Before he turned Jamie Fraser on Outlander, Sam Heughan had a number of jobs, together with taking part in Batman in a stage present. And sure, there’s video of that.
Heughan by no means performed the Caped Crusader onscreen, however he nonetheless has a passion for the character. “I’m excited about the new Batman movie. I think that looks fantastic,” Heughan mentioned on the Just for Variety podcast. “I think the other superhero movies kind of lost their way a bit. They’ve become, I think, a little too obese in a way, but anything character-based — I mean, Batman’s a great one because he’s not a superhero. He’s just an interesting character. Something with a good backstory.”
Heughan feels like he’s thought of superhero films a good bit, as properly he may need; along with taking part in Batman on stage, he tried to play Superman on the large display screen when he auditioned for the 2006 movie Superman Returns. The function ended up going to Brandon Routh, however the audition course of made an affect on the younger actor:
I grew up a pescatarian or type of vegetarian-pescatarian. I didn’t begin consuming meat till I got here to America after I was 24. It was all these scrumptious burgers and meals…At the time I used to be auditioning for ‘Superman.’ I had a coach and he was like, ‘You need to get bigger. You need to be able to fill out the cape.’ He was like, ‘Eat more protein.’ I keep in mind the primary time I had rooster or one thing and simply all of a sudden, I used to be like, ‘Oh my God, I have all this energy. And I don’t really feel hungry on a regular basis.’
America: Come for the film roles, keep for the burgers.
Sam Heughan remembers the early days of Outlander
Moving on to Outlander, Heughan remembered his early days on the present, again when he had no concept how massive the time-traveling epic would get. “I actually remember the first day in the car with my driver,” he recalled. “We were talking, and he was like, ‘How long do you think it will last?’ I was like, ‘It wouldn’t last more than a year, maybe two seasons,’ but here we are.”
Six seasons later, the present is a bona fide mega-hit for Starz, constructed on the again of stable performances and daring storytelling. For occasion, Heughan says that his hardest time on the present was when Jamie was raped and assaulted. “It was pretty graphic,” he mentioned. “As an actor we love a challenge. I do. I want to go to some dark places, but it was pretty tough to shoot. It was pretty intense.”
I feel I’m fairly good at switching off. But truly at the moment, it was only a very unusual place as a result of I had so many prosthetics and a lot make-up. I used to be having tremendous early calls, 4 a.m. calls, and wouldn’t be completed till 7 or 8 within the night. I used to be staying in a really small resort subsequent to the studio. It nearly turned this bizarre little jail. I simply actually was simply in it the entire time. And I do keep in mind it simply being very, very intense, however it was additionally towards the top of the season. After that, I feel I did take a while out and go stand up into the Highlands of Scotland.
That wouldn’t be the final time that Outlander would discover sexual assault. Jamie’s spouse Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe) skilled it on the finish of season 5, however by then, attitudes round find out how to method such materials had modified.
“Eight years ago when we were shooting Jamie’s trauma or Jamie’s assault, it was a very different world,” Heughan mentioned. “We showed more of it. But now, this time, we really wanted to do something more abstract, but still get into the mindset of the victim.”
Outlander is at present within the midst of its sixth season, with a seventh confirmed to be on the way in which. New episodes air on Starz on Sunday.
To keep updated on every little thing fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, observe our all-encompassing Facebook web page and join our unique e-newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels