It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Sam Heughan playing Jamie Fraser in Outlander . Following a breakout Season 1, Heughan did an excellent job capturing the hearts and minds of fans everywhere. That being said, there are a few things about the Scottish actor that many people don’t know.
Heughan, who recently turned 35, was actually born in Scotland and is the biggest nerd when it comes to Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica . In fact, according to E! Online , the actor was eager to be cast for Outlander because of Ronald D. Moore’s previous work on the aforementioned shows. Speaking of obsessions, Heughan is also a huge Back to the Future fan: “I think that is one of the best trilogies ever made,” he revealed to E! .
Meanwhile, after landing his role in Outlander , Heughan had to adapt his appearance a little in order to look as close as possible to the Jamie in the books. Along with having to die his hair red, Heughan had to adapt his costume, which includes his kilt, to his own liking.
Speaking of his kilt, Heughan recently told Entertainment Weekly that he finds it a liberating piece of clothing to wear.
“You do have to learn how to wear a kilt, and it’s certainly very liberating and very freeing, but surprisingly very comfortable to wear, to ride a horse in a kilt… I was surprised by that. Without giving away too much, Jamie does wear trousers at some point in the show, or at a couple points. In fact, I think there’ve been pictures released, so you’ll have seen that. But I much prefer wearing the kilt. It’s just become part of the character. Each character in the show, they have their own particular way of wearing the kilt.”
So what does he wear under his kilt? Well, Heughan went on to say that he chooses to wear it like a traditional Scotsman.
“It’d be rude not to, wouldn’t it?”
Although known for his success in Outlander , many don’t know that Heughan stumbled into acting by accident. According to Movie Pilot , the actor was traveling on a short budget when he discovered his love for acting. When he returned home, he decided to enroll in an acting school, and things took off from there.
Before landing his role in Outlander , Heughan tried out for Game of Thrones . Heughan revealed that little known fact to Vulture , and even stated that he tried out seven times for various roles in the show, including a part of the Night’s Watch.
Outlander Season 2 will premiere sometime in 2016.
[Photo Courtesy: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images Entertainment]