Carry on Jack

Ultimate DVD, Nov. 2005

Publication: Ultimate DVD
Date: Nov. 2005
Author: David Richardson
Page: 28
Language: English

We sit down with John Barrowman, recently confirmed as star of Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood

In the ninth episode of Doctor Who's first season, the Doctor and Rose are joined by a new travelling companion. Captain Jack is a Time Agent from the future, a promiscuous bisexual (maybe even omni-sexual) who is introduced as something of a rogue, but adapts to his surroundings to become a more traditional space-faring hero.

Despite his hectic schedule, actor and singer John Barrowman embraced the opportunity to star in a series he has loved since childhood. He talks to Ultimate DVD about sex, scary monsters — and Jack's return in 2006...

How did you get the part?

My agent got a telephone call from Andy Pryor, who's the casting director for Doctor Who, in July 2004. I was one of the first actors they cast along with Chris and Billie. I was doing Anything Goes in the West End at the time. I went and met [executive producers] Julie Gardner, Russell T Davies and Phil Collinson and did a test for them on video. They sent it to the execs at the BBC and apparently the decision was made like that [clicks his fingers]. I was in the middle of Covent Garden with my niece when I got the phone call and I was jumping around.

What appealed to you most about the character?

I like the wit that he has, the humour. When I met with Russell he said, 'What do you want us to do with Captain Jack?' I said, 'Do what you like, because nothing is going to freak me out'. The thing that's great is that Jack's a Time Agent, so he knows a lot of the things that the Doctor knows. But Jack jumps in with both feet into the deep end, and asks questions later, whereas the Doctor thinks about things a little more.

Jack's sexual proclivities are quite different to previous Doctor Who companions...

The thing with Captain Jack is that he'll hit on anybody. And he does. It changes the history of Doctor Who! My interpretation is that in the time he comes from, sex is not a bad thing. People just do it to have fun, they don't discriminate who they do it with.

Were you a fan of Doctor Who when you were growing up?

I lived in Glasgow until I was eight or nine years old, moved to the States and still followed Doctor Who on PBS. My first Doctor was Jon Pertwee, then I had Tom Baker and Peter Davison. That was when I started to lose interest a little bit.

When did you lose your Scottish accent?

I didn't lose it — I only speak Scottish with people who are Scottish. It's still there, I just don't use it. When I went to school in America and spoke with the accent, kids made fun of me, so not being stupid I tried to beat them at their own game and speak the way they spoke. When we first looked at the role of Captain Jack we were wondering whether he should be English, Scottish or American.

You're introduced in the two-parter The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances. Some critics accused that story of being too frightening, with its gas masks that grow out of people's faces. Do you agree?

In the sense of the transformation scene, it is quite frightening. I do understand they had to tone it down a little bit because it sounded like the skulls were cracking when the masks grew. You know, I feel kids are smarter than that — with all the video games around and the films, they know what is real and not real.

Do you have a favourite episode?

I would say episodes 12 and 13 are my favourites, just because of what they involve and what I got to do. What guy wouldn't want to go and shoot guns and blow things up?

If you really could travel anywhere in Space and Time, where would you go?

I'd go back in Time, and I'd like to have dinner with Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler. My father is very interested in that period of the war, and any time there's anything to do with war or the Nazis or Hitler, we had to watch it as a kid. I still watch stuff like that today, and I recently played a Nazi in The Producers and sent a picture to my father! He wrote back and said, 'You look frightening!'

Would you like to sing in the series?

Both Billie and I have suggested to Russell that we'd like to do a musical episode, because both of us are qualified in the musical genre.

Are there any old monsters you'd like to meet?

I love the Cybermen, they were my favourite. I also loved the Sontarans — my brother used to call them the potato heads.

You're not in the second series, but it's been announced that Captain Jack is getting his own 13-part spin-off series. Any idea where Torchwood will take the character?

I've said to Russell that there's so many things we can play with — Jack has lost part of his memory, and we haven't found out why he lost it. It's a big part of his character.

Are you pleased to be coming back?

Hell, yeah. I'd like to do this for a long time.

Captions:

Captain Jack gets a futuristic android makeover

A Dalek takes its mark

Barrowman shares a joke with Noel Clarke. who plays Mickey. while filming in Cardiff Bay

Captain Jack shows off his new Playstation portable

John Barrowman gets his own show ... no wonder he's smiling

Captain Jack (John Barrowman) makes his move on Rose (Piper)

Introducing the Tenth Doctor

THE SEASON ENDS with the death of the Doctor — and the regeneration of Christopher Eccleston into David Tennant. The sequence was shot before Eccleston had announced his decision to leave, and was originally planned as a complete surprise to viewers.

"I couldn't tell anyone," insists Tennant. "Because it was such a high-voltage secret I was aware that there really was no choice. I wanted to tell everyone, of course, but it was pretty hard — my agent was the only person I could talk to about it."

Army of Daleks

THE SEASON FINALE The Parting of the Ways introduces an army of half a million Daleks — even though only three working props were built. Thus Dalek operators Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg and David Hankinson had to earn their money...

"When you read the script it almost looks quite funny,- says Pegg. "It'll say, 'A door slides open and three Daleks enter. The Doctor whirls around and three more enter.' They've done it with CG and split screen which means it all happens in one big blocked off shot — 20 Daleks enter at the same moment. Yes it's us three over and over again, which means that any scene involving the Daleks entering is taking us about four hours to shoot."

Carry on Jack

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