Exclusive interview with Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin

November 8, 2017 | This fall "Outlander" is back on Starz for season 3 which continues the journey of Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan). 20 years after going through the stones Claire tries to find traces of her true love in historical documents with the help of Brianna Randall (Sophie Skelton) and Roger Wakefield (Richard Rankin). In our interview Sophie Skelton and Richard Rankin talk about their roles, the relationship of their characters and their experiences. In Germany RTL Passion currently shows the episodes in English with German subtitles. In November season 3 airs on VOX.

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Roger and Brianna met in the Season 2 finale. How would you describe the relationship of the two of them? And in what way do you think they are different from Claire and Jamie?

Sophie: I think the relationship between Roger and Bree is a very 'back and forth', beautifully infuriating relationship for fans because every time we see them come together they butt heads and then sort of repel, and I think that is a really nice dynamic for fans to be able to invest in. In terms of them being different to Claire and Jamie, they are as strong as Claire and Jamie in that they do really trust each other and they've been brought together by a very unique situation and that creates a really strong bond that can't really be broken. I think the difference with Brianna and Roger is that they take advantage of that and they know that they're always going to be there for each other, so they don't necessarily treat each other in the best way. I think also, Roger and Brianna aren't as sexy/romantic, more of that kind of…

Richard: Speak for yourself… Roger is very sexy (laughing). Roger's oozing sex appeal (both laugh).

Sophie: … it's more of that kind of endearingly geeky bumbling relationship which is very real and very fresh. And I think it brings a really nice different dynamic to the show.

What can the fans look forward to in Season 3 and is there maybe something in one of the episodes you are especially excited for the fans to see?

Richard: You get to know more of Roger and Brianna. Season 3 really just grabs your attention from Episode 1 onwards - there's a lot of good stuff and it really moves the story forward quite quickly. The Roger and Brianna stuff is really exciting. You get to see them both come together a bit more. They're dealing with lot of things that are going on with their own lives individually - they're going through quite a lot. Obviously Brianna is dealing with her time-travelling mother and her 18th century father and trying to find Jamie Fraser. I suppose just the growing chemistry of Roger and Brianna…

Sophie: …and I think you only really had a taste of them in the Season 2 finale, which was really exciting for fans to see more of their personality come out.

Being descendants from time travellers, what kind of an impact does this have on Roger and Brianna? What is going to change for them in Season 3?

Sophie: I mean, for both Roger and Brianna, being descendants from time travellers is very fresh information for them and I think the impact of that is still finding it's feet…

Richard: Yeah, I don't think that they quite understand the significance of that yet. I don't think that's quite come into play… and I don't know that they think that's necessarily particularly relevant to them, directly...

Sophie: I believe they're more in the minute processing the fact that time travel even exists. They're both very academic people and I think to them opening their minds to the realms of time travel is quite difficult for them and quite unbelievable really, so it's more than dealing with that side of things, than opposed to that being their heritage. I think to Brianna, it's less that Jamie is a time traveller that makes it difficult for her, it's more just the fact that she has this father that she never knew. And Season 3 is all about Bree deciphering which bits of her personality are Jamie and which bits are Frank, which bits are her own and which bits she got from Claire, and I think she's having a bit of an identity crisis really. And really beautiful mother daughter scenes and scenes between Roger and Brianna where we're really finding that dynamic and they're really finding themselves.

If Claire gets to go back in time in season 3, Brianna will lose her mother and Roger will lose the only person who can let him in on his family's history. How hard will it be for both of them to let Claire go?

Sophie: For Brianna very difficult. She's lost her father and now she's going to lose her mother too. She has never known life without Claire and, with the time travel element, she doesn't know if she will see her mother again. It's a very selfless act and a mature act for Brianna to let Claire go. She really does just put on a brave face for Claire's sake but actually inside she really is crumbling at the thought she may never see her mother again… especially when their relationship has only just been patched up after 20 years and now she and her mother really have a relationship. Before it was very strange and for Bree that's actually going to be something that we'll see her dealing with moving forward, living life essentially as an orphan but also, for Bree, it's a very harrowing prospect.

Do you think, that if Roger and Brianna would be tempted to go back in time with her to meet their ancestors, they would?

Sophie: Oh absolutely, yes! I think Brianna and Roger are curious about history and about this whole adventure that surrounds this mythical figure that is Jamie and they absolutely would go back.

As actors playing the second biggest romantic couple in the series…

Richard: How did you rank that? The second biggest? (laughing) What is the sort of process for the hierarchial… .

Well, just that Jamie and Claire were sort of considered number 1…

Richard: Okay, for now, for now but they're getting old (laughs)…

Sophie: …they’re 20 years older now! Just saying! (laughs)

You're going to take over I hope… What do you think the expectations are from Gabaldon's book readers, that real core fan base? And how do you go about dealing with that or do you just ignore it?

Sophie: In terms of the relationship?

Yes, in terms of you being such a big part of the book. How do you deal with the fans' expectations of that relationship?

Sophie: In all honesty, Richard and I read the book when we were in the audition process for the characters so we became such fans of the book too. Yes, there is a pressure to keep true to what the book readers want and what they expect from the show, but we two are very protective over Roger and Brianna and their relationship and keeping true to the story that Diana wrote. At the same time the scripts are different and it has to be fresh for people who haven't read the books or even to people who have. It's nice to have different elements in the series that they didn't have in the books. So there is a pressure in keeping true to the characters we've all read and have fallen in love with, but at the same time we do want to keep true to what's on the script page and really to allow readers and non-readers alike to have a whole new version of Roger and Brianna in the series.

What is your favourite thing about playing a character in a TV series which is set in the 18th century?

Richard: I think it's just the amount of material that we have to work with. I can't speak too much for the 18th century at the moment because we haven't experienced that, but in terms of the story as a whole, it's just such richness and so well written, so well drawn-up by Diana that we have a lot to play and a lot coming up. I think that the story is so dynamic and constantly shifting from place to place and through time. It's quite exciting for us because we have quite a lot to do – we always have a lot to do, there is always so much material and the thing with these characters is there's always so much going on with them and their lives individually, before you can consider what they're like as a couple or in their relationship with the dynamics of that. So, I suppose it's just the kind of richness of it and, just as an actor, that's great to play because we couldn't really ask for more than what's given to us. And the show is just so rewarding to do.

Sophie: Yes, very much what Richard said. The book is so beautifully written by Diana and the reason that they were sort of bestsellers and there is so much story to work with and you do have this wonderful sci-fi element but also the fact that it's rooted in history. It's a story made through so many interesting scenes and it's never two-dimensional, dull or monotonous. There is always so much depth and richness to every single scene that we do that, as actors, it's actually really refreshing because there's just so much to delve into and to work with… it makes for really interesting character analysis and interesting scenes as actors to play out because it's never just a simple scene. There is always so much material that you can read into and play with in different ways. So it's really great to be a part of that.

We've heard Sam talking about shooting his Season 1 scene in the ice cold water or Graham McTavish and the cow he was scared of, what are your most memorable experiences on set so far?

Richard: My most memorable experience was shooting up at the stones. It was actually the finale of Season 2 and we originally had tried to shoot that in some pretty horrific weather, so that was called off and we had to come back and pick that up at a later date. It was just the feeling on set that night up at the stones. It was so eerie – we shot it very early in the morning – and it was just such an eerie, tranquil feeling on set. There was no wind, there was no rain, there was almost no weather. It felt like we were shooting indoors and the fact that it was all around the stones added to the atmosphere. That really stands out in my memory as, I suppose, a memorable moment.

If you both could time travel would you travel back, forward or not at all?

Richard: I would travel forward a thousand years and see where humanity has got to, how society is and how technology has evolved.

Sophie: I would probably have to go with him to keep him in check, wouldn't I?

Richard: You'd go with me?

Sophie: Yes, I'd go to the future.

Thank you so much for the chat, it's been really nice to talk to you both!

Richard & Sophie: Thank you!

Ceren Karayel and Stephanie Carpenter - myFanbase

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