John Barrowman is an Entertainer with a capital E. He sings, he dances, he acts, he presents, he judges - he is a unique talent in the entertainment industry on both sides of the Atlantic. John can currently be seen in the regular role of Malcolm Merlyn (aka The Dark Archer) in the hit American drama series Arrow, based on the Green Arrow comic books. The show has been a huge success all over the world, and is aired in the UK on Sky 1 and on the CW network in the USA. He has appeared in all four series of the show. He subsequently guested as Malcolm Merlyn in The Flash, and has also guested on the CW's hit historical drama Reign. Having guested on the hit American political drama Scandal for the ABC network, he hosted a major new entertainment series for the network, Sing Your Face Off. In the UK on Channel 4 he hosted Superstar Dogs (a game show for dogs) and The Small Animal Hospital with John Barrowman, which followed the work of Glasgow University Veterinary Hospital. He hosted two series of the BBC1 game show Pressure Pad and has hosted The National Lottery Awards on BBC1 three times.
Born on 11 March 1967 in Glasgow, where he spent his early years, John moved with his family to Illinois in the United States and later studied Musical Theatre at the US International University in San Diego, California.
In 1989, while in the UK to study Shakespeare as part of his university course, he landed his first professional role, starring as Billy Crocker opposite Elaine Paige in the Cole Porter musical Anything Goes. Since then, John's career as a leading man in musical theatre has seen him star in many West End shows, including Matador, Miss Saigon, The Phantom Of The Opera, and Sunset Boulevard. He also reprized the role of Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard on Broadway. Sam Mendes' premiere production of The Fix at the Donmar Warehouse garnered John an Olivier Award nomination as "Best Actor in a Musical", and in 2002 he returned to the role of Billy Crocker for the hugely successful National Theatre revival of Anything Goes.
He appeared in the West End most recently as Albin/Zaza in the Menier Chocolate Factory's award-winning production of La Cage Aux Folles, performing to full houses for nine weeks in 2009. This role won John the 2010 What's On Stage award for "Best Take-over in a Role".
