One of the episode love stories in Outlander is told via other people. It’s all about Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser. Well, Outlander: Blood of My Blood is the chance to bring that story to life.
Harriet Slater and Jamie Roy will take on the characters, bringing us to 1714 to see just how the two ended up falling for each other. This wasn’t a simple love story, mixed with family politics and clan expectations. However, they would eventually make it work.
Slater and Roy chatted with us about their characters, including how Outlander: Blood of My Blood is more than just a love story.
Harriet Slater and Jamie Roy discuss the support for Outlander: Blood of My Blood
Claire & Jamie: We’ve already heard a lot about Ellen and Brian’s story in Outlander, so what’s it like to bring it to life?
Harriet Slater: Amazing! Exciting. A journey of real rides. There are many ups and downs in their story. It’s not an easy journey that they go on in order to be together.
Jamie Roy: I love this job. Because, I’m a fan of everything that we’re doing. The story is so, so good. That’s the reason why I do this as a job, is to tell good stories, so I find this story between Ellen and Brian is so dynamic. It really excits me.
Anytime we get a new script through, we normaly get it sent through Los Angeles time, which is eight hours behind the UK. So, sometimes, we’ll get scripts at two in the morning, three in the morning, and I’ll wake up and I look at my phone and see a new script. I’ll be like, okay, well, I have to wake up with you tonight, because I need to know what happens.
It’s really been a privilege, honestly, to tell this story, to explore this character more.
C&J: Has there been any pressure, because we think we already know the story, but we don’t.
HS: Yeah, I think the support that we’ve had has been so overwhelmingly lovely. I think any nerves have sort of vanished for me by this point, just because everybody seems so excited about it. I guess there’s a certain level of pressure in that way with portraying these characters that are so beloved and they mean so much to people. I just feel like everybody’s been so on board since the day that we were announced as the cast. It’s been a real privilege to have that fan base, that pre-existing fanbase to step into, and to really have our backs, which is quite rare.
JR: And it goes both ways, like everything has an opposite reaction. There’s an expectation that people have of our show, because they care about it. And to care about something so deeply is so rare nowadays, in terms of stories and stuff like that. So, I know that people are going to care so much and want it to be great, and then when they watch it and they’ll realize this isn’t a copy of stories, it isn’t going to be the same story. I promise you, it’s very different, and I think it will live up to expectations.
C&J: It’s not just a love story. We also have these family dynamics for both of you. There are the difficult parental relationships and the sibling dynamics. What has that been like for the two of you to bring out?
JR: Brian’s relationship with his father is not one that I would wish on any son to have. It really is horrible, but it’s nice to play as an actor, because it gets to shw you another side of the character. I always like to say that Brian is very much one person with most people, especially his father, much more standoffish and has an edge to him. And then he gets to let all that go when he’s with Ellen and become a vulnerable, romantic soul.
Exploring that relationship really made me think a lot about my own relationship with my family, and just appreciate how I’m lucky I actually have parents who care and love me. I like it when work makes you think about your own life in that sort of way.
HS: It’s a treat to play characters that are so well-rounded and complex, and there’s so much going on in their lives. Like you said, the love stories are a huge part of the show, but they’re not the only part. There’s so much going on. There are so many relationships and dynamics and conflicts happening all the time, and the relationships are constantly changing as well as things happen to these people, and they have to make decisions and sacrifices.
Ellen’s relationship with her brothers, I love all my scenes with Séamus [McLean Ross], who plays Colum, and Sam [Retford], who plays Dougal, and the sisters as well, it reminds me of Succession in a way, especially at the beginning of season 1. I think they’re all vying for the lairdship, and there is a certain level of competition between them all, and there’s jealousy as well, because Ellen was very much the favorite child. Now their father’s passed away, and she’s in this very vulnerable state where her brothers are now using her as a pawn in their own game of securing this leadership that they want so badly. It was a lot of fun to play.
C&J: So, lastly, describe your characters in three words.
JR: Brian is romantic, passionate, and brave.
HS: I was gonna say romantic as well. It’s a huge side of Ellen, but also strong-willed and fierce.
JR: That’s four.
HS: Sorry!
C&J: There’s a hyphen.
Outlander: Blood of My Blood premieres on Friday, Aug. 8 on STARZ.
Stay up to date with the latest Outlander news with Claire and Jamie.