John Barrowman: ‘Jack’s not a gay stereotype’

Torchwood actor John Barrowman has said his character of Captain Jack Harkness isn’t a gay stereotype.

 

Barrowman plays the bisexual time-traveller in the Doctor Who spin-off series which is currently airing its fourth season on BBC One and Starz in America. The character is widely hailed as a gay icon/gay hero by fans of the series and his romance with Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) was a hugely popular element of the first three seasons of Torchwood. Some devoted fans were up in arms when Ianto was killed off during the third season and have waged a campaign to get the character revived.

 

“If you look at television right now, America has the most gay characters on television in any country but what I don’t agree with is that a lot of them are all stereotypes. What I love about Jack is that he’s not a stereotype.” – John Barrowman speaking to The Daily Telegraph.

 

Despite the character being bisexual the actor confirmed that in the current series Jack is shown only having sex with men – something showrunner Russell T. Davies has previously commented on stating it may lead some viewers to wrongly assume Jack is gay. “People who watch this series will think he’s completely gay. It was completely Russell’s choice to do that, to make an impact, to stir things up a bit.”

 

Torchwood: Miracle Day continues on Friday evenings on Starz in America and Thursday evenings on BBC One in the UK.