SOPHIE SKELTON: We were aware that there was gonna be some element of surprise.
I dont think that we were ignoring or hiding from that fact.
With the read-through, I was like, Oh, this is the last first-ever read-through.
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Toward the end, we were used to it on a surface level.
Theres just no algorithm for it.
To do 10 years on a show is pretty rare.
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For me, stuff came out that I wasnt expecting, on the last day.
Once one person goes, everyone goes.
It was expectedly unexpected.
It was a nice way to finish it off.
RICHARD RANKIN: A great sense of loss comes to you quite immediately.
When it actually happens, you think, Nah, its fine.
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Im cool as a cucumber.
Ill be all right.
However you feel about it, thats gonna be a part of you thats no longer there.
When you look at it,weve been together for 10 years.
Thats like being in a relationship, in a lot of ways.
SKELTON: A lot of people have been in and out of our lives.
Claire Beauchamp Randall, a nurse in World War II, mysteriously goes back in time to Scotland in 1743. There, she meets a dashing Highland warrior and gets drawn into an epic rebellion.
The characters have been through a lot.
To get rid of a constant family that youve had for that long is quite sad.
Its a grieving process.
But I do feel lucky, especially since Briannas in a really good place.
Shes been through so much and shes survived so much.
Thats a very peaceful place to leave a character.
RANKIN: Shes in a better place.
Did you read it by yourself first, to experience those emotions?
Was it a table read with the cast?
I wanted it to be like, Woah!
RANKIN: I read it for the first time at the read-through, as well.
I tend to do that anyway.
I actually prefer leaving it to read with everyone.
That is actually true.
Youve talked about how rare it is, as actors, to tell a story for this many seasons.
With flashbacks, Ive played Brianna from age 16 to 30-odd, and we span different time periods.
Weve gone through the 40s, the 60s, and the 80s.
I feel that we have been very lucky in ourOutlanderexperience.
It’s felt like a really cool ride.
On top of that, these two are separated and trying to figure out how to find him.
I cant imagine what that would be like in real life.
RANKIN: Their parental skills just take over for each of them.
They just go into drive to find their son, with everything that comes with that.
SKELTON: Yeah, its fight or flight, and they whip into action pretty quickly.
Theres so much unspoken planning in that scene where we decide what to do.
Theyre just like, Okay, this is what were doing.
We agree with each other.
It doesnt have to be a long convo.
Lets just go get our son.
They trust that theyll achieve their mission.
Theyre always together even when theyre apart.
Its a really great way to show their worth as a couple.
What was it like to have that experience?
RANKIN: Youre seeing Roger in a different light, first and foremost.
You get to see a very different side of the character, which you havent necessarily seen before.
You usually see him in the context of his family, with Bree and with the Frasers.
Youve gotten to know a part of him, but people behave differently with other people in other circumstances.
Theres so much going on that people will enjoy.
RANKIN: Its just ridiculous.
Roger thinks the circumstances he finds himself in are utterly ridiculous.
Hes like, What are the chances of me being here now?
Why the hell am I here?
What the fuck is going on?
Its immediately inherently comical because people know these characters that hes interacting with.
They know their situation and where theyve come from.
They can plug into that because they have an idea.
The audience is already with you because they know the characters already.
Its like imagining, if you met this character, what would they be like?
Youre getting a taste of that.
We can hear her.
Theyre quite hard cars to drive.
I did think about Ellens pearls because theyre such a throughline of the story.
Theyre like her little protectors.
That would be cool.
The prequel series will follow the love stories of Jamie’s and Claire’s parents.
There, she meets a dashing Highland warrior and gets drawn into an epic rebellion.
Check out the trailer for Season 7 Part 2:
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