Ianto and Jack

[ivyfic]

Out of curiosity last night I looked up the birth years of some of the actors on Torchwood. The actor's age isn't always the age of the character, but it's a good way to guess at it in the absence of canon establishing an age.

Gareth David-Lloyd, who plays Ianto, is 26. John Barrowman, who plays Jack, is 40. Even setting aside the whole 200-year-old immortal thing, that's quite an age gap. Not an insurmountable one, to be sure, but enough to make things complicated. Let's just say, I'm 26 and 40 is a few years older than I would date.

This also makes more sense for the Ianto-as-teaboy thing. Most 26 year olds are still in relatively menial office jobs (just ask my friends!). Of course, the actress who plays Gwen is only three years older than that, so it doesn't quite make sense that Ianto's job is so much more, um, useless than everybody else's. Now I have a picture, though, of Ianto photocopying stuff back at Torchwood One. He'd've been 24 at the Battle of Canary Wharf, which is plenty young enough to have a job in the mailroom, there.

Comments

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

Heh, well, I'm 38 (yes, I am old) and Delta is almost 27, so I'm not going to comment on the age gap. :)

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

The comment on the age gap makes more sense in the context of last night's episode, which I'm guessing you haven't seen yet. But really, a fourteen year age gap is big enough that it should really be addressed (see trinityvixen's long post on intergenerational romances). You know, right after they address the whole immortal time-traveler from the future who is constitutionally incapable of being monogamous, is secretive about everything personal, and has completely ditched Ianto in the past thing. Just in case they didn't have enough issues in this relationship.

I also think it's notable since in most cases of romances between two characters, when one is human and the other immortal and ancient, the actors are at least about the same age (see Buffy and Angel).

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched it yet, no. But I'd say the other issues far outweigh that one, even for them. :)
And often the actors aren't the same age but merely look close enough on screen to be believable. Does Ianto look that much younger than Jack?

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Well, (minor spoiler!), in last night's ep, Tosh tells a guy that he's too young for her. The guy is 24. She (estimating from the actress's age) is 33. So if that's a problem, it stands to reason the much greater gap between Jack and Ianto would be.

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

Except the key word there is "her." That would be Tosh's opinion about her own relationships. Nothing to do with anyone else.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

You mean this post?

YAY SELF-PIMPAGE!

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

Throwing my two pennorth in while passing. The age gap thing never strikes me or bothers me, partly because Mr B looks pretty good for 40 and could get away with playing a much younger part. He plays Aladdin or Jack in panto and is credible as a 20 something.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

True, though he's never looked as young on Torchwood as he did on Doctor Who. Don't know what they're doing with the makeup, but he always looks a little worn.

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

I wonder if it's just the very clearly defined camera work on TW - I have one of the DVDs and on the extras they discuss the technicalities of it. Basically it shows every line and wrinkle. I have to say I like his appearance on TW much more than on anything else I see him on. Very true to life.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

That makes sense. Which is just another reason why I don't want to go high def. It'll make all my cheesy sci fi shows look like crap. :) I haven't actually seen Barrowman in anything else, though I would kill for a time machine to go back and watch him in Rope.

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

What really bugs me is that I remember that being on and it's not far from here. Rats!

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Bwah? The production of Rope was in England in 1993...

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

Indeed it was. We live about an hour's drive from Chichester and go to the theatre there on occasions.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Sorry, for some reason I thought you were trinityvixen, who lives in New York. ...

[mylodon.livejournal.com]

No, I'm Mylodon who lives in Hampshire (the original one). *g*

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

You'd think the "mylodon" next to the icon would have tipped me off. *smack*

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

With the case of immortals, it clearly changes things, though I am hesitant to give it a pass because of Jack's immortality. What makes me more likely to ignore it is Jack's rampant inability to be monogamous. I think there's more woe for any partner of his from that than from the age gap, since any angst about that would be all on the other person's side. There's more to be plumbed from the age thing dramatically in terms of Jack's immortality meaning that Ianto will catch up and surpass Jack in age and the fact that Jack is his boss.

Still, good catch. Usually I notice these things. Got distracted by the boys kissing, I suppose.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Jack's rampant inability to be monogamous
Yeah. Especially since we have evidence that Ianto's been monogamous in the past and is not inclined to swing the same way Jack is. Unless Jack's converted him.

I find it interesting, really, because Ianto's really young. With respect to the rest of the team, but especially with respect to Jack. He looks about the same age as the other leads, but seeing him as younger does create a whole different dynamic for him in the group, as the most junior, and also the one with the most menial job. Hell, you could even have him jealous of Gwen for walking in and taking a spot he was working towards, if you want. Since in fic he's often portrayed as having been somewhat important in Torchwood One, I love the idea of him as a mail clerk or copy machine repair guy or something similarly menial.

And if you're talking about how society would look at this pair, the boss thing is probably more significant than the age thing.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Especially since we have evidence that Ianto's been monogamous in the past and is not inclined to swing the same way Jack is. Unless Jack's converted him.

Another issue of more import than just the age difference, methinks. Ianto is obviously a very devoted partner, but a monogamous one. Jack as he was introduced on Doctor Who was a sweet, almost innocent lover, but came no closer to monogamy than circumstance forced upon him. I do hope this comes up as problematic, especially as I don't see either of them changing that much. I mean, Jack was willing to work on actually dating Ianto, which is a big compromise, so maybe Ianto has to forgive some dalliances elsewhere, but something has to be resolved firmly there.

And I like the idea that Ianto is too young to have gotten far and now that Torchwood is defunct except for this group, he's not likely to go anywhere higher on the chain of command. So why not sleep with the boss?