Outlander is making a comeback for its next batch of episodes, with fans eager to know all there is about the cast, including Roger star Richard Rankin.
It’s been more than a year since Outlander was seen on Starz and MGM+ via Prime Video but thankfully, the wait is almost over with series seven part two debuting on Friday, November 22.
When the show was last on, Roger Wakefield (played by Richard Rankin) and Brianna Fraser (Sophie Skelton) had gone their separate ways with him travelling back through the stones to find their son Jemmy.
And with Roger at the heart of this important storyline, subscribers have grown curious to know more about the 41-year-old actor.
Childhood injury
Born in Rutherglen, Scotland, in 1983, Richard was one of four boys with a dad who worked in the police force and a mum in the hotel industry.
Even as a youngster, Richard had dreamed of stardom, pretending he was Robocop and doing a Michael Jackson concert in the school playground that went terribly wrong.
He told Glasgow Times: “I had bought smoke bombs.
“I’m not quite sure how I thought logistically I was going to have all these pyrotechnics going off.
“But obviously in a young boy’s head there is lights, smoke and a full concert atmosphere.
“I managed to sell three tickets. It turned out an utter disaster and I split my head open trying to do a backflip off a pillar as my finale. The smoke bombs didn’t work either.”
Chance encounter
Richard began an IT course at Glasgow Caledonian University but little did he realise that a holiday to Los Angeles would change his life.
Speaking of a chance encounter, the Outlander star shared: “I met a producer – I think he worked on The OC, although I’m not 100 per cent sure – but he was one of the execs on a show like that.
“He was at the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard with his cast and they were chilling out.”
The pair began speaking and he told Richard that he had a good look for an actor, with Richard remarking: “I was like: ‘OK, whatever …’ but it was enough to plant the seed.”
Upon his return home, he auditioned for Langside College and as he was actually born Richard Harris, started using his mum’s maiden name to avoid confusion with the Irish star Richard Harris.
Acting success
Richard’s first acting role was in the Scottish video game show VideoGaiden in 2006, before going on to make appearances in The Old Guys, Taggart, Legit and The Crimson Field and The Syndicate.
But it was in 2015 that his career was taken to a whole new level as he was cast as Richard Wakefield in Outlander.
Following the global drama’s success, he has since appeared in The Last Kingdom, The Replacement and starred in the titular role of DS John Rebus in the BBC adaptation of Rebus earlier this year.
Grief
Richard’s dad Colin hadn’t always been on board with his career choice but the actor was left heartbroken by his death six years ago.
He shared with Glasgow Times: “My dad was not impressed [with acting], but my mum is very liberal, and I think she thought she could have the experience vicariously. But my dad thought it was maybe a passing phase.”
Going on to talk about his dad’s death, he added: “That’s like nothing else, nothing compares to that.
“It feels quite an emptiness, quite a void, confusion.”
Love life
Richard prefers to keep his personal life away from the spotlight but he is thought to still be dating Australian girlfriend Sammie Russell.
She is the owner of Dream With Me, a luxury sleepwear label, and was first seen with the actor at a red carpet event in March 2023, before attending the Outlander season seven premiere.
However, as Sammie is based in Melbourne and Richard in Scotland to film Outlander, it is thought their relationship is long-distance.
Outlander season seven, part two, premieres on Friday, November 22 on MGM+ via Prime Video in the UK and Starz in the US.