First I want to stop and acknowledge the brilliant casting team for Outlander: Suzanne Smith, Simone Pereira Hind, and their teams. Casting is a critical, if not the critical step in determining whether a show will be exceptional or marginal. The casting on Outlander is and has been a slam dunk, across the board! And that’s A LOT of characters. I’m sure someone somewhere has counted the number of characters cast so far for this production; including supporting cast, the numbers are certainly in the thousands by now. Hats off to these women and their teams, thank you thank you! (And you deserve award categories!)
Yesterday Starz announced the casting of William Ransom, Charles Vandervaart. I did a piece on him, in case you haven’t seen that: William Ransom Has Been Cast! Who Is Charles Vandervaart? But what does Herself, Diana Gabaldon think of this casting choice? She was on social media yesterday weighing in.
“Haha! Been sitting on this one for weeks…So pleased to tell you that William has been announced! Charles Vandervaart (my husband’s response was, “How long ’til they start calling him “VanderFart? (which explains a lot about how my children have turned out…) has been cast to play William, and a good choice too!
Yes, I saw his auditions–both the scene in which he confronts Claire, right after his horrifying discovery at #17 Chestnut Street, and the semi-drunken but honorable (and very funny) conversation with Arabella/Jane, in which he assures her that she can sing songs or stand on her head, but he doesn’t propose to molest her.
He was great. <g> (Have seen him in a scene with Sophie–just dailies–and they honestly do look enough alike to be siblings, though with different coloration.)
I have a personal reason for liking this casting, though…Charles was the voice of Sid the Pirate on Paw Patrol, a show my little grandsons are fond of (though PJ Masks is their favorite…).
She posted this photo with her post on Facebook –
Photo: Diana G Facebook page. Edit credit: Tash Pow @peekaboo_jen. Wow, very similar musculature – I think Outlander Anatomy will have something to say about this when she gets back from her Beading show! š I personally think Charles resembles Cary Elwes (Westley in The Princess Bride) in this bottom right photo.
Stephanie Bryant (Outlander Printshop) asked Diana what she thought about Charles as William on Twitter, and DG responded:
I have indeed seen Charles's auditions–he's wonderful! https://t.co/wObHoopHTQ
— Diana Gabaldon (@Writer_DG) May 5, 2022
Charles and Diana (ha!) had a brief exchange on Twitter about Doug’s nickname for him…
Ahh yes, my nickname in grade school ????????
— Charles Vandervaart (@Charlesdv12) May 6, 2022
One of the biggest concerns I’ve seen come up is his eye color. In many of the photos it’s hard to tell his eye color, but it is indeed blue. Here is a photo that shows his eye color better…
Photo: Charles V, Instagram
Be sure and catch our latest episode discussion of the finale, Episode 608 I Am Not Alone.
Have a fabulous weekend!
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Many blessings to those suffering in Ukraine and Russia. 
Source: Diana G Facebook
Thank you for keeping us informed on all things Outlander. So glad I found you. āŗļø
I always go back and rewatch, for the umpteenth time, after listening to the BTS discussion.
I love the character of William in the books and have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of his casting. I was hoping heād be tall and have blue eyes. I think he is a great choice! Iām glad Diana approves.
I read the books first before watching the show, so I had a picture of all the characters in my head going into the show. Once I watched the show, I couldnāt remember how I pictured the book characters anymore though. I think Diana has said she still sees all the characters the way she originally pictured them and not as the show actors. Wouldnāt it be great to have Diana sit with a sketch artist and show us how she pictures all the main characters?
Thanks for all the updates and your episode discussions. I love listening to all 4 of you!
Wow! Uncanny how Casting manages to do this time and again, as well as find a young actor with a strong reputation this time. Numerous young characters were straight out of drama school. Others–even the leads–had limited experience under their belts and no recognized reputation when they started.
I don’t know why people get hung up about the eye color or other characteristics of specific actors. Even Sam caused a furor because he was an inch too short, but who else could anyone imagine as JAMMF now? In truth, some suspension of disbelief is required for any production in the entertainment industry. Outlander is no different.
I suppose we could lay the blame for some of the fandom’s problem with that on Diana. Hers is a characteristic style which you either love or hate. Honestly, she mentions eyes and cheekbones and noses and hair colour and specific gestures so incessantly and frequently that when I first happened on the audio books (after discovering binging Seasons 1-5 in March 2021), I frequently yelled obscenities at Davina Porter. Not her fault.
But really, any time there is a dialogue of any importance, Diana interrupts it (she calls it under-painting) with such details that we already know. Or supplies a digression into seasonal foliage, flora and fauna, a weather report or light of some sort on Jamie’s fiery hair. In a typical romance novel which you can breeze through in an hour or less it might merit some repeated mention to underscore its relevance and impact. However, over the course of 9 books nearing 1000 pages each, it can wear a little thin. And build up rabid and unrealistic expectations for casting to match, I suppose.
My two cents.
Excited that they had him audition from scene in book 8. Hoping it means there will be a book 8.
Yes, yes. So wonderful. And it appears in some pictures I’ve seen, that they may have given him a darker wig, more of Geneva’s coloring, with Jaime’s blue eyes. I’m excited to hear his voice, as he is originally from Canada. Thanks so much Courtney for your continued information. I’m also wondering if, after hearing about scenes from book 8, if season 7 will be a compilation of ABOSAA and Echo? There’s been so much talk on social media about the TV series ending with season 7 that perhaps this is how they will do it. If they stick with Jaime and Claire central story and perhaps not do the time travel for Bree and Roger, I think they could do it. I personally would like to see Roger meeting in own father and Buck but that would require the time travel for him to look for Jemmy.
Well, it’s all speculation and none of us has any power in the final outcomes so we should enjoy every nuance, twist and turn we can get. Both with our Droughtlander and our series.
Thanks again, love the ‘4 lasses’!
Great choice š
Thank you and Diana for a great introduction to Charles V.(William Ransome). He is great.I also would like to thank you for your Outlander BTS program. The best I have seen. You truly show your love of Outlander, the books and the show along with your respect to the fans. Again THANK YOU ALL.
In the last photo in the purple shirt, his eyes look blue. In all the other pics, they look brown. I really hope they are blue. I hope he’s great in the part.