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'Outlander' stars Sam Heughan, Richard Rankin and Sophie Skelton stop by THR's suite at San Diego Comic-Con and talk about reaching the end of a decade-long journey and what it has been like to reunite. Plus, they reveal how they have changed the most thanks to and because of the show.
Transcript
00:00It's known in the industry for being a tough shoot, you know, we're in tough conditions,
00:04we do long hours and it's brutal in a lot of ways but I actually think that that's put us in really
00:09good stead and I'm so grateful for that because when I go to other sets now and you know people
00:12are complaining they've not got their coffee or whatever else I'm like dude we do wild wheeze
00:16in the middle of a forest with ticks because we can't get to the toilet and we're you know we've
00:20got a snowstorm and we enjoy it and we enjoy it so we are reaching the end of a crazy decade-long
00:33journey and I love that you guys got to reunite here at San Diego Comic-Con but in the time off
00:38what's it been like kind of looking back on the history and experience of the show I feel like
00:42this might be the first time we've all actually managed to sit and talk about it um I mean when
00:47we sort of had a few false finishes um and then we had reshoots and then I think we've all been
00:52just kind of busy so this is a really beautiful place to come back and kind of reminisce with the
00:57fans actually I feel like this is the first time we've really done that and let it settle.
01:02It does it feels full circle here as well you know this is kind of where we
01:05I guess started in some ways or you remember your first Comic-Con and um over the years coming
01:10back here so it feels familiar uh and to see the fans here still excited about the show you know some
01:1611 years later is fantastic but as Sophie said to reminisce and spend time with each other
01:21and it's been really nice we were spread to all corners of the earth uh as soon as once we wrapped
01:27the last season but it's nice to be reunited despite perhaps one other very important person not being
01:32here she's here in spirit she's here in spirit yeah I miss everyone we miss you too it's funny we um
01:40you know our whole cast and crew and I think you do take these things for granted but um I think we all got
01:44much closer in the last couple years of shooting the seventh and eighth season and um I didn't really
01:51really truly realize I think until after we'd finished how much I really do love everyone and
01:55miss all their cast we paid him to say that yeah yeah it was a good sound bite I felt the energy but
02:00you guys did walk in like family it was really cool yeah no it is I mean we were just saying before
02:04we spend I mean I for sure spend more time with you guys than I've spent with my own family
02:09yeah are you lucky and yeah facing top gun now we all have the same sense of humor can you tell
02:16we finish each other's sentences wow now do you have a couple serious questions because I've been
02:22curious about a few like psychological elements of these characters and Jamie's navigated trauma
02:27fatherhood revolution and that portrayal of resilience means a lot to me and looking at masculinity
02:31in modern society how has that affected your view of masculinity and like addressing that at a place
02:36like comic-con oh I mean I think your list is remarkably short oh I think we could be here
02:41all day he's he's had to uh to to struggle he has had to many many challenges um mostly um started
02:48off by his wife doing something I mean I'm going to put all the blame on her but um uh yes what was
02:54your question again let's talk about masculinity it's his wife's fault I was giving him flowers and
03:03they were just thrown away I mean he's a man of his time you know I was like a beautiful representation
03:09of healthy masculinity that's it toxic as you like no he's I mean look he is a man of his time
03:15and certainly when they first met you know he had all these ideas about how women should be in men's
03:20role and he's always challenged by that and I think that's what's so fantastic about Claire that she
03:25she's from the future and she challenges him and what's so great about him is that he is emotionally
03:30intelligent and rises to the occasion and the only time that it causes grief is when you know when
03:36they don't see eye to eye and then you have these amazing outlander moments where Jamie and Claire
03:39hash it out together um but what's so great about him is that he does uh have an open mind to things
03:46perhaps not so much for his son-in-law at first yeah he's a wonderful character so yeah a great
03:51role model I think it's cool to see evolution in a character like that and I love tv for giving you
03:55the long form to get to do that and then similarly you're playing an 18th century engineer who is
03:59battling gender norms of that time and I'm wondering how that affects your keen eye towards noticing
04:05gender inequality of our time and having that be such a focus yeah I mean it's funny because I grew up with
04:10a mom who I think went back to work about three days after she popped me out and so I've always
04:16been somewhat I would say modern for my own time and I feel like Brianna is the same you know she
04:22already had very modern ideas and ideals of women's place in the world even for the 40s and that was
04:27very much influenced by her mother and her mother being a surgeon in a time where women weren't necessarily
04:33in medical school and yeah I think Brianna one of her greatest achievements I would say is bringing
04:39engineering and that mentality back to the 18th century and it was just such an honor to have
04:44so many years of history be able to be displayed on screen and yeah see her grow in that and see
04:50the ripple effect of her mentality to the people around her was was really great what did you bring
04:54to it what did I bring to you no no him did he yeah back to the 18th century yeah um a lot of love
05:04that's true chocolate rappers yeah history history yeah yeah which often was demonstrated by Brianna
05:11not Roger weirdly seems like not much my question for you is about music I love the connection of
05:20music to your character and how it's like yeah it's so healing and it's so expressive and it's so
05:25cathartic and there's like a kind of a shield but also a dagger in it for you and I was wondering if
05:30in your life you feel that connection to music and it's kind of emotional and mental pathway yeah I
05:36mean uh yeah I mean I I uh I think that's one of the things I have in common with Roger maybe that
05:42was one of the reasons I got the part was because I could already play the guitar and sing I think
05:47that maybe helped somewhat along the way but yeah I don't know I think Roger's good for for some
05:52for some um weekend entertainment it's not on screen but every you know weekend every other weekend
05:58it was actually because Jamie was busy the first weekend of every month he would sit down and he
06:02would get the guitar out and he would serenade sing along the whole family it's great for Brianna if
06:06the kids are crying you're like give him to Roger get out the guitar yeah actually so you've got an
06:11amazing singing voice it's a shame we didn't get to hear Brianna um singing but looking back at your time
06:1811 years is a lot of life that's that's a lot of experience how do you think each of you has changed
06:22the most thanks to the show and also the most because of the show like what chicken and egg of
06:29your life was getting this part 11 years ago that you're most appreciative for now great question
06:36I mean for me this was my 20s so uh probably kept me out of trouble but I think it also I look I mean
06:43I'd I'd been working for a fairly long time before I got this job started acting quite young but I think
06:49with this job we have really been thrown in the deep end it's it's known in the industry for being
06:54a tough shoot um you know we're in tough conditions we do long hours and it's brutal in a lot of ways
07:00but I actually think that that's put us in really good stead and I'm so grateful for that because when
07:03I go to other sets now and you know people are complaining they've not got their coffee or whatever
07:07else I'm like dude we do wild wheeze in the middle of a forest with ticks because we can't get to
07:11the toilet and we're you know we've got a snowstorm and we enjoy it and we enjoy it and really just the
07:17camaraderie as well and one thing I will say that's wonderful about our show is a we all get
07:22on which is a blessing there's usually one bad egg but I think we've done okay unless I'm the bad egg
07:30and you know I will say the fact that we're all so close to our crew as well and actually just
07:36everybody treats everyone else with mutual respect and it's not this hierarchical thing that there often
07:40is on sets and I think that that is a really incredible lesson to take forward and I feel very
07:45grateful that I've been you know I've had that so ingrained in my career from a young age
07:50I mean 10 years of a job right that's that's some pretty good security for a start I mean
07:56what that for you over the years is you know for an actor is uh is incredible someone had said
08:02recently and I think this is true that every time we wrapped we had already known about the next we'd
08:08already been commissioned for the next season right yeah so I think there was there's a lot of security in
08:13that it means that in between you can go on you can do other projects that you don't necessarily
08:17have to but you can do them because you know it's something that you might enjoy or something you're
08:20going to love doing so it was you know a good long period of that which is not that common in our
08:27industry and I think something definitely to be grateful for I think it's just aged me um I had no
08:32grey hairs before I started and uh growing the beard since I started and I finally got here but uh yeah I mean but
08:41but but I mean that in a sort of serious way that it's just like I don't know it's brought a maturity
08:45I think you know being a lead one of the lead characters in in a in a show that you know heavily
08:52weighs upon you you know you you've got to turn up every day and and do the work and um it you know it
08:58was it was a marathon you know an ultra marathon in terms of stamina but um but the things that got you
09:04through it were the cast and the crew and the sort of united front that we put together to to sort of
09:10overcome this big challenge but yeah it's been an amazing gift I think for sure and I also love
09:16how multi-generational it is it's been really cool to see the fandom and this is the I did 14 interviews
09:20this weekend and my mom and sister were most excited about this one and it was really cool to find
09:24two generations of excitement there yeah anything else you want to say to the folks on this last thr
09:29outlander well uh we just want to say a huge thank you from uh everyone on outlander not only the
09:36the cast the crew the creatives that it's been such an amazing journey there's still one season to go
09:40so we're very excited about that and also I guess you know if you want to go back and binge it all but
09:46there's also the prequel show as well so plenty to look forward to we love you we thank you and you
09:51are part of the clan so thanks for being part of the family it's beautiful it'll never end so stuck with
09:57us for life like a bad egg
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