Since his debut in professional theatre, Barrowman has played lead roles in various musicals both in the West End and on Broadway, including Miss Saigon, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard and Matador. After appearing in Sam Mendes' production of The Fix, he was nominated for the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical and, in the early 2000s, returned to the role of Billy Crocker in the revival of Anything Goes. His most recent West End credit was in the 2009 production of La Cage aux Folles.
John Barrowman is a Scottish-American actor, singer, dancer, musical theatre performer, writer and television personality who holds both British and American citizenship. He met his partner Scott Gill during a production of Rope at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1993, after Gill came to see Barrowman in the play. John and Scott Gill were legally married in the state of California on 2 July 13, following the United States Supreme Court's decision to uphold the overturning of Prop 8.
Aside from his theatrical career, Barrowman has appeared in various films including the musical biopic De-Lovely (2004) and musical comedy The Producers (2005). Before venturing into British television, he featured in the American television dramas Titans and Central Park West but he is better known for his acting and presenting work for the BBC that includes his work for CBBC in its earlier years, his self-produced entertainment programme Tonight's the Night, and his BAFTA Cymru-nominated role of Captain Jack Harkness in the science fiction series Doctor Who and Torchwood. Barrowman has also had a number of guest roles in television programmes both in the US and the UK. He appeared as a contestant on the first series of celebrity ice skating show Dancing on Ice while his theatrical background allowed him to become a judge on Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical talent shows How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?, Any Dream Will Do and I'd Do Anything. In 2006, he was voted Stonewall's Entertainer of the Year.
Barrowman is also featured on more than a dozen musical theatre recordings including cover tunes found on his 2007 album, Another Side, and 2008's Music Music Music. Both albums accrued places on the UK Albums Chart, as did his self-titled John Barrowman (2010), which reached number 11, his highest chart placing to date. Furthermore, Barrowman has published two memoirs and autobiographies, Anything Goes (2008) and I Am What I Am (2009), with his sister Carole as co-author. The siblings also teamed up to write a novel, Hollow Earth (2012).
Barrowman claims to be bidialectal. He learned an American accent after school children picked on his Scottish accent when he moved to the United States. His General American accent is often said to hint at, or is called, Mid-Atlantic. On The Friday Night Project, Barrowman stated that he still speaks in a Scottish accent when he is with his parents.
To this end, Barrowman is active in his community supporting the issues that matter to him most. He worked with Stonewall, a gay rights organisation in the UK, on the "Education for All" campaign against homophobia in the schools. In April 2008, the group placed posters on 600 billboards that read, "Some people are gay. Get over it!" Barrowman contributed his support to the project asking people to join him and "Help exterminate homophobia. Be bold. Be brave. Be a buddy, not a bully." That same month, Barrowman spoke at the Oxford Union about his career, the entertainment industry, and gay rights issues. The event was filmed for the BBC programme The Making of Me, in an episode exploring the science of homosexuality. He was voted Entertainer of the Year in 2006 by Stonewall and placed on the Out 100 list for 2008, an annual list of notable LGBT people compiled by Out magazine. In June 2010, Barrowman met with the current Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron as a representative of the LGBT community.
On November 30, 2008, Barrowman was asked during Radio 1's Switch programme about his habit of exposing himself during interviews, and did so on this occasion. Although the act was not seen (a show staff member had covered the webcam), the BBC and Barrowman subsequently apologised for any offence caused. He placed third in Broadcast magazine's "Hottest Commodity" poll in November 2006.
He was one of 48 British celebrities who signed a public notice warning voters against Conservative Party policy towards the BBC prior to the 2010 general election. In 2011, he released his own skin care line, entitled HIM.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barrowman
Further Readings:
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Michael O'Mara; Rev Upd edition (June 17, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1843174936
ISBN-13: 978-1843174936
Amazon: I Am What I Am
Amazon Kindle: I Am What I Am
Contains a new chapter detailing John's experiences while filming Desperate Housewives, and more, and new, never-before-seen pictures from John's private collection
Anything Goes gave you the story so far, while this memoir reveals more about the man behind Captain Jack, focusing on John's unique approach to life and love. Intimately exploring aspects of John's current life, this personal memoir is full of exclusive anecdotes from recent and ongoing projects, all told with John's trademark charm and humor. Full of juicy tidbits from behind the scenes of Doctor Who and Torchwood, it also offers heartwarming family anecdotes and personal revelations, including John's perspective on fame and how it has affected him. With exclusive details about and opinions on talent shows, I Am What I Am allows intimate access to the multitalented man himself—an unmissable treat for any fan.
More Real Life Romances at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Real Life Romance
This journal is friends only. This entry was originally posted at http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/3496954.html. If you are not friends on this journal, Please comment there using OpenID.