The long-awaited ‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’ prequel is almost here, and to get fans excited for this fresh take on the popular series, Jamie Roy (Brian Fraser) and Harriet Slater (Ellen Mackenzie) sat down with Metro to dive deep into this love story’s beginning chapters.
What enticed you about signing on with this prequel and why do you think ‘Outlander’ is something fans keep wanting more of?
Roy: The thing that drew me, first of all, was the story. When I found out what the story was about, it was so interesting. Who wouldn’t want to play in a love story in a period piece like this in 18th-century Scotland? To be transported back to that time, that’s such an amazing opportunity as an actor to be able to do that.
And the story itself, the first scripts and things that we got just hooked me instantly. It was so beautifully written, and I think anytime you get the opportunity to do something that is so well written, it can be very rare. In terms of the ‘Outlander’ fans who are engaged, we all know how the story ends with these characters… but we don’t know the how. And that’s very much what our show’s about.
It’s about how did Murtaugh (Rory Alexander) go from this bright young lad who’s got these puppy dog eyes and he’s very sweet, to a grumpy old man with such a hardened edge? How did we see Dougal (Sam Retford) and Colum (Seamus McLean Ross) turn into the men that they were [in the original show]?
Even the little glimpses of Brian Fraser that we’ve seen in Season 7 and his demise in Season 1 … just things like that. I think people will be really, really interested to see the journey that these characters go on. And when they watch ‘Outlander’ back again, they’ll know that history and go, oh, I know exactly what they’re talking about when they reference certain things.
What were you most drawn to about your character and journey in the show?
Slater: For me, it was definitely the fact that it was a period drama, I’m a sucker for a period drama. I love watching them and being in them and the fact that it’s a love story—that’s my favorite kind of story to tell and also to watch. I was so drawn to this character. I think she’s got so much strength and fierceness, but she also has so much vulnerability at the same time. That’s a real joy to play both those sides of her—she has to be so many different people all the time because she’s a woman living in the 1700s.
She can’t say what she wants to say or do what she wants to do. She has to put these masks on and be what society tells her she has to be, but also be clever about the way that she gets herself out of these awful situations that she finds herself in. She’s such a fantastic, complex character and that’s such a joy to play.
Also, the show is so unpredictable. If you think [you know] where it’s going, it goes off in a completely different direction. We were both saying as soon as we get the scripts, we can’t wait to read them because we have absolutely no idea where our characters are going or what’s going to happen to them. That keeps me on the edge of my seat, so hopefully it’ll be the same for the audience.
What do you think fans will be surprised to learn from this prequel?
Slater: They might think that they know these characters, but actually we don’t really know a huge amount about them from ‘Outlander.’ With Ellen for example, there’s a few things said about her by Brianna (Sophie Skelton) and Jocasta (Maria Doyle Kennedy.) I think at one point there’s a beautiful scene that they have where they’re talking about Ellen and she’s mentioned here and there, but other than that, they’re kind of a mystery.
Roy: We don’t really know too much about Brian, there are the stories that you hear Jamie (Sam Heughan) say. I was rewatching the wedding episode from Season 1, which is a stunning episode, first of all. He tells some stories about his parents and then he touches on it again in Season 7. I think most people are waiting to see what Jamie’s been saying about his parents and the love that they had and how they got together. We know about Lallybroch, but what happened before Lallybroch? Where were they living before that? All this back story…I think that’s the sort of thing that people would be surprised about.
‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood‘ will premiere Friday, Aug. 8. New episodes will be available to stream weekly on Fridays on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms and airing weekly on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on STARZ in the U.S. and at 9 p.m. ET/PT in Canada.
