowman provides his own preview: “It's a team of five people including Jack, and we have a place called the Hub, which is near the Opera House in Cardiff [in Wales, in the UK]. It's underground, this fictitious place. We are an organization that fights alien crime, and tries to figure out alien happenings on earth. A lot of the things that have happened with Doctor Who [in the second series, currently showing on UK television], the Torchwood team have been responsible for--you know, fixing or annihilating after the Doctor does his bit.”

Although Barrowman has been contractually sworn to secrecy on the content of the episodes, he says that his character will still be bisexual: “Oh yeah, he's still gonna be the same Captain Jack. A little...maybe a little bit more mysterious. Because, remember, he's come back to the present-day. He doesn't even want his team to know a lot about where he's come from and what he's done. But you'll find out a lot about Jack, in this series, and some of the stuff, some of the...[laughs] oh, I can't even say it, but some of the alien things that happen are so great [laughs].”

As well as writing Torchwood, Russell T. Davies will continue to work on Doctor Who (where Captain Jack is scheduled to appear in Series Three, although not Series Two). Of Davies's writing, and the lack of public fuss about Jack's bisexuality on a family show, Barrowman says: “the fact that Russell has done this...the British public have accepted it with open arms, because it's done with the right type of humour, the right type of realism. It's not salacious, it's not done in a rude or crude manner.

“Russell takes a look at characters, particularly--and this is kind of going off Doctor Who a little--he takes a look at characters and people, and whether they be gay, straight, bisexual, or, you know, red, green, black, whatever they may be, or what they're into, he treats it as a norm. And that's why I think it's so acceptable amongst so many people.”

Openly gay himself, and in a long-term relationship with architect Scott Gill, Barrowman is happy to discuss his sexuality, but chafes at the restrictions of the ‘gay actor' tag: “I'm not a gay actor. I'm an actor, who is gay. And I'm adamant about that, because what [that tag] does is it pigeonholes us. And people look at us as just being ‘A Gay Actor', whereas... I'm an actor who is gay, but I can play other parts. And that's what I've been able to do in my career.”

Indeed, he was judged ‘not gay enough' for one significant gay role--having got down to the Producer's Call for the part of Will on Will & Grace, “it was myself and a couple of other people, and they did say to my agent that I was too straight”. He is politely restrained about the fact that the part finally went to the heterosexual Eric McCormack, saying only “Go figure.”

Like his swashbuckling alter ego, Barrowman does not seem one to let anything get him down for long. Although he has been lucky enough to have the love and support of his own family regarding his sexuality, what he advocates for those who are not so fortunate is not despair, but a pro-active attitude.

“The horrific thing of being thrown out and shunned by your family... If your family has done that, then it is so important that you lead a productive and responsible life and [slowly and emphatically] prove them wrong in every single aspect. So that one day you can go back with your proud life and say ‘This is who I am [emphatically] and you missed out on it.' Rather than, you know, saying ‘It's your fault I'm this way.' Because, you know what, that's when I say ‘It's not a fault'.”

Read our interview with John Barrowman in its entirety here.