Outlander star Sam Heughan has revealed that an intense period of filming led him to a ‘dark place’ as he shot the hit TV show.
Writing in his memoir Waypoints: My Scottish Journey, the Scottish-born actor opened up about embarking on an intense period as they filmed for the show.
The Outlander actor said: “The schedule was intense, often requiring 12-day blocks of shooting every fortnight. It was hard work, but everyone involved shared the same commitment to adapting the novels to the screen in the most compelling way possible.”
Meanwhile, Sam admitted that ‘a great deal’ of his personality overlaps with his on-screen character, Jamie Fraser, and said that the role allows him to explore his ‘deepest, sometimes darkest emotions’ before confessing that the he knew the end of filming the first season would lead to difficult moments.
The actor added: “As the end of the first season’s shoot approached, I knew that would lead to a dark, bleak and challenging place.”
The 44-year-old also revealed that he struggled to adapt to his new found fame on the show: “The fans’ passion was so heartfelt. I just wasn’t used to the intensity. In the space of a few crazy months, I had become someone people believed they knew based on the character I was playing. I understood that that was how it worked. I just needed time to adjust.”
The actor, who has previously also featured in the likes of Midsomer Murders and Homeland, continued: “As a result we didn’t have much time to concern ourselves with the rising tide of expectation that closed in all around us.”
Having first aired in 2014, Outlander returned to our screens last week (November 22) as the remainder of season seven gets underway, with two more episodes set to release before the end of the year.
In the first half of the series, that premiered last year, we saw the Frasers dealing with the trials and tribulations of living through the American Revolutionary War before heading back to Scotland.