The actor was turned down for a part in the Starz series
One of the stars of Outlander: Blood of My Blood missed out on a role in the original series for a very unusual reason, it has been revealed.
Jamie Roy went for the role of Militia Man Number Two in season seven of Outlander but failed to make the cut, little did he know the programme-makers had something completely different in mind for him.
Roy admitted at the time he’d felt “gutted” for missing out on the part, believing it would be his “big break”, with a credit in Outlander holding much weight in the entertainment industry.
Instead of playing an anonymous soldier in the time travel drama, Roy was cast as one of the leads in the prequel series Outlander: Blood of My Blood.
Roy ended up starring as a young Brian Fraser, the father of Sam Heughan’s Outlander Highland hero Jamie Fraser.
The role is certainly going to see his profile rapidly rising given the power of Outlander and Jamie Fraser’s legion of ardent admirers.
In a recent interview, producer Maril Davis, who has been with the historical fantasy drama since it debuted in 2014, said about Roy’s Outlander audition: “We were like, ‘God, that guy looks a lot like Sam Heughan. That’s so crazy. Oh, do we save him [for the prequel]?
“But why are we saving him for something that we don’t even know is going to go?’”
She added to Vanity Fair: “I would’ve felt bad if the prequel hadn’t come. But we did decide to save him.”
Scottish star Roy, who hails from Greenock, has previously starred in Burning Lies, Condor’s Nest and Meeting Me, Meeting You, however, Blood of My Blood will be his most prominent part to date.
Outlander has already documented Brian’s tragic end with Shetland star Andrew Whipp playing the older iteration of the character.
Now, Blood of My Blood will see Brian in his younger years and follow his tumultuous but passionate romance with rival clan member Ellen MacKenzie (Harriet Slater).
Although Blood of My Blood isn’t based on any books like Outlander, which is adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s novel series, some details about Ellen and Brian’s love story have been mentioned in the original series.
Audiences will see how Jamie’s parents fell in love and stayed together despite their families’ objections.
The show will also shed light on Claire Fraser’s (Caitríona Balfe) parents and their own romance in WWI, with audiences witnessing the long-distance love story between Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine) and Julia Moriston (Hermione Corfield).
Viewers will be getting two very different love stories in different eras that both promise to be captivating and dramatic in their own right.
Producer Davis admitted it was challenging portraying the two romances on screen and devote equal amounts of time to each, but said she felt like the programme-makers had succeeded in doing justice to both.