After six seasons, time travel, and getting his character to survive many complicated historical events, Sam Heughan has visited Spain for the first time and has been received by fans of Outlander In our country.
After a warm reception by fans of the series, the actor who plays Jamie in the series -available on Movistar Plus+- and who also stars in other fictions such as Men in Kilts received the media. With them she spoke with a close language and with hardly a trace of a Scottish accent about the evolution of his character in the series, how he would like the end to be and his connection with Jamie, among other things.
[Crítica: ‘Outlander’, se avecina una gran tormenta para Claire y Jamie en la temporada 6]
Outlander it’s been quite a journey
Still from the first season of ‘Outlander’.
One of the first things that was discussed in the conversation with the actor was how he has lived his journey as Jamie Fraser in the series during these years. “It’s been incredible and I think it’s very rare for an actor or a character or a TV series or a character to become that popular,” Heughan said.
“He’s an iconic character, one of the few that I think is especially capable of conveying across a screen and I feel very lucky to have received such a great gift. It’s been an incredible journey so far and I can’t wait to see where it goes.”said the actor.
Sam Heughan also talked about the evolution of the character, since, although for him it is a few years, in the series many more pass for Jamie and Claire. “The series begins when Jamie is 23 years old. He was a young warrior who has just returned from France and suddenly he becomes a husband, a father, a leader, a man, and he is also responsible for a whole community and is involved in the war,” recalls Heughan.
“Jamie has changed a lot, he’s become more mature, more reflective, more calculating. He’s had a lot of bad experiences, and especially after Claire was assaulted and raped, I think he’s also become a little more fragile. He’s realized that he’s lost Claire before, and he knows that if he loses her again, he won’t be able to move on.”he continued.
There is no border between Jamie Fraser and Sam Heughan
“It’s easy for me to change the mindset and put myself in Jamie’s shoes, but it’s only during the shootHeughan explained, recalling a fun experience he had while voicing the character in the Diana Gabaldon audiobooks.
“We were kidding around and I tried to do Jamie’s voice, but I couldn’t remember what it was like. But when you get to the set, put on your clothes and boots, it’s very easy to change into Jamie,” says the interpreter with a laugh.
“As for the two of us, I think we’re quite different people, but whenever you get close to a character you don’t know how you are different from him until we finish shooting. When the series is completely finished, then I’ll see how different we really are,” he stated.
[Outlander: de la verde Escocia a la convulsa Francia]
Claire, an essential part of Jamie’s life
Jamie and Claire in ‘Outlander’.
Sam Heughan was also encouraged to talk about the contrast that arises between the two protagonists of Outlanderwhich, because they belong to different times -Claire was born in the 20th century and Jamie in the 18th-, sometimes give rise to a clash of perspectives typical of the century to which each one belongs.
“Claire is an important part of Jamie and he’s very modern for the time he’s lived in,” Heughan says of the character, who, despite everything, empathizes with her protagonist and tries to understand her.
“Sometimes he has certain opinions about how things should be done, especially in the terms of his time. And that’s when they conflict. But I think the key is that they communicate and that they accept each other with all their history, especially as they get older and have spent time apart. They have had other relationships, Claire got married and Jamie has had relationships too, but they still accept it and can talk about it openly. And I think that this is the lesson that we must learn in our time.”.
Physical contact is essential in the series
Review: ‘Outlander’ T6,
“The series talks about the relationship between Jamie and Claire, how they get to know each other and how they connect through physical contact. And they are both very sexual human beings,” Heughan said in relation to the most sensual part of Outlander.
“It’s fantastic, to show them now and as they get older, making it clear that they still have the same passion for each other. I think it’s really important to portray this and I think we’ve always tried to be very careful about why we show this. Sometimes people need to feel close to each other to choose whether to feel comfort and passion and sometimes even forget if they have been through trauma. It’s a very useful tool to play with and although these are difficult scenes to shoot, they are important to us”he added.
Sam Heughan also gave his opinion on the evolution of the series in relation to the way in which it has changed its way of approaching the shooting of sex scenes, especially with the introduction of the figure of the intimacy coordinator.
[Tobias Menzies, el actor que convierte en oro cada serie que toca]
“It’s part of the evolution of the industry. We started shooting this eight years ago and almost a decade ago the industry was very different. You can see many series like Game of Thrones and many others where there is a lot of nudity or intimate scenes,” he recalled.
“I think before, the responsibility or the pressure was just put on the actors or the director. And we’ve made progress on this, we have intimacy coordinators who can help us navigate more easily.”
“Just like you have stunt coordinators when you’re doing a complicated scene, with the more intimate sequences it’s a very similar situation. And it’s a really welcome addition, because they help us not only make things easier, but also deepen the scene and how maybe to portray it on camera in a more intimate way or deepen the relationship of the people involved,” he continued.
The ideal ending for the character
On more than one occasion, the actor has revealed that he spoke with the author of the saga of novels about the end of Claire and Jamie’s story and that he already knows what the outcome of the characters will be. However, this did not stop him from venturing to think about what would be his ideal ending and the place where he would like to say goodbye to Jamie.
“Diana knows the ending and she shared it with me a long time ago when we were starting to shoot the series. But I think, For Jamie, the ideal ending would be to return home to Scotland with all his family and be able to have a peaceful life., probably in front of the fire with the whiskey. but this is Outlander and these things never happen. There may also be time travel… I don’t know. But what is clear to me is that he’ll want to be wherever Claire is.”.
[Natalia de Molina y el papel más kamikaze del año en ‘Fácil’: “Estoy orgullosa de haberme arriesgado”]
Beauty as an advantage
Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser in the early seasons of ‘Outlander’.
In the society in which we live, beauty can be considered as an advantage to go further. Sam Heughan was flattered to speak on this topic and argued that it ultimately depends on stereotypes. “Actors who are good-looking are overlooked for certain roles and are often not considered character actors”the actor claimed.
From here, the interview took a turn towards something more personal, where the interpreter spoke about the kilts, an iconic and traditional part of clothing in Scotland. “Honestly, I loved that it was included in the first season of Outlander. They are just fantastic, versatile and very comfortable when riding and It’s a way of paying homage to Scotland. What better way to work than this?Heughan said.
The one who gives life to Jamie Fraser also chose to position himself on the possible cultural appropriation that could mean that other people who are not Scottish -or sassenachs– wear a kilt.
“I think it’s great and that the English also appropriated it for a political issue in the Victorian era, but I think anyone can use it. If you look at other cultures around the world, there are warrior cultures with very similar styles, like the Maori, so I encourage you all to use it,” he enthused.
‘Outlander’ is available on Movistar Plus+.
