FAN EXPO San Francisco is Northern California's largest pop culture convention, and this weekend, Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Arrow star John Barrowman will be among those in attendance (other guests include Star Wars icons Mark Hamill and Ewan McGregor).
Tickets are now on sale for the event which runs from Friday, November 24 to Sunday, November 26 at the Moscone Center West, and John will be on hand to take photos with fans. He'll also be hosting an "Adventures with John Barrowman" panel on Saturday; you can learn more about how to meet him by clicking here.
Last week, we had the opportunity to speak with John about his plans for the show and some of his highlights from what's proven to be an extraordinary career.
We'll be bringing you the full interview soon, but while we had the prolific actor and celebrity on hand, we made sure to get his thoughts on the Arrowverse coming to an end earlier this year (when The Flash was cancelled) and how he looks back at the time he spent playing Malcolm Merlyn across more than 75 episodes of DC TV on The CW.
"When I was asked to play Merlyn, I was on the phone with Greg Berlanti and the rest of the production team. They basically came to me and said, ‘We love Doctor Who and Captain Jack and we’d like to bring you into the Arrowverse. Would you be interested in playing this villain?’ I said to them, ‘How long will I be with you?’ and they told me, ‘You’ll be there for a very long time.’ Malcolm was the first character in the Arrowverse to jump from show to show to show. I was able to play Malcolm in different ways across them which was a challenge but also really interesting."
"On Legends of Tomorrow, I took from my Captain Jack years where, in Torchwood he was a leader and, in Doctor Who, he was a follower. I was able to do that, but the difference was Malcolm was evil as shit and just didn’t hold back. The big thing when I was playing him was, if he smiles at you, you’re head. He would always keep it straight-laced and straightforward, but if he had a smile on his face, you were gonna die and that was it."
"Stephen [Amell] and I had a great relationship and he’s a neighbour of mine in Palm Springs. In fact, my husband Scott designed his house and I’m the reason he moved here probably because I’d say he needed get away from Vancouver winters and come here when he’s not filming. Anyway, long story short, I am so proud of the fanbase and fan-family Whovians who came over from Doctor Who and Torchwood and followed me to give me a try as a new character and also fell in love with him. I don’t know why they did and would love to have the formula of when I play a character to know why it happens. I mean, you’re talking about one of the most evil villains in the DC world and people are like, ‘I love him but I hate him.’ For me, that’s the best comment ever! Particularly when couples come up to talk to me and they’re Malcolm Merlyn fans. I’ll say to one of them, I’ll look at their partner and say, ‘They like the bad guy.’ That brings a smile to everybody’s face [Laughs]."
"I had no idea he’d take off like that and to be in so many episodes and be part of that creative process to create that world is just incredible. Stemming from it, as with Torchwood and Doctor Who, my sister and I co-wrote the Malcolm Merlyn backstory for DC in the Dark Archer. That was incredible and will always be in existence. We’ve written Torchwood comics too. That’s why I say they’re life-changing, and again, I’d never turn my back on them. To go back to the beginning, that’s why I love doing the conventions. It’s because of the fans and the fan-family and the love. It’s changed who I am."
It's incredible to hear from John about what playing the Dark Archer meant to him, and we're not surprised to hear that the ruthless and enigmatic villain has more than his fair share of fans.
We'd also strongly recommend jumping to the 23:45 point in the video above to take a tour of the Arrow alum's collection of geeky collectables, including some props from his time on Legends of Tomorrow (and if you're a Doctor Who fan, you'll love what you see).
You can find John Barrowman on Instagram @johnscotbarrowman and on Twitter/X @JohnBarrowman. Head to Fan EXPO's website now to get your tickets for this weekend's show!