Heughan spoke with Radio Times magazine about the end of Outlander, his travel show with Graham McTavish and his decade-long on-screen marriage to Caitríona Balfe.
This interview was originally published in Radio Times magazine.
Over seven series (and with one more to go), Sam Heughan has made his name as a kilt-wearing hunk in Outlander, the steamy time-travel romance co-starring Caitríona Balfe.
For nearly a decade, the pair (aka time-crossed lovers Jamie and Claire Fraser) have been sharing longing looks across the glens in 18th-century Scotland — but with the series’ days numbered, Heughan already has another torrid TV romance (and a New Zealand bromance) on the cards…
Your Outlander days are numbered (the penultimate series is on TV and the last is coming soon). Are you feeling bereft?
It’s been such a crazy, incredible, rewarding journey. Ten years, seven seasons in, and we’re going to do one more eventually. But I think we’re coming to realise we’re towards the end, and that it’s going to be quite a life-changing moment. The show has been my life for a long time. I’ve made friends, we’re basically a family, and it’s going to be very odd not to see everyone again. When we finished series seven, we all realised that was the last but one. And you could feel it… There’s going to be a lot of sadness.
In recent years, Outlander has moved from Scotland, and now it’s set against the American Revolution. Have you had to brush up on your history?
Yeah, I mean, I guess you know these names, but I didn’t really know much about it – it’s been fascinating. In this show we’ve visited the Jacobite uprising in 1745 and Bonnie Prince Charlie, and we’ve been in Versailles, the court of King Louis, and then we’re in America and the forming of modern America, and then the War of Independence. It’s incredible, the scale of the show and also the history involved. We’re obviously a fiction but we try to stick as closely to historical accuracy as possible.
You’ve been working as Caitríona Balfe’s on-screen husband for a decade — does it ever feel like being married?
Of course. I mean, when we started, we were both pretty green, working a bit, but not at this level. We’ve sort of grown up together, I think, experienced our first fan events, our first red carpets and press junkets and coming to New York for the first time. We’re kind of like brother and sister, really. And it’s also nice to see both of us having our careers and success outside Outlander as well. It’ll be weird to say goodbye.
Well, we’re talking about the end… but is it true you haven’t even shot the last series yet?
True! And this current series is split into two, so there’ll be another half-series next year, followed by the final series after that. And then, of course, we’ve got Men in Kilts in between! So there’s a lot going on before we even get to the last series.
Men in Kilts is your travel show with Outlander co-star Graham McTavish — could that continue even after the main show ends?
Oh, wow. Who knows? Season two, for which we were in New Zealand, is coming out in August. That was a great adventure and really fun. We’ve got ideas and we’d love to do another one. But I guess we’ll see what our bosses say and if the fans enjoy it. We love making it. I love working with Graham and driving him mad and exploring new places together.
And there’s an Outlander prequel in the works, right?
Yeah, they’ve commissioned Blood of My Blood, about Jamie’s parents. I guess it’s a legacy, right? It’s what we’ve created. When we first went to Scotland and we created the studio where we shoot Outlander, there was nothing there and now it’s this huge facility. It’s created so many jobs in Scotland, so many people have been employed. I’m sure the new show will be just as successful, if not more so.
Would you pop in for a quick cameo?
I mean, I’ll never say no. But I think it could be pretty difficult as it’s about Jamie’s parents when they’re young…
But Outlander is a show about time travel?
Well, it is. Unfortunately, Jamie can’t time travel, as far as I know. Just Claire. But you never know. That’s the joy of the show.
While we wait for more episodes, do you have any other steamy TV shows for fans to look forward to?
Yeah, I’m shooting one at the moment! It’s fantastic. It’s called The Couple Next Door, based on a Dutch book and TV show about a couple that move to a new neighbourhood and meet their neighbours… who happen to be swingers! And everything that ensues there. It’s an amazing cast – Eleanor Tomlinson, Jessica De Gouw and Alfred Enoch – they’re incredible. I’m really enjoying shooting that, it’s a really cool show. And I think it’s been announced it’s going to be on [Outlander broadcaster] Starz in the US as well, and Channel 4 in the UK.
There’s your inspiration for the shock Outlander series eight finale… Jamie and Claire become swingers! Could it work?
Well, I don’t know if Jamie would like to share…
Outlander is available to stream on Starz in the US and on Lionsgate+ in the UK. You can buy Diana Gabaldon’s books on Amazon.
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