John Barrowman John Barrowman , appeared as Captain Jack Harkness , beginning in the television story " The Empty Child " in 2005 , leaving the series after the Series 1 finale , " The Parting of the Ways " . Barrowman subsequently portrayed Captain Jack in a spin - off series , " Torchwood " , which premièred in October 2006 . Barrowman has continued to appear as Captain Jack in several episodes of " Doctor Who " from 2007 to 2010 , in a number of audio dramas produced for BBC Radio , and in the Big Finish Torchwood series . Barrowman also narrated the BBC Website feature " Monster Files " ( in character ) until Matt Smith took over David Tennant ' s role as the Doctor , after which Alex Kingston began narrating them . In 2009 , he wrote the " Torchwood Magazine " comic story " Captain Jack and the Selkie " with his sister , Carole , followed by the novel " Exodus Code " in 2012 and the " Torchwood " comic series beginning in 2016 . Biography . Early life . Barrowman was raised in , Illinois , and graduated from Joliet West High School in 1985 . He is the son of a plant manager of the former Caterpillar Inc . tractor factory in Joliet . While still a high school freshman , he won parts in several musical productions . Between 1983 and 1985 , he performed in productions of " Hello , Dolly ! , " " Oliver ! , " " Camelot " , " L ' il Abner " and " Anything Goes " . He attended university in San Diego before returning to the United Kingdom in 1989 . He holds a dual United Kingdom / United States passport , which enables him to work on both sides of the Atlantic . Career . Stage . He has appeared in several West End musicals including " Anything Goes " , " Miss Saigon " , " Beauty and the Beast " , " Matador " , " Hair " , " Grease ! " and " The Phantom of the Opera " . He has also appeared in the West End in non - musical dramas , such as " Rope " and the 2005 production of " A Few Good Men " ( opposite Hollywood actor Rob Lowe ) . Most recently he starred in " Cinderella " at the New Wimbledon Theatre for the 2005 - 6 Christmas season . He has played the role of Joe Gillis in " Sunset Boulevard " in the West End and , briefly , on Broadway . His only other Broadway credit is the Stephen Sondheim revue " Putting It Together " ( 1999 – 2000 ) . TV . Barrowman appeared in the first run of the BBC Children ' s variety show " Live & Kicking " in 1993 - 1994 , co - hosting the show with Andi Peters and Emma Forbes , before moving on to " The Movie Game " , a television game show . " Live & Kicking " saw Barrowman interviewing numerous science fiction alumni , including William Shatner and visiting the sets of SF productions such as Gerry Anderson ' s " Space Precinct " , as well as doing reports on video games . Barrowman is probably best known in the United States for starring roles in several short - lived prime - time soap operas such as " Titans " and " Central Park West . " Outside of " Doctor Who " and " Torchwood " , Barrowman has become ubiquitous on UK television , hosting everything from morning chat shows to musical retrospectives and lending his talents to charity events such as " Children in Need " ( he introduced the broadcast of " Time Crash " in 2007 ) . He also conducted one of David Tennant ' s first television interviews after being named the new Doctor ( more than a year before Barrowman found himself returning to " Doctor Who " opposite Tennant ) . In the summer of 2008 , Barrowman served as one of the judges for both the UK BBC and Canadian CBC editions of the talent competition series , " How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria ? " , which saw the actor commuting transcontinentally . In 2009 , Barrowman hosted another talent series , " Tonight ' s the Night " , which culminated in a viewer winning a chance to appear opposite Barrowman ( playing Jack once again ) in a specially written " Doctor Who " skit . " Tonight ' s the Night " returned for a second season later in 2010 , though it is unclear as to whether a third is planned for the future . In 2010 , John appeared in " Desperate Housewives " as Patrick Logan , where he featured in 6 episodes . Barrowman also reprised the role of Captain Jack for a cameo in " The End of Time , Part Two " . A self - confessed " Glee " fan ( " Gleek " ) , he was forced to turn down a guest spot on the series due to his " Torchwood " commitments . From 2012 onwards , he has had a recurring role as Malcolm Merlyn in " Arrow " . In 2013 John signed a contract with the producers of " Arrow " making Malcolm Merlyn a permanent fixture in the series and thus John becoming part of the main cast . In 2013 , he played himself in Peter Davison ' s 50th Anniversary sketch " The Five ( ish ) Doctors Reboot " . Film . Barrowman ' s musical abilities have been featured in film : he had a duet with Kevin Kline in the Cole Porter biopic " De - Lovely " , and he can be seen singing " Springtime for Hitler " in the film of Mel Brooks ' " The Producers " , based on the Broadway adaptation of the original movie . He has also appeared in the low - budget cult film " Shark Attack 3 : Megalodon " . Private life . Barrowman , who is openly gay , has been with his partner , British architect Scott Gill , since 1994 . Despite this long - standing relationship , Barrowman told " The Herald " of Glasgow that he had no plans to marry , saying , " Why would I want a ' marriage ' from a belief system that hates me ? " . Gill and he became civil partners , but as Barrowman explained when the couple were interviewed by " Attitude " magazine , they do not want to call this a marriage . " We ' re just going to sign the civil register . We ' re not going to have any ceremony because I ' m not a supporter of the word marriage for a gay partnership . " Despite this , he and Gill " did " end up getting married on 2 July 2013 . Barrowman , who is often disarmingly open about his private life , has to date published two volumes of memoirs , both written in conjunction with his sister , Carole E . Barrowman : " Anything Goes " ( 2008 ) and " I Am What I Am " ( 2009 ) ; in the latter , Barrowman covers his years working on " Doctor Who " and " Torchwood " . Barrowman is an avid " Doctor Who " fan beyond his work on the series , and this has been made evident in several DVD featurettes . In the Series 1 " Doctor Who " DVD set it ' s learned that Barrowman once received a radio - controlled Dalek for his birthday , and , in the Series 3 set , he and fellow " Who " fan David Tennant mention that Barrowman ' s dog was named Tegan ( after former companion Tegan Jovanka ) . The blooper reel for Series 2 of " Torchwood " reveals that he has the " Doctor Who " theme as his ringtone when his mobile phone rings during filming . Barrowman has stated his willingness to return to " Torchwood " and " Doctor Who " , and has made it very clear he would return in a heartbeat , and that all the producers would need to do is ask . Barrowman has also recorded several musical CDs which have been released internationally , as well as narrating audio book readings of " Anything Goes " and several " Torchwood " novels . Although he normally speaks in an American accent because of his immigration to the United States as a young child , Barrowman can revert to his original Scottish accent if needed ( which he also uses whenever he converses with his relatives ) . His family moved to America when he was young In " The Five ( ish ) Doctors Reboot , " Barrowman protrays himself . While trying to get Barrowman to help their campaign to be included in " The Day of the Doctor " , Peter Davison , Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy discover that despite his openly gay persona he is actually married with two children ( David Tennant and Georgia Moffett ' s daughter Olive portraying the toddler ) . Barrowman promises help on the condition they keep the discovery a secret .