Wishful thinking...

[awanderingbard]

So they're doing this show called 'How do you Solve a Problem Like Maria?' in Canada now. It's to find a Maria to be in the new Andrew Lloyd Webber production of The Sound of Music in Toronto. It's also the Canadian version of a British show that has run for the past three years finding a Maria for the London Sound of Music, a Joseph for the London Joseph...Dreamcoat and now a Nancy and Oliver for the London production of Oliver! The last one there is a program a person my mum works with sent home for me to watch, since I am a Broadway geek. Mum and I have been desperately waiting for her to send the 3rd DVD along.

John Barrowman is one of the judges in London and he's come to Canada to judge this one too. My mother, for the record, HATES him. With a passion. I was like 'but, he's Captain Jack!'. It meant nothing to her since she doesn't watch Doctor Who or Torchwood. She watched the first episode of the New!Who and went 'no thanks'. She finds him, on the show, very mean and full of himself. She doesn't even think he's that handsome. So, I wonder, is it a 'you must know him as Captain Jack' thing, or just that my mum is weird? I mean, I don't think he's the Best Thing Ever or even a remarkable actor, but I do think that he's pretty damn fine (the Canadian musical director called him 'the genetically perfect John Barrowman') and has a beautiful singing voice.

In any case, they showed the first show last night and the Top Ten were picked tonight. Both my favourite girls are in the Top Ten. But last night, John was running the Top 50 through acting training and he was trying to make the point that people are tactile creatures, so when you're acting, you have to be willing to touch someone - because as a human, you would. So he brought this girl up and was just giving her this full-on bear hug all the way through his explanation and she was stiff as a board. She had this total 'OMG, John Barrowman is hugging me!' look on her face. They showed a series of shots where he did the same thing to all the girls and was teasing them, because no one could hug normally.

I wish John Barrowman would hug me.

Comments

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I've only ever heard of one other person who doesn't find Barrowman attractive. That's how this icon came to be. Everyone else, straight or gay, seems to find him at least nice to look at.

[joonscribble.livejournal.com]

Most have concurred with me that however creaky his acting might be, Barrowman is extremely easy on the eyes.

A UK variety show aired clips of him doing the same acting exercise in the UK edition, I think, or a version of it where he snogs each one of the girls. One girl actually tried to push him away and run when he moved in for the snog, which I found endlessly hilarious.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

When I first heard of John Barrowman I was playing in an RPG. Someone brought him in as a character, and some other people were squeeing over him, and I was all, "Who?" I looked at their icons, and at some linked pics of him, and sort of shrugged and said, "OK, whatever." I mean, he's a nice enough looking guy, by no means ugly or anything. But he's not drop-dead gorgeous either, when you're just looking at a few still pics and that's all you know of him.

When I watched Torchwood, I suddenly got it. Yes, he's handsome enough, but not in a way which (to me, anyway) stands out all that much from a bazillion other handsome actors. He's not even in the top twenty or whatever, strictly going by looks. But he's got great charisma, and when he's acting, or in the few interviews or whatever I've seen on YouTube, that's where it finally hits. You have to see him moving and hear him speaking and watch him emoting -- that's when the, "OMG John Barrowman!!" thing will finally hit, assuming he's the sort who'll appeal to you at all. (Which apparently he's not, to your mom.)

There are a lot of actors who are like that, whose still pics don't do them justice at all. It's a charisma thing, the way they wear their faces and use their bodies and their voices. And really, for an actor I'd think that'd be much more important than just being drop-dead gorgeous; there'd be a much greater range of work available to someone who's just sort of good looking but can play gorgeous, or not tone it down and not play gorgeous, whatever a role calls for.

Angie

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

I saw that clip too, where he was snogging them all good, and I was all, "Holy sheep, how do I sign up for this workshop?!" LOL!

Or as second choice, how do I get to see him teaching that same workshop to a bunch of guys? ;D

Angie

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

I think that's what I meant - that you have to see him as Captain Jack to appreciate his full charisma. For some reason, whether it's his actual personality or just how he presents himself on the show, as a judge he comes off very loud and somewhat obnoxious. And I think, just as someone less attractive becomes more attractive if you like their personality or think they're talented, someone more attractive would seem less attractive if you didn't. Like, I find Sean Bean extremely attractive even though he's not as pretty as a lot of other actors out there. But I like his accent and I think he's a good actor, so he becomes more attractive to me because of that.

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not that my mum thinks he's ugly, she just doesn't find him the heartthrob that most people do. I think that the shows where he judges don't show off his charisma very well and that might be part of the problem. Well, not problem since everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinions. I think that John has a real talent for capturing your attention right away. You want to look at him and listen to him because he just oozes that je ne sais quois. But the musical show isn't about him and maybe that means he's not grabbing the attention like he normally does? He always seems very rushed to get out his comments and it doesn't give him a lot of time to drawn you in.

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

Exactly. [nodnod] There are a lot of "Meh" pics out there of Beanie, but if you're familiar with his movies, that makes all the difference.

Viggo Mortensen's the same way. There are a lot of "Meh" pics of him -- more than there are of really good ones IMO -- but when he turns it on for a movie you're just O_O and he comes across as much better looking than he actually is. Then he'll do a movie where his character isn't supposed to be incredibly attractive and it's like it's someone else. Not that handsome, really, but a great actor.

And yes, definitely, a bad personality makes someone less attractive just as a good one makes them moreso. I worked with a young woman like that back when -- she was a major bitch, and someone had to point out to me that she was actually attractive. I'd thought of her as not at all attractive because of her personality, until someone made me forget what she was like and actually look.

When I read Barrowman's autobio, I got the impression that he's always had a lot of natural talent, that he's been better at singing or dancing or acting than other performers of his age, through school and into college. It's possible that he just doesn't have a lot of patience for people who don't pick up on the craft of it all as quickly as he does, because he doesn't have as much personal experience of not getting it and missing the mark and being confused and frustrated. A lot of smart people (in whatever field) are like that; it's why some of the most brilliant academics were actually lousy teachers. That impatience could come across as him being nasty. Just speculating, though, since I've never seen that show.

Angie

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

Hehe! He was doing a confrontation scene with the Marias so no snogging. Just hugs at the start to get them used to the idea of it being okay to touch your acting partner. Which sometimes you need to do. In highschool drama class I had this wicked scene from The Lion in Winter that I just loved and my acting partner would not let me touch him at all. Even when the script said 'they hold hands' or something to that affect, he held mine like it had cooties. It wasn't very kingly. :-)

I have to say, John would make a wicked Captain Von Trapp. He was standing there, oozing hot and haughtiness and so cold and it was perfect. Especially when he was opposite the really talented girls - it was electric.

[joonscribble.livejournal.com]

Ooohh...Sean Bean....

Sorry, got off track there for a minute.

But yes, fully agree with you on the charisma thing. There are plenty of actors out there who I find pretty good looking, but a significantly number who inspire me to watch them repeatedly.

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, Viggo is another one who takes terrible photos but is just electric in person. I think, though, that he's quite shy and that effects his public persona. On screen, he's more comfortable.

Hmmm, that's an excellent point about John. I know my brother, who is extremely smart, has no patience for people who are 'stupid' because he just can't wrap his head around why they don't understand. And John's comments are certainly of the 'I told you to fix this last week, why aren't you better yet?' nature. My mum concurs.

[awanderingbard.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have my 'Hot Actors Who Can't Act' list, my 'Not So Hot Actors Who Can Act' list and my 'Hot Actors Who Can Also Act' list. I am also obsessive about eyes, so if you have got some seriously nice eyes, you could probably look like a goat and I would still find you attractive. :-)