Buzz Magazine
John Barrowman Diving into Success
May 27, 2005 (US)
by Bill Biss
It has been almost a year since we last got a chance to chat with John Barrowman. While he may not be a household name - yet - his accompishments in the theatre worlds of London and New York demand appreciation and instant recognition. If you're not a theatre buff, you may have seen him opposite Kevin Kline in DE-LOVELY. The musical film had Barrowman and Kline serenading each other to the Cole Porter tune, NIGHT AND DAY. The character Barrowman portrayed in the movie was (one of) Porter's love interest(s).
Speaking of love, John Barrowman has a love of his own, his partner, Scott. They have been together for over ten years, quite an accomplishment in itself. But getting back to John's latest career acomplishments: he just landed a role in the film version of the Broadway sensation THE PRODUCERS; has just finished filming a major role in the hit BBC series, DR WHO; and will be apparearing in the upcoming PBS special , Broadway: The Next Generation.
Barrowman has played on both the New York and London stage as the leading man in ANYTHING GOES opposite Elaine Paige, and SUNSET BOULEVARD opposite Betty Buckley. He most recently played Billy Flynn in the London production of CHICAGO.
So let's jump in and catch the first buzz on the upcoming movie musical, THE PRODUCERS, and then some.
BUZZ: You just finished filming several episodes of DR WHO. Is that correct?
JB: That's correct. It's the last five episodes of this current series.
BUZZ: What character did you play in DR WHO?
JB: My character is Captain Jack Harkness. He is a swashbuckling rogue who comes in and he's a con artist who cons the Doctor. and his female sidekick, Rose. As time goes on during the courser of the other episodes, he not only falls for Rose, but also for the Doctor. So he kind of ends up fancying both of them.
BUZZ: Huh...[Laughs] Does this take place in the 1940s?
JB: The first episode takes place in 1941 during the London blitz. I'm introduced as an R.A.F. pilot. An American who's flying for the R.A.F. The, the episode after that is in the current day, and the one after that is in the future - 5,000 years in the future.
BUZZ: Is there any chance of this show being broadcast in the U.S.?
JB: I hope so. At the moment, it's being broadcast on Canadian television. The only media that hasn't picked it up is in the United States now. I don't know why. It's been such a huge success and there is a huge cult following of DR WHO also in the U.S., because the old DR WHO show used to be shown on the PBS channel.
BUZZ: How long has the series been around?
JB: The series has been around since the '50s. The character of the doctor is a Time Lord. He travels through time and he regenerates. He becomes different people. When he's done with one physical body, he regenerates into another person or being. DR. WHO has been around for years, but in the 1980s, they took the series off the air because people lost interest in it. It was not becoming as high-tech as all the things around it.
They brought it back just this year, and its's been a huge success because they updated it. They've made it the type of series that would compete with SMALLVILLE or BUFFY - THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. It's the most popular show that the BBC has run on a Saturday evening for a long time.
BUZZ: Congratulations on your upcoming role in THE PRODUCERS. How did that opportunity come about?
JB: I was filming DR. WHO and I got a phone call from my agent. He said, "We got a phone call from Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman in New York. They're looking at your availability for THE PRODUCERS." I was a bit overwhelmed. I'd the show a couple of weeks earlier and thought there's nothing in there for me. It wasn't a show that I would be cast in. Then when the phone call came in, they said, "We want you to front 'Springtime for Hitler'. We know that most of the stuff you do in either television or film, you have dialogue with it. This is only for the song." My thought was that the whole movie culminates at that point. For any of the publicity stuff they are going to do for the film, they are going to use 'Springtime for Hitler'. If I'm singing it, it's going to be me that people are going to be seeing, so I said, "Hell yeah. I'll jump at that." I didn't even have to audition or anything. They flew me out. I recorded the soundtrack and then went back two weeks later to film the actual sequence. It took a week and a half.
BUZZ: Wow. So you are already done it's in the can?
JB: It's completely in the can. In fact, they should be coming close to putting the entire movie in the can at the moment.
BUZZ: Any chance you get to be in a major film musical such as that, that has had so much success...you know it's going to be around a long time.
JB: Hello. It's like if people come to me with work and I want to do it, it doesn't matter what it is. As long as I have an interest in it, then I believe that I will do a good job. I don't really care about what other people say. If I did that, I would be very unhappy. I always go with my own instinct. Particularly if anyone comes along with any movie musical that is going to be on film, that's what all of us who are in musical theatre strive for.
BUZZ:Have you gotten the opportunity to see the dailies when they screened your footage of "Springtime?"
JB: They would not allow any of us to see any of the footage.[Laughs]
BUZZ: Oh wow! Top secret.
JB: Mel Brooks did come up to me after they saw the dailies and he said, "I just want you to know that we are so impressed with what you are doing. We're giving you more screen time, because we think what you've done is fantastic." He said, "When your face appears at the very begining..." They dyed my hair blonde, I had striking blue eyes because I had these contacts put in. "When you face came up on screen, the room cheered!" I said, "Mel, that's the first time probably in a room full of Jews, that they cheered for a Nazi." They all laughed at that. I'm looking forward to seeing it myself.
BUZZ: Congratulations. You are also part of the cast of Broadway: The Next Generation, a television special that is set of release next year. That is so exciting.
JB: Yes. I actually filmed that in 1999. Rick McKay, who is doing this, decided to do one with younger people rather then mixing the younger people in with the legends. I'm really excited to see it because it was so long ago; I'm intrigued to hear what I said. [Laughs] Also, to be part of the next generation of what Broadway is and is going to be, it's an amazing thing. I'm really proud to be a part of it and that he put me in it.
BUZZ: I read one of the interviews on your website. When you were interviewed you and Scott [John's partner] were heading to the red carpet at Cannes during the showing of DE-LOVELY and it read as if you said, "I never want to be famous."
JB: No, no no...that wasn't me. When we were driving, the whole road was completely surrounded by fans and people and Scott looked at me and said, "You love this, don't you?" I said, "Yeah. What about you?" Scott said, "I absolutely hate it. I have no desire to be famous."
BUZZ: OK, thanks for straightening that out.
JB: Are you kidding honey? I want it! [Both laugh.]
BUZZ: Thanks so much John, and continued success with everything you do.
JB: Thanks Bill.