Here’s a new interview of Sam Heughan with Shortlist

From Shortlist:

Outlander is the new historical time-travel drama (yes, like Goodnight Sweetheart) which is massive in the US and has just hit Amazon Prime over here. Based on novels by Diana Gabaldon, it has former underwear model Caitriona Balfe as the female lead who falls through a magic stone circle in the Highlands (don’t ask) to find herself in Jacobite-era Scotland, where she meets a tough but nice clansman played by Sam Heughan. That makes it sound really bad. It isn’t. It’s grim and violent and a bit unhinged, like Game Of Thrones in kilts. We spoke to Sam to find out how he’s adjusting to hunk status.

Read the interview after the jump

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The show is based on romance novels. Were you wary of it?
I think if you were to describe the books as romantic to the author, you’d be hung, drawn and quartered. They’re epic stories, and while they are centred on this romantic relationship between Claire and Jamie, there’s history, travel, supernatural stuff, action, adventure.

Still, as a bloke, you might tend to watch it against your wishes, then get sucked in by it…
It’s got a female protagonist, so I can see why people think that. And it’s set in a historical period but it’s not a bodice-ripper. There’s a political, gritty side and the show is pretty dark.

Do you think it’s challenging TV norms by putting you on display for the ‘female gaze’?
Because it’s from her POV we do linger on the male body a bit more, but we approach everything, all the graphic violence, all the injury scenes, so it’s not gratuitous. We try to make it move the story forward. I was aware I’d have to take my top off quite a lot, but it’s about the character Jamie, and he’s had this horrific whipping, he has all these scars which he’s ashamed of, so he doesn’t do it easily.

Is it a good boys set, all that fighting in the mud?

There aren’t many female characters, it’s a male world, so there’s a big group of us highlanders. We do as much of the horse riding and the stunts as possible. We shoot it in Scotland so it’s normally freezing cold and raining, but we have a great time.

Is there a drinking culture?
A few whiskies are had, but the biggest drinker is Caitriona. She’s Irish so she gives the men a good run for the money.

Speaking of Caitriona – actors always say sex scenes are a nightmare, but c’mon, really? Is it really that bad with her?
It’s horrendous. Once you’ve done it 20 times and the cameraman knows more about you than your own mother…

You can read rest of the interview here at the Source | Via