"Torchwood"'s John Barrowman: "I Love Captain Jack, what he stands for and represents."

In so many ways John Barrowman is perfectly suited to play Torchwood’s omnisexual Time Agent Captain Jack Harkness, who returns to North American television screens next Monday night when Torchwood: Children of Earth debuts on BBC America. (The five part mini-series aired on BBC1 in the U.K. last week.)

Both the character and the actor are self-possessed, confident and extraordinarily handsome men. Each has a joie de vivre and an impishly racy sense of humor which has occasionally been known to get them in trouble (a stopwatch anyone?). Each also tends to speak their mind no matter what the issue and – perhaps most importantly for our purposes – each have become gay icons in their own right.

Barrowman recently took time out of his very busy schedule to chat with AfterElton.com about why he loves the part of Captain Jack so much, Jack’s relationship with Ianto Jones (and Barrowman’s relationship with the man who plays him), his real life relationship with partner Scott Gill and why he’d love to work with Neil Patrick Harris.

[Note: This interview was conducted before all five episodes of Children of Earth had been provided to AfterElton.com]

AfterElton.com: You're actually our first three-peat interview, the first person we've talked to three different times.
John Barrowman: Woohoo! We've had a threesome then!

AE: Oh, I don't want to go down that road!
JB: [laughs]

AE: I obviously don't want to spoil anything about Children of Earth, but it sounds like Jack and Ianto fans aren't getting exactly what they want in terms of a big happy romantic relationship. But it seems the relationship is going to be explored in some really interesting ways nonetheless. What you can you tell our rabid Janto fans to expect?
JB: I'm kinda under wraps with that also. They're going to get the relationship explored, and they're going to get the humor. They're going to get everything they want, but they're also going to get stuff they don't want. Which is kind of like a real relationship anyway.

AE: I think that's what makes it so interesting.
JB: Yeah. What's really astounded and amazed me is how popular that relationship has become, and not just amongst men but also with women. Women want to see that develop more than the Jack and Gwen relationship, which I think is an absolutely brilliant reflection on society.

AE: There are so many women who are into gay male relationships. It's amazing.
JB: This is a John personal belief, but I have a lot of female friends, and I think they see a man who is — and I don't mean this in a stereotypical gay way, so please don't think I'm doing that — but is a little more sensitive, but also masculine. I mean, I like my cars and all that kind of stuff. I'm aggressive, I'm ambitious, but yet, I can go up to my female friend —and it's such a stupid little thing — but I can say, "That doesn't look good on you. Go change into something else and we'll go out and you'll look fantastic."

It's that kind of thing. They see something in gay men that they actually want in their straight men.