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]
Once again, nicely put. I wish people will just move past their preconceptions of what they think what must be, and accept what is. The cast is beautifully put together and most importantly, I’m sure, done for their acting ability, which is the main ingredient to making the show a success at the end of the day. This is such an exciting time for the Outlander universe, we get a series and new book. Please know there are plenty folks out there who appreciate the hard work going into both. So Thank You.
And if that doesn’t put all the non-believers in their place!!! LOL, brilliant Diana.
(Standing up applauding you ) Well said, those people are a minority and their opinions don’t carry any weight, I just scroll right past them.
I fell in love with Sam, I think he has the sexiest voice, and with his scots, I just know he will
be terrific as jamie. I see what you have seen and I haven’t even seen it yet!
Well put Ms Gabaldon! I to believe people should have a right to their own opinion, however I’m getting particularly sick and tired of hearing the same bloody complaints since Sam was cast. Seriously anyone who has ever dyed their hair knows that you can achieve any hue you wish if you’ve got a great hair stylist. If they’re not missing and moaning about hair color then they’re missing and moaning about his body type. I was unaware there were so many body experts out there, who knew!!!
How can people judge others before they’ve even seen what that person or persons can do??
I for one will wait until I’ve watched the entire 16 episodes before I decide wether or not the book has been pulled off in the form of a tv series.
Thanks Diana for giving us such a gift.
I encourage everyone to watch Sam’s other works you’ll be surprised. Now if we could get the audition tape…
Love it. Well said. Love your work. .. and your choices!
Love your post Diana ! Awesome ! Thankyou so much for taking of your precious time to write that casting commentary with humor and kindness ! The Starz casting dpt have been doing such a great job !
Dear Diana, thank you for this behind-the-scenes glimpse into the ‘Outlander’ production. I’m very interested in the process itself so these insights are very exciting. Maybe you could do a little write up about Caitriona’s / Sam + Caitirona’s auditions in the future? Nothing too spoilery, just your thoughts and impressions at the time. For example, we know which scenes were picked for Jamie’s and Jamie / Claire’s auditions, but not for Claire’s. That would be interesting to know. Oh, and I think Sam looks perfect as Jamie, cannot wait to actually see him in action next year.
I’ve already got Sam and Caitriona in my mind as Jamie and Claire as I reread the series in preparation for the next book… I love checking out the web sites to see new photos of them. Whatever I used to imagine has been replaced – and I can wait for 2014! Love your work, Diana, and your wit (dangly bits!!)
Beautifully said!!!!
DG he is an excellent choice. As my mother used to say “What Mom says goes…..period” We trust you with the choices made.
Tapadh leat
Diana,
I have every confidence that Sam can inhabit Jamie, but, being on the other side of the gender divide, I’m very interested in your reaction to Catriona. Has she hit the mark in the same way that Sam did? Is she the no-nonsense combat nurse bemused by being thrust into a cauldron of eighteenth century Jacobite testosterone?
I am sorry you have to keep commenting on this…but I never tire of hearing about Jamie and looking at Sam! As I reread in preparation for Book 8, Sam is who I see as Jamie. It has been an amazingly wonderful experience to reread with the casting additions coming through and seeing how my mind adapts.
You go!!!!!!! And I’m quite sure you’ve heard that one enough also…………but seriously…………it’s a book/story…………you wrote it…………go with your gut. Personally, I can’t wait to see the end result………….and I can’t wait for the new book to come out……yes, I can…..you do a wonderful job of writing out something so rich and wonderful………..and I end up crying when I’m finished…………….Don’t Ever Stop!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hats off to you, Mz G: your excellent writing skills, your wicked sense of humour, your uncommon good sense… you GO girl!
. I will be splurging on a STARZ channel with alacrity as soon as the show is going to air.
I started Outlander the month it came out in paperback, when a lady at the book store shoved it into my hands: I said I did not like ‘romances’ as they were too darn predictable and trash. She told me the store put it in the ‘romance’ section as it didn’t really fit anywhere, and if I didn’t love it, she’d personally buy it back from me.
I now happily own hardcopies of the entire, lovely series, and have ‘converted’ several thoroughly contented readers myself.
Your bet of a dollar is safe.
Dear Diana,
I can’t wait to see this production of Outlander!!! I just don’t want to wait that long – been waiting for twenty years!!! I’m sure it will be worth the wait. Can’t wait to see the arguments between Sam (Jamie) and Catriona (Claire). I hope they can do them justice.
Diana,
It was a breath of fresh air to read your post this morning. I have been wondering how long you could take all the negative comments without responding to them. I get really angry when I read some posts that say you should have written the story this way or that way. It is, after all, your story and a magnificent one at that. I cannot imagine not having your books to read. I am like a number of your fans that say they cannot get into another author’s work after reading yours. I am on my 8th re-read of the series. In fact, I am listening on audio and reading along in the book at the same time this go round. I am amazed at the detail that I missed on other re-reads. If someone does not like something in the books, they don’t have to read it. The same with the TV series, they don’t have to watch it.
You are very generous and patient with your fans. I have never known of another author that interacts with everyone the way you do. I appreciate reading all the news, excerpts, and opinions that you have. Like you say, everyone has an opinion but some of them should be kept to themselves and not try to foist them on everyone else !!
Keep up the good work, Diana, I, for one, will be waiting (patiently or impatiently) for the next book,
next TV series, next post, etc.
You go, Diana! Well said…
I don’t know why anybody is bent out of the frame over this guy – I think he was a great choice. In fact, everyone I’ve seen cast so far seems “right” after that initial moment of adjustment that it takes to reconcile the character you’ve imagined with the person in the photo. A big “well done” to the folks in the casting department. All the grousers need to relax and have a little faith.
As much as Jamie (or any other character) “belongs” to each and every reader, we have to remember that absolutely first, foremost and forever, these characters *actually* belong to Diana, and if she approves of the casting choices, then that, my friends, is the end of the argument.
I love you Diana. That was just brilliant. You can’t hear me, but I am clapping. Sam definitely looks as though he could pull off Jamie, and I for one can’t wait to see him on my screen!