Captain Jack = Captain America?

Urk, I really don't know what I think about this rumor.

I like John Barrowman well enough. And he certainly fills out a WWII era uniform well. But...as Cap? Really?

I know I've argued that Cap is a role that doesn't necessarily require an actor so much as someone who can do more expression work with their bodies. As Cap is more the stoic sort of fellow more prone to quiet sadness and minor expression work than he is for the soliloquies or over-the-top emotion.

But I also don't think Barrowman's particularly GOOD at acting with his body. I liked him in Doctor Who and thought he was no better or worse than most of the Torchwood cast, but he's not, in my opinion, a very physically-expressive actor. His expressions of melancholy look more like constipation to me. I can get past the fact that I wouldn't call his physique "super-soldier" material, but it's harder to get past the fact that he's not yet shown, in my opinion, the physical expressiveness I think the role needs.

On the other hand, to be fair, I do think Captain Jack is a role that's written very limited and not one that would allow even Laurence Olivier to show off incredible acting talents. Barrowman can pull off self-effacing charm, which I think is good for Steve in quieter moments. And as shallow as it is, he has a nice warm smile. And I do think that's important for Cap. It's not a deal breaker, but it's something I personally think the character ought to have.

And it is possible, being that he's apparently done a fair bit of West End musicals, that he's better at physical expression than he lets show in Torchwood/DW. I'm assuming dancing is involved and as dancing tends to involve physical expression, I may be writing him off too soon. For that matter, theatre in general requires more physical expression than tv/movies, so that may be a good sign.

There is the plus that at least Barrowman has experience with one comic book-type role. I think a lot of decent actors' performance ends up broken in comic book or science fiction movies because they can't quite deal with the suspension of disbelief involved in talking to the aliens-who-aren't-yet-there or babbling technobabble or ridiculous statement of fact. And then there's the problem with the stupid costume. Cap's costume is not going to look anything but ridiculous no matter what they do with it. Ultimate tried taking off the wings, but ultimately the wings are not the problem. It still looks stupid.

It's weird but sometimes a mediocre actor can give a much better performance in a comic book movie than a good actor, if he's more comfortable with the trappings of the role. See as example: Chris Evans and Ioan Gruffudd in Fantastic Four. Chris Evans is not what I'd consider a particularly good actor, where anyone who sees Horatio Hornblower can attest that Ioan Gruffudd has the capacity to be phenomenal. But most critics/reviewers vastly preferred Evans to Gruffudd, and while some of that's the character (Johnny IS more fun than Reed) I think a lot of it did have to do with the actors' comfort in their roles. (And Gruffudd was much improved in Silver Surfer, I think. When he'd gotten more used to the whole thing.)

I remember watching the commentary for I think it was the Talented Mr. Ripley, where the director was talking about how difficult it was to cast certain characters. Because American culture is so different nowadays, it was difficult to find actors who could particularly resonate with the America of that time period. He chose a lot of British actors for that reason. I don't know if it's true that British actors really are better suited to playing 1940s Americans or not. I do think Barrowman has some sort of old fashioned quality that may well suit the character in his native time period. Well, more precisely, I think the guy always seems like he walked off a forties movie set. But that'd work really well, especially opposite other, more modern, Avengers)

(As a side note which may not make sense to anyone but me, Barrowman also might be a good choice for another reason. I've always felt part of Cap's appeal is that he lacks a certain amount of machismo that a lot of modern men/heroes have. I think Barrowman manages to infuse Captain Jack with that same quality. He's tough and sometimes badass, and very masculine, but without that machismo. If that makes any sense at all.)

Hmm, initially I was kind of aghast, but I'm actually warming to the idea. The key I think will be in the writing (and I heard GHASTLY gossip about THAT), but Barrowman is still ages better than those rumors of McConaghey or DiCaprio.

I'm actually starting to get enthusiastic about the idea. At the very least, I think it's a sign that the movie makers are on a good track.