In return visit, ‘Dr. Who,’ ‘Arrow’ star says Lexington Comic Con is ‘celebration’

For someone whose claim to fame involves playing an immortal time traveler as Captain Jack Harkness in BBC’s long-running sci-fi series “Doctor Who” and it’s popular spin-off “Torchwood,” actor John Barrowman doesn’t seem to have the same authoritative grasp of time when it comes to recalling his past comic con experiences.

“Don’t ask me years and don’t ask me timelines like that,” he said, jokingly. “I just go where I’m told.”

A native of Glasgow, Scotland, the 56-year-old actor’s love of sci-fi was sparked as a kid when his father took him to see “Star Wars” in a movie theater in 1978. When the BBC decided to relaunch and reboot the “Doctor Who” series in 2005, Barrowman’s portrayal of Captain Jack was so well-received that they decided to take a risk and give the character its own spin-off series “Torchwood.” That risk paid off in a series that ran from 2006 to 2011 on BBC Three, gaining in popularity and eventually making its way to BBC Two.

“Some people did one first and the other second, and vice versa,” Barrowman said regarding viewers’ appreciation for “Doctor Who” and “Torchwood.” “We were a major part for the success of the show itself but we were also a major catalyst for an audience.”

While Barrowman started on one sci-fi show before becoming the lead character on another, his other notable role that makes him an ideal “get” for this weekend’s Lexington Comic Con is his role in an entire connected TV universe.

Barrowman played Malcolm Merlyn, one of the primary villains in the CW TV series based on the DC comic “Arrow.” His character, which he described as both “dislikable and likeable to the audience,” would later crossover to other DC comic shows on the CW like “The Flash” and “Legends of Tomorrow.”

“If you are given a job, for them to say you are going to be in three different TV shows, I was like, ‘holy s&*t.’ That was like the cherry on the cake or the pie,” Barrowman said. “It’s an incredible thing to be involved in so many different things and the Arrowverse was doing something really different.”

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Outside of his roles in the worlds of DC and “Doctor Who,” Barrowman is a person whose other interests help him fit right in at comic cons, whether it is his work as a singer (he has nine albums to his credit) comic book creator or just the range of roles throughout his career that helped make a lasting impression on fans.

“The colorful characters that I’ve been able to play over the years ... it’s really nice to have all of those little niches appreciated and it’s all picked up on the convention circuit, which is great,” he said.

As a seasoned celebrity of the comic con circuit, Barrowman said if he ends up making a return appearance to a convention like he is at Lexington Comic Con, he will figure out a way to incorporate an element of surprise or do something different for fans at meet-and-greets or panels. He said he is just like many of the people there and loves to lean into his love for entertainment genres that invoke joy and culminates in conventions like the one in Lexington this weekend.

“As time went on, people’s tune changed and it was a celebration as opposed to, ‘Oh, look at what bizarre things are happening downtown?’” Barrowman said. “Over the years, it’s changed and that’s why cons have become such a big thing because people can go there and there’s no feeling of being ostracized. There’s no feeling of being looked at like a weirdo…we are all celebrating the things we love.”

John Barrowman will appear at Lexington Comic Con Friday through Sunday.

Lexington Comic and Toy Convention

When: 6-10 p.m. Thursday, March 7; Noon-8 p.m. Friday, March 8; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, March 9; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, March 10.

Where: Central Bank Center, 430 W. Vine St.

Tickets: $30-$170

Online: lexingtoncomiccon.com