Harriet Slater And Jamie Roy On ‘Outlander: Blood Of My Blood'

Forbes

a day ago

Outlander's prequel series Outlander: Blood of my Blood is about to become your new period drama obsession, and the first two episodes are now streaming on Starz.
This new series takes us on an epic and romantic journey where we meet Jamie's parents in 1714, Scotland, Ellen and Bria, as well as Henry and Julia, Claire's parents, in 1917, England. The two couples will have to face many obstacles in order to be together, just like Jamie and Claire eventually will, some 30 years later.
From the first few minutes of the show, Blood of my Blood proves to be an outstanding historical drama, with an attention to details and a knowledge of the lore that can only appeal to period drama aficionados. As soon as the opening credits hit the screen -and we have composer Bear McCreary to thank for it- Blood of my Blood soars to become one of the best historical dramas of these last few years.
This prequel has everything it needs, to be an excellent successor to Outlander, so much so that season 2 is already in production. From the incredible sets to the costumes and a perfect casting, Blood of my Blood manages to be its own story, while capturing the magic and the essence of the original series.
I spoke with the stars of the show, Harriet Slater (Ellen MacKenzie) and Jamie Roy (Brian Fraser), and I asked them how they view Jamie's character now that they have embodied his parents, and if they could see some of their own portrayal while watching Sam Heughan's performance in Outlander.
Roy said, 'It's an interesting one, in terms of mannerisms, I think, I mean I've been told many times that Sam and I are similar men in terms of personalities, the way we look and things, and I got to hang out with him quite a bunch. When we're together, it's funny because I can feel the similarity. So when I saw it on the screen, I was just saying that I re-watched season 1 of Outlander maybe three months ago, just for fun because I had already seen it ages ago, but I just wanted to see season 1 of Outlander compared to season 1 of ours, you know. And watching it, there a lot of similarities between Jamie and Brian but they come organically honestly, it wasn't intentional, the gestures and things like that. So hats off to casting because they really knew what they were doing.'
He added: 'Talking about season 1 again, the wedding episode, Jamie tells a story about his parents and things like that, he's really soft-spoken and very romantic and I was like 'That's my boy!''
In the original series, Jamie tells Claire about his parents when she visits his home, Lallybroch. He gives a few details about his father, such as the kind of books he would be reading, that he would put his boots by the fireplace, or even that he would keep a dagger under his bed. I asked Roy if the way Jamie talks about his parents influenced his portrayal of Brian.
He said, 'If I'm honest, not quite yet, because when Jamie is talking about his parents like that, we're not quite there. We're starting this journey right at the start of Brian and Ellen's relationship, so we have so much more story to tell. And it's one of these things where you don't know what you don't know, as a character. So I'm excited to see how that sort of thing plays out, to the point where I'm keeping a dagger under the bed, and the books, and what will be my own house eventually.'
If we can clearly see that Jamie got his kindness from Brian, his tenacity and fierceness come from his mother, Ellen MacKenzie, brilliantly portrayed by Slater. 'Brian has a really soft side, which only really comes out of Ellen when she's with Brian,' Slater told me.
Ellen is torn between many responsibilities since the death of her father, Red Jacob Mackenzie, portrayed by Scottish legend, Peter Mullan. Ellen was his father's favorite child and would have been his successor, if she had been a man. Since Ellen can't be Laird of Clan MacKenzie, the clan will have to choose between Ellen's brothers, Colum and Dougal MacKenzie, respectively portrayed by Séamus McLean Ross and Sam Retford.
This new show explains the past of many characters we know from Outlander, from Dougal to Colum and Murtagh, and it gives so much context to the history and wars between the different clans.
I asked the two actors if they had a new perspective on a character thanks to the prequel. Slater said, 'Mine is Colum, he's such a complicated character, and Ellen's relationship with Colum is so complex, they were best friends and then things happen… without giving anything away, their relationship changes quite drastically. But me, as Harriet, I understand where they're both coming from, it's a really tricky situation, and they both are torn between the love they have for each other and doing what they both think is right for the sake of the clan that Colum has to think about, but Ellen too. And Ellen's torn because her heart belongs to Brian, and then that's a really tough situation.'
Roy added: 'For me it's Murtagh. Seeing a younger version of Murtagh, I think it could be so different from what fans know in Outlander. And then we see him, this young lad who doesn't have any, you know, tortured soul. He's very young and happy and easy-going. I think people are really going to enjoy seeing what made him a little hard. He's played by Rory Alexander, he's fantastic, and with Brian they're obviously best pals, they hang out quite a lot so, I'm excited to see this change at first hand, which is very fun.'
If Blood of my Blood looks as gorgeous as it does on our screen, it's because it was shot on location in Scotland, which acts as a character in itself, as it gives the mood and sets the tone and atmosphere to an already gripping story, so I asked Slater and Roy which location had the biggest impact on their performance this season.
Roy said, 'For me, it was the first time being on a set that big. Actually in episode 1, when Brian and Murtagh appear at a gathering, it was my first time seeing so many supporting artists, incredible costumes all around, horses, cooking stalls… The attention to detail was so incredible, you honestly think all these guys had been pulled out of the stones you know, and you had been transported to this time. I remember thinking 'Wow! I really don't have to use my imagination much here, you're just surrounded by it.' It was really quite special.'
Slater said, 'That's a really good question. Me and Séamus had a similar moment, I think it was week 3 and it was our first day outside. We'd been in the studios for the first 2 weeks, filming inside Leoch, which is again an incredible set. But getting outside, there was something so special about that. I remember the weather, it wasn't great, it was so cold, it was windy and it was raining. It was February in Scotland, so brutal.'
She added: 'But we were into the elements and able to use it. Like Jamie was saying, there were 150 supporting artists, the set was so immersive, the smells and the sights and the sounds, it really felt like we were there, like Jamie said, it made the job 10 times easier. Once you couldn't see the film crew, it was like I could really be in 1714, Scotland.'
The first two episodes of Outlander: Blood of my Blood are now streaming on Starz.