Sam Heughan’s Saturn Award win the one to bring something bigger?

There’s something every Outlander fan can agree on. Sam Heughan hasn’t had the award recognition he deserves. Is the Saturn Awards win the first of many?

While there are plenty of debates about fashion, characters’ personalities, moralities within the show, and more, there’s one thing Outlander fans can agree on. Sam Heughan hasn’t been recognized as the talent that he is. It’s time for that to change, and maybe the Saturn Awards win is the first of many.

Heughan has been nominated for Saturn Awards in the past. However, this is the first time he’s walked away with a win after five years. And that was up against some pretty stiff competition, so we’re happy to see that it’s finally happened.

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In his whole career, Heughan has been nominated 15 times for various awards. Out of those 15, he’s one four. None of them were for major awards, except counting the Saturn Awards—which are genre-based and still relatively small compared to other major awards. However, sometimes, you just need one decent win to kickstart the rest.

One of the issues for Sam Heughan in Outlander is the opinion that he’s there for the eye candy. No, that’s not my opinion (although there’s nothing wrong with wanting someone good looking on your screen) but it is an opinion of many, especially those who run the awards. Being good looking and in a show that can be viewed as a romance by some makes it much harder to get the recognition deserved for acting.

I’ve always said that Heughan deserved an award for Season 1’s finale, “To Ransom a Man’s Soul.” There have been other performances over the years that have also proven Sam’s abilities, especially the earlier episodes of Season 3.

As he gains more recognition from the awarding bodies, this could help tip the scales. We may finally see him get the recognition from the bigger awarding bodies as they realize that our Jamie really is more than just a pretty face.

I’d love for this to finally happen. While I do believe Caitriona Balfe and the show itself deserves love from the bigger awarding bodies, I’ve always been disappointed that Sam Heughan has routinely been overlooked. I want to see the Saturn Awards win be the turning point.

Do you think the Saturn Awards win could be the turning point for Sam Heughan? Will others follow suit to at least nominate him? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Outlander Season 5 premieres on Feb. 16 on STARZ.