This post contains major spoilers for non book readers, you’ve been warned!
I originally published this piece back in April, and one of my readers asked if I would update and publish it again just before the Season 3 premiere. Guess what guys, IT’S JUST BEFORE THE SEASON 3 PREMIERE!!! Did you ever think it would get here?? Phew. If you’ve read this before under the title of: Older J&C, Baby Bree, Young Adult Fergus, Old Leg Hair… Lots To See in Season 3, read on, because there are updates.
This emerged as I was poking around for new casting announcements back in April, wondering who would play the central characters we’re excited about and hope to see in Season 3: Duncan Innes, Hal, Father Fogdon, Lawrence Stern, Mina Alcott, Mamacita, Aloysius O’Shaughnessy Murphy, Margaret and Archie Campbell, not to mention Ping An and Arabella! There are so many interesting and challenging roles to play, and who wouldn’t want to join this fabulous show? Those wacky Campbells…. Voyager is definitely one of my favorites. How about you?
As I searched, I became interested in looking at the lifespan of the characters and their children, over the (almost) 9 books of this story.
Once again, I was reminded not only of Diana’s genius: the mind that created this complex multitude of characters and their stories, but also the genius of casting director Suzanne Smith and her team. I don’t know how she does it, but she does. She manages to find great actors who are so well suited for their roles AND are nice people too (very important). Suzanne, if you ever consider an alternate vocation, I think you’d be an amazing match maker!
Let’s take a look, starting with Claire at 27, when she first came through the stones in 1945/1743…
In Season 1, we see Young Claire, played by Elizabeth Bowie. In this flashback,Young Claire (of maybe 12 or 13) is about to light a cigarette for her Uncle Lamb while on an archeological expedition.
Claire of 1968 is seen here saying her final (she thinks) goodbyes to her soldier, Jamie.
Jamie is 19 in this flashback to his first meeting with BJR…
He’s 22 or 23 when he first meets Claire
*And he’s almost 26 here, when they say goodbye; Claire is 30.
Here is 20 years Later Jamie, who we’ll be seeing A LOT of, very shortly ? ?
Here is their child, Baby Bree.
After this shot was released, some disgruntled fans insisted that Claire would never gaze lovingly at Frank after the birth of Jamie’s child. Art answered the call, and several fan artists created their own renditions of this scene. Here are two…
Vera Adxer…
and ArtistSassenach…
We’ll see cute Wee Bree in Season 3, played by Gemma Fay.
And we might see Little Bree, played by Niamh Elwell, whom we saw in Season 2 in Boston with Intervening Years Claire.
And of course, 1968 Bree is beautiful Sophie Skelton. I think that should cover it unless we see an early teenage Bree?
Check this out… Here is Elizabeth Bowie (Young Claire) who even looks a bit like (future daughter) Bree (Sophie Skelton from another movie). Suzanne Smith is tho-rough!
Well, then I started thinking about Brianna’s brother, William, and what he might look like… half brother to Bree, and son of these two… (I purposely chose a photo of Jamie looking unhappy, sorry Geneva, we are Claire fans…)
OK this is a digression: in the last post I added some possible candidates for Young Adult William, but one reader reminded me (thank you Rosemary!) that we don’t actually see Young Adult William until Book 6: A Breath of Snow and Ashes. We will likely see Baby William (who will look pretty much like Baby Everyone Else) and Little Boy William in Season 3, maybe with Wee William thrown in, BUT, if the series follows the books, and follows the current production schedule, we won’t actually see 18-year-old, or Young Adult William until sometime in the year 2020(!), in A Breath of Snow and Ashes.
Even so, here are some possibles being discussed for the role of Young Adult William (by fans). Added since last time, suggested by one of my readers, (thank you Silke!) is 29-year-old Finn Jones, of Game Of Thrones. According to IMDB, the London born Finn is 5’11 and 1/4 inches (which I got a kick out of). Now, Finn would be 31 or 32 by the time this role is cast, which is entirely doable, considering we bought Sam as 19-year-old Jamie (played when Sam was 34).
Based on what I know about how casting for this show works to date, I think this will be the guy (if this project is still going, and if he is available and willing). Has someone told me this? No. I just have a feeling.
Yep, this is our guy. Here is some video of Finn. He will get along famously with the rest of the cast, especially Uncle Ian (who he will have to see at fan conventions, as they will never have a scene together), and same for Great-godfather Murtagh.
Other names thrown in the hat are: 27-year-old Jacob Collins-Levy (left) from Australia who plays King Henry VII in Starz The White Princess. On the right is Alex Pettyfer, a 27-year-old English actor who is 5’11”. I couldn’t find Jacob’s height.
There was a suggestion thrown out about Sam playing both Jamie and William, but since Sam will be 40 years old by the time William enters the scene as an 18-year-old, I think that’s not plausible.
Moving on… Then, of course, there’s Roger. Wee Roger was played by this edible little munchkin, Rory Burns.
In “screen time” he grew into this fine, braw lad, 1968 Roger, Richard Rankin, who has those same big blue eyes (looking right uncomfortable here playing referee between Claire and 1968 Bree).
(I don’t think I’ll venture off into Jem and Mandy just yet…)
It wouldn’t be Outlander, and certainly not Voyager, without the Murray line. We will be seeing older versions of both Jenny and Ian in Season 3.
We first see Young Jenny in Season 1 in Jamie’s flashback to their fateful meeting with horrible BJR. Jenny is about two years older than Jamie, so, maybe 21 here.
And then there’s Lady Jenny a few years later…
In Seasons 1 and 2 so far, we’ve only known Adult Ian…
But we will meet Grandpa Ian in Season 3. Wow, he aged A LOT compared to the others, or at least his hair did.
Photo: ET
Steven is very excited about Ian’s new do, and even had this to say recently on Twitter… ?
Yeah, yeah, the print shop scene, blah, blah, blah, Jamie & Claire ????????????????
I'VE GOT A NEW WIG!!!!!! https://t.co/InG5FkLF4t— Steven Cree (@MrStevenCree) August 25, 2017
Eh… where was I? Yes, Jenny and Ian’s eldest child was born while Jamie was away (as you know), Young Jamie… what a cuite!
We will be seeing Adult Young Jamie in Season 3, played by Scottish actor Conor McCarry; he does resemble baby brother…
Young Ian, John Bell…
The apple doesn’t fall far from the family tree… as John Bell (Young Ian) is seen here pulling the same kilt twirling move as Uncle Jamie… er… Sam
Photo: Marcia M Mueller from ECCC2017
We will likely see Baby Young Ian in the famous shooting the crows and then hiding in the closet scene on the day of his birth (I hope!). And we should see Grown Up Kitty as well as a host of other Murrays in Season 3 (in my recent interview with Steven Cree, he says it felt like Ian has about 25 kids and 100 grandchildren, WOW!) Steven Cree Interview.
Then of course there’s Wee Fergus, played by adorable Romann Berrux, (who has already grown up so much since this photo, and in fact had his 16th(!) birthday on August 13th)
Over the course of Season 3, Wee Fergus grows into dashing Young Adult Fergus, played by César Domboy.
Here they are together… Again, nice job Suzanne ?
Hmmm, I’ll just throw this photo in here too…
We can’t forget Young Lord John Grey, played by Oscar Kennedy…
We see him grow up in Season 3 as well, into beautiful Adult LJG, played by Aussie actor, David Berry…
We’ll meet Lord John Grey’s older brother Hal, Duke of Pardloe, Earl of Melton, in Season 3. I wonder if there will be a Young Hal for the Culloden Moor scene, and an Older Hal? Hal is played by 36-year-old British actor Sam Hoare. I don’t see an immediate resemblance to David Berry, but we’ll see….
Here’s our first glimpse of Young Geillis, back in Boston, 1968…
And 1743 Geillis some years later… (well, earlier, well…)
I do realize they are his 6 times Great-grandparents, but…
these two did ultimately lead to this one…
We will get to see Older Geillis in Season 3. In the books she’s gained a lot of weight, but I don’t think we’ll see that from our Lotte Verbeek. I am interested to see the transformation of her character. I am also interested to see how they handle the bit between Geillis and Young Ian ??.
And then there’s this one, who we met at Castle Leoch when she was a wee 16-year-old. Unrequited love turned her into a regular 18th century Mean Girl, Young Leg Hair.
I’m kinda looking forward to Older Leg Hair, myself… ? She’s not without redeeming qualities. I quite like the character of Marsali, her daughter, who will be played by Lauren Lyle… Another dead ringer on the casting, at least for looking alike.
Beautiful “mother and daughter” taking a break on set.
And then of course, there will be the start of this line… Lauren and César (Marsali and Fergus)… that wedding is one of my favorite parts in the book- hilarious. I still think Bill Shatner would’ve made an excellent, albeit a very distracting, Father Fogdon.
They will yield wonderful Germain, Joan, Félicité, and wee Henry Christian (if we get that far, and I hope we do!)
In Season 3 we may be seeing Older Ned Gowan, which would be lovely. We met, uh, Less Old Ned Gowan, of course, in Season 1, played by Bill Paterson. He’s such a great character. I don’t know what the punishment was for brandishing a weapon in court, though…. Maybe Ned took Geillis’ spot as the Fucking Barbecue? Hope not!
And last but not least, of course, we’ll see Frank. Here is Young Frank, on his wedding day. Certainly the most animated we’ve seen him, I think. Poor guy, first the war and then Jamie. This marriage never had a chance.
And here’s Older Claire and Older Frank. Frank looks a little older, but not much. I believe this is at Bree’s graduation.
So, you see, the casting possibilities really are endless, as the lines blur between new actors, and makeup changes to the “old” ones. Between time travel and flashbacks, literally anything is possible with this series. I would imagine this is at once exciting and overwhelming for the writers and producers. Looking forward to seeing it all…
Oh good golly, I forgot these guys. Look at those two giggling, this was probably the night _it_ happened ?.
Aislín McGuckin, who plays Letitia MacKenzie with brother-in-law Dougal MacKenzie (Graham), in a BTS photo, Season 1.
We won’t see Hamish in Season 3, but he may well pop up later… that Dougal, helping to father the nations…
Wee Hamish, played by Roderick Gilkison.
Just 9 more days to go guys ?, the wait is almost over…. xo
*CORRECTION: Thank you Leslie Golding for challenging my ages for Claire and Jamie at the time of Culloden. According to my math, Claire was born in October 20, 1918, and went through the stones on May 2, 1946 (at age 27). But she ARRIVED on May 2, 1743. Jamie was born May 1, 1721 and would have been 22 (just) when Claire got there. Claire goes back on April 16, 1746 (so almost 3 years have passed). But she REAPPEARS at Craigh Na Dun in April 1948, where not quite 2 years have passed. So, in the 1700’s she would’ve been 30.5 years old, but in the 1900’s she would’ve been 29.5 years old, technically. Jamie would’ve been almost 25 years old (his 25th birthday would be May 2, 1746).
Thank you so much for the update and great overview. Yes only 9 days, I cannot wait.
Great article! I really do love the way Outlander has cast this show. Sam and Caitriona are wonderful of course, but so is all the supporting cast. The quality of writing, production, sets, costumes, & acting are all TOP OF THE LINE! This is why I’ve basically held my peace about the wait for season three. It takes time to create something of this magnitude and create it with such a high level of quality. Counting the days until September 10!
Well written and appreciated. I love everything about OUTLANDER from Dianna through production. The wait is over. Excited to see the costumes, which really bring this show together! I had a pair of leather camel Italian shoes in the 80’s exactly like the ones Claire wore when leaving with Frank on the jet after coming back thru the stones. Wish I still had them.
I am so happy there is no mention of Mr. Willoughby!
No? Why?
Thank you for your very thorough compilation of the cast. But please correct me if I’m wrong. I thought John Grey and young William made a visit to Fraser’s Ridge in “Drums of Autumn”. It was during that visit when Ian and William were horsing around and William ended up in the bottom of the ouhouse chasing a snake.
You’re correct. William comes to the ridge with LJG in Drums, but he’s only 10 then. He comes back when he’s 13 in a later book, but it’s not until A Breath of Snow & Ashes that he’s old enough (at 18) for one of these guys to play him.
Thank you for this. It is a keeper. As 9/10 approaches, my stomach gets more twirly. All these characters are so rich and fulfilling. As I re read Voyager, all these faces are in my head. Lovely perfect visualizing. Big kudos.
Um, Jamie can’t be 26 when Claire goes back, because he was born 1 May 1721, and Culloden takes place 16 April 1746. He turns 25 after Culloden. Claire would only be 29, because her birthday isn’t until October.
Great article, fantastic pictures!! Can’t wait for Season 3 to start.
Thanks for the update!! Can’t wait for season3!!!
?
Feel like a teenager again!
Thank you for the update. Lovely to see their evolution so closely! But… You will only have to wait another 8 days to see the next season. For me that will take another 6 months! February I hope! Here, no Starz, no Amazon Prime, no whatever. And Netflix just finished S1 and is probably ready with S2. I do not bite my nails but will end up doing it in a few weeks… as nothing happens here.
But thank you for everything Outlander!
Great article! I love OUTLANDER!! Best show on TV bar none, hands down, no contest, end of discussion! And, as you pointed out, the casting is one of the major reasons why. So glad that Droughtlander ends in a few days!. I know this season will be epic. Just a thought for season 4. Zack McGowen from Black Sails for Stephen Bonnet?
I sadly doubt I’ll be watching the season premiere on the 10th….we have satellite tv and I’m sure it won’t be working during Hurricane Irma. Thank goodness for On Demand!
Their ages when they part are : jAMIE turns 26 yrs 2 weeks after Culloden and Claire is 29 almost 30. I think I’ve got that correct. She was born the same year as my mother 1918 and went through the stones 1945.End of October. She goes back in 1948. Now that is all nitpicking really. She is roughly 5 yrs older than Jamie. I did notice that some editions of the 1st. book said it was 1946 when she went through , but mine “Cross Stitch says1945. They were in Scotland to have a second honeymoon after WW2 which ended in Europe May 1945.
Hi Judy, Well, according to my math, Claire was born in October 20, 1918, and went through the stones on May 2, 1946 (at age 27). But she ARRIVED on May 2, 1743. Jamie was born May 1, 1721 and would have been 22 (just) when Claire got there. Claire goes back on April 16, 1746 (so almost 3 years have passed). But she REAPPEARS at Craigh Na Dun in April 1948, where not quite 2 years have passed. So, in the 1700’s she would’ve been 30.5 years old, but in the 1900’s she would’ve been 29.5 years old, technically. Jamie would’ve been almost 25 years old (his 25th birthday would be May 2, 1746).
Hi Courtney, sorry for being late, but thank your very much for considering Finn Jones as a possible William. I’m feeling really honored.
As always, I enjoyed reading your post. Your are doing a wonderful job.
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