11 Cool Things About the Outlander Cast You Never Knew

The Outlander cast is full of talented actors and actresses who have become dear to fans of the show. Like any die-hard fan worth their weight in crème de menthe, I wanted to know more about the people behind the corsets and kilts. I went digging for some interesting trivia about the main members of the cast and struck gold.

See if you knew any of these interesting facts about the Outlander cast.

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#1 Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser)

A. Malcom MacKenzie, a.k.a. Jamie Fraser

Sam Heughan and William Shatner are good, if unlikely, friends. Their friendship began when Heughan discovered that Shatner was a fan of Outlander and had been Tweeting about him. The two of them had lunch and became fast friends.

Now they have a friendly rivalry. Heughan and Shatner went head to head in RadioTimes’ League of Fandoms, where fans voted for their favorite actors. Plus, they frequently torment each other on Twitter, like when Sam Heughan commentated William Shatner’s horse riding talents. However, they also post words of encouragement.

#2 Caitriona Balfe (Claire Fraser)

Claire Randall

Caitriona Balfe was a runway fashion model before she was an actress. She grew up in the village of Tydavnet, Ireland, near Monaghan. At 19, she was discovered by a model scout in Dublin. Then, she left Ireland and traveled the world as a model.

#3 Tobais Menzies (Frank Randall / Black Jack)

Frank Randall

Tobias Menzies is a very talented actor, so it’s no surprise that he has had starring roles in two different HBO series. He played Marcus Junius Brutus in Rome, and Edmure Tully on Game of Thrones.

#4 Sophie Skelton (Brianna Randall)

Roger Wakefield and Brianna Randall

Sophie Skelton stars in a web series, called Ren: The Girl with the Mark. Ren is an original fantasy series by Kate Madison. Madison and her team were able to produce the web series after fans chipped in more than £35,000 for a crowdfunding campaign.

#5 Duncan Lacroix (Murtagh Fraser)

Murtagh at Culloden

Duncan Lacroix is no stranger to historical dramas set in the chilly northern hemisphere. Not only does he play Murtagh on Outlander, he was also a Karstark soldier in Game of Thrones. Plus, he had small roles in Vikings and Reign.

#6 Grant O’Rourke (Rupert MacKenzie)

Rupert MacKenzie

Grant O’Rourke attended the same acting school —  Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama — as Sam Heughan and Laura Donnelly (Jenny Fraser), and even appeared in plays with them. He was one year behind Heughan when O’Rourke played the Prince and Heughan played Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.

#7 Lotte Verbeek (Geillis Duncan)

Geillis Duncan

Although Lotte Verbeek plays a very convincing Geillis Duncan, her vocal lilt doesn’t come from being born and raised in Scotland. She is from the Netherlands, where she attended Amsterdam Academy of Jazz/Musical Theatre and Dance.

#8 Laura Donnelly (Jenny Fraser)

Jenny Fraser

Laura Donnelly starred in The River on Broadway with Hugh Jackman. She played The Other Woman. She told Interview Magazine that she was taken aback by the applause Jackman got just for walking on stage, because that’s not a thing that British audiences do.

#9 Simon Callow (Duke of Sandringham)

Duke of Sandringham

Simon Callow has written multiple books. He wrote biographies of legendary actors Charles Laughton and Orson Welles, as well as the literary great Charles Dickens.

#10 Frances de la Tour (Mother Hildegarde)

Mother Hildegarde

Frances de la Tour once had a body double. Ms. de la Tour played Madame Maxime in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Although she is tall, she is not eight feet tall, like Madame Maxime is supposed to be. For long shots (when the camera is far away from the actors), an actor named Ian Whyte stood in for de la Tour — wig, dress and all. Whyte also played a giant in Game of Thrones.

#11 Richard Rankin (Roger Wakefield)

Roger Wakefield

Richard Rankin changed his name when he decided to become an actor. Richard’s birth name was actually Richard Harris. He changed it to Rankin, his mother’s maiden name, to avoid any confusion with the famous Irish actor.