John Scot Barrowman (born 11 March 1967 in Mount Vernon, Glasgow) is a Scottish actor, musical performer, dancer, singer and television presenter, who has lived and worked both in the United Kingdom and the United States. He currently lives in the UK with his civil partner Scott Gill.

Barrowman is best known on British television for his acting and presenting work for the BBC. His most prominent television role has been as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood. He has featured in such light entertainment shows as Live & Kicking, Any Dream Will Do, How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?, and I`d Do Anything as well as appearing on the celebrity ice skating show Dancing on Ice. As a result of his family`s move to Illinois when he was 9 years old, Barrowman speaks in an American accent on screen but reverts to a Scottish accent when with family or in Scotland.

John Scot Barrowman was born in Mount Vernon, Glasgow, where he lived for the first eight years of his life. His mother worked in a record shop and his father worked for the Caterpillar heavy machinery company in nearby Uddingston. In 1976 the family was relocated to the United States by the company for which his father was working.[4]

He spent the next few years of his life in Joliet, Illinois, where his father was a manager at the Caterpillar tractor factory. Barrowman graduated from Joliet West High School in 1985. While still in high school, he won parts in several musical productions even as a freshman. Between 1983 and 1985 he performed in productions of Hello, Dolly!, Oliver!, Camelot, Li`l Abner and Anything Goes. He also spent a summer working for an Illinois power company, a job arranged by his father to give him experience of manual labour. He attended university in San Diego, and returned to the United Kingdom in 1990.

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