John Barrowman

“In everything I do, I find some of myself, or a lot of myself, and put it into the role.”

“I don't call myself an actor, I call myself an entertainer, because I don't just do one thing.”

“I've always thought people would find a lot more pleasure in their routines if they burst into song at significant moments.”

“I don't feel sorry for myself, because I'm living my dream. Even when I was a little boy I used to stand in the playground and pretend I was on 'Opportunity Knocks.'”

“What I can say that's different in American television... in Britain, they wouldn't cancel something after a couple of episodes. In the States they would. They would just decide it's not working, take it off and put something else in on the fall schedule.”

“Wherever I am, I will embrace the life and the lifestyle. I've lived in Hollywood before, and we've moved into the old neighbourhood in West Hollywood. I love California.”

“When I was a kid growing up in the States in the late '70s and early '80s, as soon as 'Dallas' came on on a Friday night on CBS at 9 P.M., we stopped everything from that moment on as a family.”

“I've always said in my career and in my life I only do things I'm interested in.”

“I have a real passion for driving. Earlier on in my life I wanted to be a race car driver. But I don't pay an extortionate amount of money for cars. I'm pretty frugal.”

“Yet if I was asked to do this again - in fact, if I was ever asked to repeat any of my experiences - I'd have to say, fuck it, bring them on. I've no regrets.This is what it means to be alive.”

“I'm lively when I perform and I always put everything into a show, but when I get home I love lying down in front of the TV and relaxing.”

“When I was younger I wanted to be an airline pilot, but that lasted for about 30 seconds.”

“You have to do bad things in order to become a hero. You have to make sacrifices.”

“I am who I am firstly because of genetics, and, running a very close second, because of choices: ones my parents made, such as choosing to emigrate to America; ones their parents made, like my Papa Butler opting to ignore medical advice and instead warming my mum in the oven to keep her alive; and very conscious ones that I've made for myself.”

“I'm one who will always speak my mind and say what I feel!”

“My humour and my work ethic definitely come from my Scottish side, and I have to say the sense of humour doesn't really translate when I'm in America.”

“My first professional job was actually at a place called Opryland U.S.A., which no longer exists, but I've been performing since I was a kid.”

“For some reason I seem to be a massive hit with middle-aged women. I seriously don't know what it is.”

“The one thing that makes 'Torchwood' work so brilliantly and makes it a little bit above the rest of all other sci-fi dramas out there is that we have a sense of humour.”

“'Desperate Housewives' was a good experience, though, as I got to play the bad guy for once. My only complaint was they had me in a lot of sweaters.”