@ Comic-Con :: John Barrowman on 'Arrow'

One reason that Comic-Con continues to grow exponentially is the expanding list of comic books being adapted into television shows. This fall sees "Supergirl" and "Legends of Tomorrow" join the network slate, with more Marvel series coming to Netflix.

One show that contributed to this latest comic book wave is CW's "Arrow," based on Detective Comics The Green Arrow, which returns for its fourth season this fall. The series features Stephen Amell as Oliver Queen, the vigilante Arrow, with Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance/Black Canary.

John Barrowman plays Malcolm Merlyn, a CEO in the fictional Starling City who is the biological father to Oliver's sister Thea (Willa Holland) and father of Oliver's best friend Tommy. As of last season, Merlyn, aka The Dark Archer, has ascended to leadership in the League of Assassins after the death of its nefarious leader (named Ra's al Ghul) at Arrow's hand. (The League of Assassins is just as it sounds: they claim to target evildoers, but they have some harsh policies of their own: if one doesn't succeed at a planned assassination, they are to be killed by their peers.)

Jack vs Malcolm

Barrowman has double the reason to come to Comic-Con. He also starred in the "Doctor Who" spinoff "Torchwood" as Captain Jack Harkness, a bisexual immortal time traveling alien fighter. ("Torchwood," produced by the BBC, ran four seasons from 2006-2011. This past May, it was announced that a series will return as a series of audio dramas debuting in September.)

So when a fan asked him who would win in a fight between his "Arrow" and "Torchwood" characters, he was prepared with a risque anecdote.

"Captain Jack Harkness versus Malcolm Merlyn? They would fight like cats and dogs," Barrowman said. "First Malcolm would beat the crap out of Captain Jack and almost take him to the point of death. But knowing Jack, he would come back to life as soon as Malcolm was walking away. Then Jack would grab him by the hood, pull him on the ground and make out with him. But I haven't thought about that at all. I haven't thought about that at all."

Up for Will?

That Barrowman would pivot between British and American series is indicative of a career that has made him a star on both sides of the Atlantic. The British-born actor emigrated to the States as a seven-year-old. Encouraged by his high school teachers, he pursued acting as a career, landing the lead role in a West End production of "Anything Goes" in 1989. Roles in musicals in both London and New York followed (including "Miss Saigon," "Phantom of the Opera" and "Sunset Boulevard.") Television roles followed, including the ill-fated series "Central Park West" and "Titans."

He was up for the lead role on "Will & Grace," but lost it to Eric McCormack because he was considered "too straight." What was ironic about this is that Barrowman has long been out in public. "The sad thing (about the show) is it's run by gay men and women," he told the London LGBT website Pink News in 2006. Barrowman met his partner architect Scott Gill in 1993; they were married in California in 2013.

But it was his cheeky role as Captain Jack Harkness on both "Doctor Who" and "Torchwood" that made him an international television star. Critic Ken Tucker described him as "like Tom Cruise with suspenders, but minus the Scientology." After "Torchwood" finished, Barrowman moved onto "Arrow" in which Merlyn was at first a recurring character, but was made a permanent one in season three.

Heading the League

Now that Merlyn leads the League of Assassins, expect some changes to the group. For instance, they may take a lower profile in terms of costuming.

"The League will have Casual Fridays," Barrowman said, echoing "Arrow's" producer Marc Guggenheim. "So there might not be all the gear. When the League of Assassins showed up before, you knew it's them because of the way they're dressed. Malcolm might devise a way to let them show up and you just don't know that they're amongst us. They might be, shall we say, infiltrating in other areas and you just don't know they are there."

Season three ended with Oliver leaving Starling City after three years of fighting for the city. The implication was that Thea would take on the role of Arrow, albeit with a red hood instead of Oliver's green. Barrowman expects Merlyn will support his daughter, considering he's the one who trained her to fight.

"I think he's proud," Barrowman said. "He'll allow her to blossom and do her thing but will always be protective of Thea."

Season three allowed Barrowman and Holland to have some deep, emotional scenes. Thea died at the hands of the previous Ra's al Ghul (Matt Nable), but was resurrected. The reborn Thea is still haunted by her experience, one of which includes Merlyn brainwashing her with the fictional drug Vitura. All of which gave Barrowman and Holland juicy scenes to play.

"I loved it," Barrowman said. "I kind of thrive on that kind of stuff because it's great to have such a diversity to my character. At one point I'm an asshole, then later I'm exposing myself in an emotional scene. It's a complete emotional spectrum I go through. I'm thrilled that they will let me be that asshole, then they'll let me be that caring father, and they'll also let me be the guy who will tell people how it is rather than beating around the bush with them. I think he's the most honest guy on the show."

A geek himself

The characters of "Arrow" are dealing with very heavy personal drama, but there's room to laugh behind the scenes. As you can see above, there is a lot of complicated mythology behind the show's plot, and sometimes it can be hard for even the actors to keep straight. For example, the League of Assassins' headquarters is called Nanda Parbat, a name that actress Katie Cassidy found difficult to pronounce.

"When Katie had to do her speech, we all knew how to say Nanda Parbat. Then she came in and had to say it. And she went, 'So, um, what's this about Amanda Poorbutt?' She said, 'Who's this Amanda Poorbutt?' and Stephen lost it."

That complicated plot also means there are a lot of secrets to keep. Barrowman couldn't tell us much about the upcoming season. He even said that when it comes to spoilers, he himself is happy to remain in the dark about his own character.

"Like the others, I go into the meetings and production meetings and I don't like to know what's going to happen because I like to be surprised when I get the script," Barrowman said. "I'm also a nerd and a geek myself so I enjoy that kind of thing. Also it's the challenge for me to go, 'Oh, that's what I'm doing now. Now I have to make that work.' That makes it fun, rather than knowing what's going to happen because if you know what's going to happen, sometimes you play things a little differently. Whereas if you don't know, you play it for what it is right there and then. It's more spontaneous for the audience."

Plenty of action

"Arrow" is an action-packed show and Merlyn is involved in plenty of it, whether it's training Thea to fight or squaring off against the League of Assassins. Barrowman recalls his days of musical theater to approach the choreography.

"I treat it all like dance because of having a dance background," Barrowman said. "So the stunt team can show me before the scene and I'll pick it up and I'll do it as we do it. Whereas some people, it takes a couple of days for them to get into it. Stephen doesn't because he does a lot of the fighting himself, which is amazing, but we haven't had any accidents. On other shows I broke a stuntman's nose. Oops."

The schedule for "Arrow" is more intense overall than the British series "Torchwood." "Arrow" shoots 23 episodes a year, compared to "Torchwood's" 13 or less, but Barrowman is not in every scene of "Arrow," which shoots in Vancouver. (Barrowman keeps his home in California.)

"For eight years I was the main character in a TV show," Barrowman said. "Stephen and I have had these conversations and he asks me a lot of advice on how to handle and deal with things, because he's now the man with all the weight on his shoulders. It's glorious to only go up to Vancouver for three days a week and then go back to my house in Palm Springs and sit by my pool for the rest of the week, because they put all my work into three or four days. I'm in and out. So I like that, but I'm quite happy if someone were to say, 'We need you every day in the show, every scene.' I'm totally happy about that. I'm in this business to work, so either/or, I love it. But I particularly like that cocktail by the pool."

Arrow returns October 7 on The CW.