Outlander star Sam Heughan has opened up about his childhood, describing it as nothing short of “idyllic.”
The Scottish actor grew up in Dumfries and Galloway, surrounded by the ruins of Kenmure Castle. Raised in converted stables within the castle grounds, Heughan remembers his upbringing as unique and deeply formative.
Speaking fondly about his hometown, he called it “an undiscovered world” and a “remarkable place.”
Returning to His Roots
Before unveiling his latest venture — a new vodka made with the “finest ingredients” from Galloway, including wheat, apples, and brambles — Heughan reflected on the role his upbringing has played in his life.
He has already launched his own gin, crafted with botanicals from the same region, and continues to celebrate Scotland through his business projects.
At the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Heughan admitted he often felt “homesick” while living in London during his early career.
But everything changed in 2013 when he was cast as Jamie Fraser in Outlander. “It really made me fall in love with Scotland all over again,” he said.
Life Before Outlander
In his new publication, The Cocktail Diaries, Heughan reflected on his early twenties in London.
“Back in my early twenties, I was newly-located to London and feeling overwhelmed by the big city and lack of work,” he wrote.
“I was a ‘jobbing actor,’ auditioning in the day and working a basic bar job by night – or whatever else I could find to support myself, whether delivering sandwiches by bicycle, selling women’s perfume or working as a receptionist in a psychiatric hospital.”
Saying Goodbye to Jamie Fraser
Heughan and his co-star Caitríona Balfe wrapped filming their final scenes for Outlander last autumn. The eighth and final season of the internationally acclaimed series is set to air next spring.
Since his breakout role, Heughan has embraced a wide range of projects — from writing bestsellers and fronting a hit travel show with Graham McTavish, to launching a whisky distillery.
A Childhood to Remember
Born in Balmacellan in 1980, Heughan spent his early years at Kenmure Castle before moving to Edinburgh, where he joined the Royal Lyceum’s youth theatre and later trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.
During his book festival appearance, actress Nicola Roy asked whether he still longed for the “chilled, relaxed, idyllic life.”
Heughan replied:
“I think growing up in Galloway has given me a lot. It’s rural Scotland, it’s kind of out of the way, but it really was an idyllic childhood. I did grow up in the grounds of a castle.
“I know we don’t all get to grow up in that environment, but I’m just very thankful for it. That’s why I do go back to Galloway and why I’m celebrating Scotland in everything that I do as well.
“I think Scotland’s got so much to offer. It’s why so many tourists come here as well to visit because it’s this amazing country.”