Sam Heughan and Friend at Outlanderworld
Goodness, can’t leave you lot to your own devices for long, can I? [g] Given the amount of traffic I see in the stats for this blog and my Facebook page, I conclude that the Casting Wars are still boiling along.
Well. Look.
1) People are entitled to their own opinions. Naturally, I’d prefer these opinions to be expressed—and received—civilly, but up to you, of course. I believe in the virtues of free discourse.
2) I—of course—am likewise entitled to an opinion. [cough]
Now, my opinion is based on rather more information than most others expressed here, because
a) I created Jamie Fraser and thus—presumably–have a pretty good idea of what he really looks and acts like.
b) While I haven’t yet met Sam Heughan, I’ve seen Rather a Lot of him (about 95%, at a rough guess), both in terms of
a. Photographs, and
b. Film, and
c. Bits and pieces, like audition tapes
Naturally, everyone forms mental images while reading. Everybody. I do it when I read other people’s books, too. Now, I can’t imagine why anyone—having read OUTLANDER—would form an image of Jamie as a 7-foot tall Bozo the clown on steroids, but you know….whatever floats your boat.
Why anyone should expect a film company to a) telepathically extract your personal vision of a character and b) try to replicate that onscreen is one of the Great Mysteries of the Universe, and I’m not about to try to solve it here—I got a book to write, among other things, and there are only so many hours in the day.
So I’m just going to say This about That:
Y’all have not seen Sam Heughan “be” Jamie Fraser.
I _have_.
Now, when they told me who they’d chosen and that they were sending me the audition tapes, I was in the car, driving from Phoenix to Santa Fe with my husband. Unable to get to my computer until we got to Santa Fe, I was madly googling “Sam Heughan” on my iPhone (my husband was driving, I hasten to add).
Frankly, I thought he looked bizarre. He’s 6’3”, that’s fine…very chiseled face, but oddly chiseled, and what’s with the large forehead and cleft chin?!? Jamie doesn’t have a cleft chin and his nose is not all that long, though it _is_ straight…and good grief, I know we wanted somebody who could play a 22-year-old virgin, but this guy hardly looks like he has hair on his behind, let alone the dangly bits…but…
But.
But you know, I _do_ understand what it is that actors do.
(Do you know that, btw? What they do is magic. They can become somebody they aren’t—and their physical outline is just Really Not That Important. (Within limits. Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher is a long way outside those limits…).)
So I sat down at my computer, sort of looking warily through my fingers. Willing to suspend disbelief if I could, but kind of dubious, you know?
So here he is, dark-haired, in a long-sleeved gray T-shirt, and I’m thinking, “Boy, he doesn’t look _anything_ like his IMDB photos, he actually looks pretty human, that’s a relief…”
And five seconds later, Sam Heughan was GONE, and it was Jamie Fraser right there in front of me. True. No costume, no makeup, no props, nothing but cues from an offstage casting director, and…it was him.
He did two scenes. First, a confrontation with Dougal, right after Dougal’s ripped his shirt off in the tavern.
“Devil take ye, Dougal MacKenzie! I dinna owe ye that!” Blazing blue eyes, swelling shoulders, and…bam. Showed this small bit to a (male) friend recently, who blinked at the screen and said, “Man, he’s powerful!” He was.
Second scene was even better; it’s the scene where Jamie explains to Claire exactly why he’s about to punish her. [g] And he had it all: patience, seriousness, annoyance, patience, humor, menace, humor, and…enough sex to drop anyone with functioning ovaries in their tracks.
Now. In the months since then, the production people have been kind enough to show me the occasional glimpse of this or that. I _have_ seen the red hair in its full glory (it took seven tries—and 27 hours in a salon chair, I was told by the victim), and speaking as someone married to a red-head (himself Jamie’s original body model) and with two more in residence…it’s definitely the right kind of red.
Red hair—as I notice a few red-heads have been mentioning—looks Way Different, depending on the light. Unless it’s truly carroty (and Jamie’s is Definitely Not), sometimes it looks almost brown, sometimes it’s red-gold and sometimes it’s all different colors and sometimes it has almost-blond highlights and sometimes…well, let’s put it this way: it doesn’t look like Bozo the clown or Shamus the Wrestler, it looks like Real Hair, just red. (And if you really worry about this, do go and google “red deer images” and _see_ what the heck a red deer’s pelt looks like.)
But beyond the physical details (which are, um…Really Good, and decency prevents me going further, save to say that while Jamie certainly doesn’t look like Thor (gag me with a spoon), he—and Mr. Heughan—look Very Nicely Muscled indeed)….Sam Heughan can _act_. And he totally nailed it.
So. Feel perfectly free to express your own opinions. (I don’t know quite what people expect as a result. Surely they don’t figure that Starz will say, “Oh, no! Robyn MacGillicuddy Stimson thinks Chris Hemsworth should be Jamie! Get Hemsworth’s agent on the phone!” Or at least I hope they don’t think that…) You’ll change your mind in due course.
Or I’ll pay you a dollar. [g]
PS,
I forgot to add that my OVERRIDING thought was “can he act?” That’s what’s going to make or break this. I took Diana’s word for it (I’d say I was 80% sold just on his second photo and Diana’s strong recommendation) but I had to scour the internet for the names of his films because I wanted to see for myself if he could “be” Jamie. It never occured to me to worry about the color or length of his hair – he had to be capaable of BEING Jamie. If you’ve read the book, you know those are big boots to fill – and I’m not talking about physical size.
It’s so weird that some folks don’t think about that.
And yes, our guy can act. Oh man, can he.
Once again, as I said when we shook hands in Fergus, I say “Thank you, Diana”!!!! Sam is now who I see in my minds eye as I reread Outlander for the 4th time. I can’t wait for MOBY to come out and I also can’t wait for the series to begin whenever it does next year. You are a wonderful writer, whether you are writing books or trying to make your fans understand things as you see them. Keep on keeping on!!!
Diana, Thank you for your insight. You just confirmed what I have been saying since day one; You made Jamie, you know what was in your head when you wrote about him. We love your books so we must trust your judgement on who plays Jamie and Claire and all the other main characters. It doesn’t matter one bit what we all think or say anyway. We are truly your fans.
Why is my comment awaiting moderation?
Dear Maureen–
It’s just something the WordPress software does. Sorry!
–Diana
_That_ was laugh out loud funny. That you actually typed “gag me with a spoon” is beyond priceless. I may quote you on that.
MC
who no longer has functioning ovaries. which might explain why she cares more about what is on the actor than what is in the period clothing…
Amen sister!!!!! Yet again your eloquence with words hits the nail on the red-head [g]! The only comment I have is that even those of us without functioning ovaries were stopped dead in our tracks[g]. As the Outlander series of books been a constant companion through good an bad times in my life and have really helped me overcome some terrible situations I am eagerly awaiting their ‘breath into life’. I’m excited to see the essence of the story and the fabulous scenery – it is great to have something positive to look forward to finally.
Well put…take that naysayers…they are your books, you know Jamie better than anyone…can’t wait to see the end result of all the hard work Stars is putting into outlander, to bring it to life.
Oh, Diana, I am in love, Is Sam single? I( desperately need a Scotsman, ever since I realized Sean Connery wasn’t available), I ‘ve had my eye on Jamie Fraser. Tell Sam I said hi
Amen, Diana!
OMG! My husband is trying to watch Jeopardy and I’m over here laughing out loud! I’m sorry you’ve had to address this issue–again. For Pete’s sake, you created the characters we all love. And if you think Sam is the perfect Jamie, well, I’m good with that. Bless you for being so patient with the naysayers.
While in my own mind I had an “image” of Jamie.
Sam nailed it.
Can’t wait until spring of 2014.
Thanks so much for giving us this patient, serious, annoyed, humorous, patient (leaving out menacing ), humorous resource to use in our battle with the Sam-bashing trolls.
Frankly, I think we’re damned lucky that an actor (magician?) of Sam’s caliber is willing to take on the emotionally, physically and everything-else-ly grueling role of Jamie – not to mention PT torture sessions, salon chair torture sessions and growing his hair out to that always-in-your-face length without being able to keep it back with headbands or clips (the horror!). With the addition of the casting war, it’s a real credit to the man that he’s still willing to interact with fans, let alone so humorously and positively.
Thanks again for this great piece.
You are the creator of all these wonderful characters including Jamie’s . the fact we get to enjoy him vicariously through your wonderful books is our great luck and privilege. Bringing your words to the small screen is something long awaited and I can’t wait to see how Ron Moore does this as I’ve enjoyed his previous efforts. I think the casting seems perfect so far but all we can do is await the actual product and in the end am sure all will be right with the world. Thank you Diana !
As I sit here reading excerpts of this to my husband (he’s read the books and so understands my addiction) I am laughing and loving your delivery of a good set down. I for one, and I know there are hoards more like me, trust your judgment. Can’t wait to see this fantastic production!
So, how do you feel about Claire having blue eyes? Is that important or no? From the shots of Claire & Frank that we’ve seen, TV Claire will have blue eyes, unless that’s something they will fix after the fact. Why not contacts … unless it isn’t important?
Diana – I don’t think you should have to justify yourself! There will always be rude, entitled, and/or clueless people – best we can do is roll our eyes and move on!
@Pat Kuralt – I was thinking the same thing actually. Normally, I wouldn’t mind – but Claire’s specific honey-brown eyes are always mentioned haha
Thank you for saying that. Sam is now who I see in my head as I read your books. I believe you, that Sam is Jamie.
As always perfectly stated and as always so much fun to read your thoughts! Love your books and I am sure I will love the production!
I’m glad you took time out to comment on the selection of Sam as Jamie. Personally, I can’t wait to see him in full character. I read Outlander right after it first came out (the first time!). Jamie was never a hulk.. A hunk, certainly. But never ever a WWF creature.
Wish this little blog wasn’t necessary but you have very
Passionate fans! Thank you for taking the time to
Share your thoughts. I love them!
As usual you nailed it!
Thank you!
Haters are gonna hate.
I trust Sam is perfect and personally cannot wait to see him in action.
I could never picture the characters’ faces, although everything else was pretty clear. Sam and Caitriona are perfect. This series has some seriously good karma, if you ask me; from the actors to the writers to the producers, it’s shaping up to be something special.