Actor, musical performer, dancer and singer
John Barrowman was born on May 11, 1967 in Mount Vernon, Scotland. His family moved to the U.S. in 1976 and he spent some of his growing up years in Aurora, Illinois before the family relocated again to Joliet. He attended Joliet West High School, where he was active in musical productions from his first year onwards. Among the plays he was part of were Hello, Dolly!, Oliver!, Camelot, Li'l Abner and Anything Goes. He spent one summer working at an Illinois power company, at the urging of his father who wanted John to experience in manual labor. He graduated from the United States International University of San Diego and went back to the U.K. to star in several musical productions such as Miss Saigon and Hair at London's West End. His performance in The Fix earned him a nomination for the 1998 Laurence Olivier Theater Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
John Barrowman was seen as a lead tenor in the musical film The Producers. His other film credits include De-Lovely and Method. In 1987, he did a cameo role in The Untouchables, which starred Sean Connery and Andy Garcia.
He auditioned for the role of Will on the popular NBC comedy Will & Grace and made it to the final three. However, the producers turned him down because they thought he did not appear gay enough. John's notable TV appearance were on shows Putting It Together, Central Park West, Titans and
Doctor Who .
In 1996, he was featured in Playboy magazine in its March issue.
Captain Jack Harkness is played by John Barrowman on BBC's
Torchwood , a sci-fi TV drama series. The show focuses on the machinations and activities of Torchwood Institutes' Cardiff Branch. The branch works mainly on research on extraterrestrials. Jack is a time traveler from the 51st century. He is a former con-man, a bisexual and an immortal human being.
(Image courtesy of BBC America)