The author behind the much-loved Outlander books, Diana Gabaldon, which is now a hit TV series, has recalled casting Sam Heughan and the struggles of finding their Claire, who is now played by Caitriona Balfe.
People across the world are familiar with Outlander with Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe at the forefront of the series.
Playing Jamie and Claire Fraser, the on-screen husband and wife duo rose to fame in 2014 when the series first aired thanks to the talented writing by novel series writer, Diana Gabaldon. But it wasn’t easy to find what we now know to be the champagne casting with Gabaldon re-calling they had a “very hard time finding our Claire”.
The time-travelling drama follows the plight of Claire, a nurse who is mysteriously swept back in time from 1946 to 1743. Seemingly stuck in the past, she meets the handsome warrior Jamie Fraser with the pair soon falling in love.
Key to the success of the TV series is Jamie and Claire’s epic love story is the glue that holds the series together, reports the Express.
Addressing the chemistry between both actors, Outlander executive producer Maril Davis said at The Women of Outlander ATX TV Panel recently: “Obviously everyone knows we cast Sam first and we had a very hard time finding our Claire.
“But I remember talking to [producer] Ron [D Moore] in our offices in Scotland and saying if this pairing – if we don’t hit this one out the park we might as well not make the show because it’s so important and when we saw Caitríona’s tapes we were like, ‘Ding, ding, ding, ding, we’ve seen so many.’
“But I think when we saw them together in Los Angeles, I remember it like it was yesterday, the chemistry was there and they’ve always – and they can speak to this more than I can – but that friendship and that chemistry has always been so evident and they just work so well together and you see it on the screen and you see it in real life and that relationship.”
She continued: “We’ve always hoped that they would stay that way and that they would continue that friendship and it has and it’s grown.
“I have so much respect for them that they have been able to have this friendship but, they’re the only two that have been in that position and they’ve remained really strong and I think that that has helped guide our show in terms of – there hasn’t been a falling out between the two of them, they’ve maintained they know how important that is.”
Caitriona, who also attended the event, commented on how she and Sam made a pact while working on season one of the show to always have each other’s backs.
Balfe said: “Weirdly, like we’ve never had a falling out. We’ve definitely irked each other. I think it was a very conscious decision in the beginning.”
The actors also are said to have “similar personalities” and a strong work ethic and liked to be “prepared” but also “not take ourselves too seriously”.
The star concluded: “But as our lives have gotten more complicated and busy, we may not see each other as much as we used to but that core and that friendship and that base that we have has never changed.”
Source: glasgowlive.co.uk