Scottish actor Steven Cree has expressed how much he treasured being back on the set of the celebrated series Outlander for its latest season, calling it “a privilege”.
The 44 year old has returned to his role as Old Ian Murray, portraying the best friend and brother-in-law of Jacobite protagonist Jamie Fraser, brought to life by Sam Heughan.
Cree’s last appearance was in a 2018 episode during the show’s fourth season, before the storyline shifted to concentrate on Fraser’s Ridge in the New World.
Now, Cree is gracing the Outlander series again, featuring an emotional reunion with his on-screen son Young Ian Murray (John Hunter Bell).
In an exclusive interview, Cree detailed: “One of the things I liked most about it was going back now. The last time I was on it, I wasn’t a dad and going back and having the scenes with John Bell, who plays my son in it.”
He elaborated on the depth this added to his performance, especially now that he is a father in real life: “I have hopefully a couple of lovely scenes with him that were really about being a father. I always say you don’t have to be a murderer to play a murderer or anything else, but actually being a dad and understanding about that and understanding what I would want to say to my daughter informed and really helped me.”
Additionally, while discussing his other project The Diplomat last year, Cree reflected on his Outlander experience: “I don’t think I’ll ever be in a show again that’s a worldwide phenomenon, so it been nice to be a part of that journey and it’s never been too all-encompassing for me. I’ve always had the opportunity to dot in and out, do other stuff. So it was a nice experience.”
Discussing his role, he queried whether he had to use a prosthetic for his character Ian, who lost a limb fighting in France: “I’m sitting down mostly in it, so I wasn’t on the wooden leg too much.”
The actor also touched upon Laura Donnelly’s exit from the series, where she played Ian’s spouse and Jamie’s bold sister Jenny Murray.
He explained: “To be honest, returning without Laura [Donnelly] wasn’t that weird because I hadn’t filmed with [her] since season three that was in 2017, I can’t remember.”
For Outlanders season seven, part B, which sees Jamie and Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe) reuniting with Scotland and Lallybroch, Kristin Atherton steps into Jenny’s role.
Cree expressed his views saying: “And actually, Kristin [Atherton], who came in and played Jenny was so fantastic and my storylines [previously] in the show were mostly with Jamie and Claire. I never really had that much stuff with Jenny. It was fine.”
Musing on the overall impact of Outlander, Cree shared: “The show for me has become almost something else. I’ve done a lot of Outlander fan conventions over the years and the fans are so, so, so enthusiastic of the actors and they get behind every single charitable cause.”
He further stated: “I really wanted to make sure I was available to go back and do it as well. I wanted to go back as I know how much it means to the fans of the show because I’ve met so many of them over the years. It’s a privilege to be part of something like that.”