silversolitaire

I thought he was really good in this one, addressing gay rights issues and the like, talking about his commitment to Scott and how he doesn't conform to gay clichées. So I'm reposting it here to keep! :3

Torchwood's John Barrowman
The star of the racy new Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood opens up to WHO

Posted Jul. 05, 2007
BY ANNETTE DASEY

The star of the racy new Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood opens up about the new sci-fi show, signing the civil register with his partner, architect Scott Gill, working with the 'saucy' Rob Lowe and his passion for gay rights.

You must be thrilled about the success of Torchwood.
I'm feeling great. As an actor I do things because I like the work and one I thought, 'If I can be a working actor, I'm a successful actor.' I've had a great career with musicals and other stuff I've done in the past so I've never been in the doldrums, but with Torchwood and Doctor Who I've become a household name and a celebrity and I'm hooked. I'm totally grateful for it. I would not change it for the world. The Torchwood audience have made a little boy's dreams come true.

Is that fame going to allow you to have a much bigger choice?
When I was doing musicals I did have a choice musically-wise but yes this has put it in a different realm. In fact, last week I was offered two films with Warner Bros in the States. I turned them down because I can't do them. I'm committed to Torchwood for a little while. All these things are coming in and I try to fit in as much as I possibly can because I really enjoy working, but it's very difficult at the moment because not only am I doing Torchwood but when I finished filming the first series I immediately went back into Doctor Who. When I finished Doctor Who I had a week's vacation, went to Florida, came back and fitted a bunch of other stuff in for two weeks and then started to work again. I don't have a break until November.

Are you exhausted?
I get tired every so often but, you know what, these opportunities only come along every so often so I'm going to take it for what it is really.

Because Doctor Who was so successful did you put a lot of pressure on yourself to make Torchwood work?
No. When I do a job I don't give it any high expectations. I go into it when I start a new project try to enjoy it. I knew that we had a lot of responsibility to carry on this kind of science fiction tradition that Doctor Who has, and I knew we were creating a new iconic character and TV series but I didn't put myself under that pressure because otherwise it would've been a nightmare. I did that when I was younger and then it would bomb and I was gutted and devastated so I don't do that anymore.

How did you change your outlook?
It's one of those things and you just have to do it. Smokers want to quit. You just quit. I'm a firm believer that doing things cold turkey is better than going through the whole rigmarole. If you change something over a long period of time you're generally more likely to fail and fall back than if you decided to change then and there. In my book it works.

You lived in Glasgow until you were eight when you moved to Illinois. Are you glad you found fame in your mother country, the UK, or would you have preferred it in the US?
Put it this way, I didn't come into business looking for fame. Fame has happened and I'm loving it and so grateful because it's given me a life and lifestyle I could only have dreamed about. It's happened in the UK but I think my mother and father and brothers and sisters might argue with you because they're in the States and they'd like it all to happen over there because then I'd be closer to home. The funny thing is, Doctor Who is now playing on BBC America, as Torchwood has been and that's watched by a very big audience, so I've actually been recognised more from Doctor Who when I go to the States than I was on all the network TV stuff I did over there for NBC and CBS. Isn't that weird?

Did you watch Doctor Who in the US as a child?
Oh, yeah. Doctor Who would play on Sunday nights on an omnibus thing starting at about 10.30pm at finishing at midnight. I'd stay up with my sister and watch it on CBS in America. The evening started out with Monty Python, Dave Allen at Large then Doctor Who. I always failed my Monday-morning spelling tests at school. That's why, to this day, I'm a shit speller.

Your Torchwood character, Capt Jack Harkness, is described as 'ambivalent to sexual boundaries.' Please explain.
Anything with a postcode Jack will shag! He has been known to have a shag with an alien. Male or female, Jack will do it. What's absolutely spectacular that we found in the UK is that young people, be it male or female, actually don't care that he has sexual relations with men or women. They're more into the hero aspect of it and the fact he's such a cool guy. This little boy came up with his dad and said, 'I don't care if Capt Jack likes boys-he's my hero anyway'. It irks me that in the States gay women have to be heavy and gay men have to be really effeminate.

Isn't that why you lost out to Eric McCormack for the role in Will & Grace?
I auditioned for Will and they told me I was too straight! I just laughed because I even get now women saying to me, 'You can't be gay' and I'm like, 'Well, I am', and they're like, 'No, you can't be', and I'm like 'I am!' I'm really proud to say I'm a guy who likes guys and I guy things, like cars and watching sport. You don't have to be a flounce to be a gay man–there's nothing wrong with that but there are other sides. That's what I wish the American media would grasp a hold of.

Do you think that will change?
At the moment if we have George Bush and his cronies and any more Republicans then absolutely not.

What do you think about Australia's refusal to allow same-sex civil partnerships?
It is ridiculous because we pay our taxes and contribute to society like everybody else. And I'm sure a lot of those people who are married and heterosexual and are living together do a lot of things in their bedroom that your Prime Minister might not agree with but he's not refusing them to have their partners. Two people care for each other and want to show that commitment but they're not allowed to do it but are required by the government to do everything else that a married couple has to. That's a double standard and it's appalling. We are now living in the 21st century and if somebody likes somebody else of the same sex get over yourself. One thing I say to the religious sect old fogies, I don't like to argue with them because some people will never change, but the comment that roused them the most: they say God didn't make us like this, well I believe he did. God makes straight people, and it takes two straight people to make a gay person. With religion aren't you supposed to be teaching kindness and love not hatred and bigotry? I feel very strongly about it because I'm a gay man, I've been put in a position by the public, I'm proud of it and they respect me for me and I respect them and I think every gay man and woman should be respected.

How do you feel about actors that don't make it public that they're gay?
I can understand why and I don't believe in outing people because I think there might be issues with the person they need to go through but I do believe if somebody lies about their sexuality for the sake of their career they're being detrimental to the rest of the people who are out there trying to make it a normality. I know quite a few people who try to cover it up and I think it's completely wrong.

Did signing a civil partnership with Scott [on Dec. 27 2006] change your relationship?
It does change things a little bit because, all of a sudden, although we've been together 16 years and we always joke that our relationship was solidified when we signed our first mortgage paper, it has taken us to a different level because you actually see that person in a different light when they're standing there and saying those words, saying they're committing themselves to spend the rest of their life with you no matter what happens. And for goodness sake isn't that what people want? To be steady, solid family units? They're denying us to be family units. They're afraid of what they don't know. What they fear is we as the gay community are actually becoming stronger and more families are seeing their children are gay, good people, are productive, and not all these stereotypes being pushed upon us. My mother always says. 'I dare a man wearing a collar to come and tell me my son is evil. I'll put them on the floor.' She's a good mum.

What was working with Torvill and Dean in the UK reality TV show Dancing on Ice like?
I was working with two legends of the ice skating world. One of the reasons I did that show was not for a career boost but because I was getting the opportunity to learn how to skate by Torvill and Dean! If you're going to learn a skill why not be taught by the worlds best. Jayne Torvill is absolutely gorgeous and Chris Dean is such a passionate man about what he does. They didn't have to stretch us to our limits but they're really supportive and wonderful people. Spectacular.

What was it like to co-star with Rob Lowe in A Few Good Men on the London stage?
Rob was good. I thought he might've being one of those Hollywood guarded people but I got to know him and he let his guard down around me. He was a fun guy to be around. He has a saucy, dirty personality that I really like. His wife is lovely and his two boys are fantastic. He's a genuine guy, a little hard to get to know at first but once he realises you're not out to get him, his guard came down and he was really nice. Scott loved him. He became speechless. I'm like, 'Scott! You can't do this. It's Rob.' And he's like, 'I know. But he's so gorgeous.' The other thing I was offered was a part as his brother on Brothers & Sisters. Rob actually recommended me to the producers and they offered me the role but I couldn't make the shooting schedule. But how nice is that! To work with someone like that and for them to recommend me!

Do you and Scott own lots of gorgeous houses he has designed?
We can live in Australia because his mum lived in Sydney for a long time and has an Aussie passport. As does Scott. We've thought about buying a place Down Under. I've never been! I'm desperately waiting for that opportunity. We have a house in London, a flat in Cardiff and are building a house in central Florida so things are going well.

What's this about you speaking in a Scottish accent only to your family?
I speak to my mum, dad, brother and sister in Scottish. In fact, my sister's an author. Carole Barrowman. She writes for a newspaper in Wisconsin. She's here writing my biography for me. Scottish is my natural accent. I speak to Scott in American but when I'm on the phone to my mum at home I speak in Scottish. It stems back to being a kid-it's a defence mechanism because I didn't want to be bullied. It's second nature, when I meet people who don't know me as being Scottish, I speak American. There's no difference personality wise. They're both f[MDASH]ked up!

For more, see the Jul. 16, 2007 issue of Who Magazine

[source]