From the moment he swashbuckled into the “Doctor Who” universe in 2005, Capt. Jack Harkness has been an immensely appealing character.
In the series “Torchwood,” debuting at 8 p.m. Saturday on BBC America, the enigmatic Harkness leads a team of operatives who investigate alien incursions on Earth.
Harkness is played by John Barrowman, who hails from the Chicago area — sort of.
Barrowman’s family moved from Scotland to Aurora, then Joliet, when he was 8, and when he wasn’t watching “Doctor Who” on WTTW-Ch. 11 on Sunday nights, he attended Joliet West High School (where he was best buds with Andy Dick). It was there that Barrowman, who speaks with an American accent, fell in love with performing.
“I went to DePaul University for a short stint, but they wanted me to become an opera singer, when I really wanted to be a musical-comedy performer from the very beginning,” he said in a July interview.
Barrowman went on to become a well-known star of many musicals in London’s West End before he was tapped to play Harkness on “Doctor Who” two years ago. The wisecracking adventurer was an instant hit with fans, and Russell T. Davies, the creator of the reimagined “Doctor Who” series, soon spun off Capt. Jack for “Torchwood,” which has a more adult tone than “Doctor Who.”
The series was a hit in Britain, and one newspaper declared Barrowman “a national treasure.”
“I was gobsmacked by that,” Barrowman said. “I can’t believe it, but I love it. I’m totally enjoying it. Because I’m a fan, a sci-fi fan, they have made a young boy’s dreams come true.”
The success of “Torchwood” came despite Capt. Jack’s bisexuality (well, his omnisexuality, considering that he’s sometimes attracted to hot aliens), which has been treated with matter-of-fact acceptance on the show.
“I think Jack has come across so well with the [British] public because he doesn’t judge on that,” Barrowman said. “And he doesn’t let people judge him on that. Because he is a hero, a sexy hero with an ambition and a mission. The sexuality is completely secondary.”
Also secondary, in Barrowman’s view, is the fact the actor himself is gay. But “Torchwood” may represent a first for American TV, according to Michael Jensen, the editor of afterelton.com, which examines the treatment of gay and bisexual men in the media.
“The out Barrowman being cast as the bisexual Capt. Jack is a huge leap forward,” Jensen said. “To have an actor who happens to be gay playing a bisexual action hero and romantic lead on television finally gets us past those tired stereotypes of gay men as catty office assistants, hairstylists and confidants of female heroines. It’s about time.”
For Barrowman himself, being an out actor isn’t that big a deal.
“Everybody in the industry knew I was gay, but when I was asked about it because it was going to make a difference to other kids and young people who were struggling, that’s when I thought, I have to talk about it,” he said. “And I’m not making the issue of it. The [British] papers tried to make this huge, big issue about it.
“But it’s not really news, because I’ve always been out.”
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‘Torchwood’ teaser
“Torchwood” is an anagram. Can you figure out what the reassembled letters spell? See Page 62 for the answer.
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moryan@tribune.com
