From EW
Two very important characters are set to debut on the second season finale of Outlander, and EW has snagged the first look!
Meet Brianna Randall (Sophie Skelton) and Roger Wakefield (Richard Rankin), two of the most integral characters to the Outlander series behind Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe). Though viewers of the Starz drama met younger versions of the duo in previous episodes, this is the first time the network has released images from the July 9 finale.
Brianna is the daughter of Jamie and Claire (though raised in America by her mom’s first husband, Frank) while Roger is her future love interest in the saga about a WWII combat nurse who travels back in time to 18th-century Scotland.
Read more after the jump!
–
There is so much anticipation for these characters,” says Rankin, a 33-year-old Glasgow native who appeared in Bradley Cooper’s 2015 flick Burnt. “I really think what we care most about is whether people are going to be happy with these characters that they’ve been waiting two years for.”
Though cast in 2015, Starz and the Outlander team have kept a tight lid on details surrounding Brianna and Roger’s debut. Producers, in fact, were so concerned about leaks they hid the actors from public view when they finally filmed their scenes in Scotland.
“There’s been this buildup for so long,” says the U.K.-born Skelton, 22, who expects to endure some scrutiny from fans who have devoured Diana Gabaldon’s novels from which the series is based. “It’s a scary thought because of things like the fact that Brianna’s from Boston, but we decided not to go with a Boston accent. We just assumed that given how she was raised in a private Catholic school in the ’60s, she sort of had any Boston drummed out of her and she’d be a standard American.”
“And then there are things like the eye color,” she continues. “I think people are expecting [her to wear] contacts because Bri’s eyes are blue [in the books]. Everybody will have a different view.”
Well, of course we expect Brianna’s eyes to be blue…..both her parents have blue eyes! How could you possibly explain a brown-eyed Brianna?
Claire has brown eyes in the book. It’s not a huge deal.
They’ve ten been described as “her amber gaze”
Claire doesn’t have blue eyes as far as I recall? But Brianna is described as so strongly Jamie’s child physically and those slanted cat like blue-eyes of his (and hers) are mentioned so frequently in the books it will be hard for fans of the book to assimilate brown eyes. Also she is supposed to be strikingly tall and athletic looking –imposing –not sure if this still convinces me of that.
Welcome. I’m look forward for these two characteres performance.
I am glad they decided to not go with the “Boston” accent…As I am from the Boston area myself…I have that accent….I have seen actors/actresses try to use the accent in TV/movies over the years…..but they just couldn’t perfect it….It’s an entity unto itself!! 🙂
Totally with you there, Sara. I live in Boston, too (without an accent) and the accents are so distinctive to various parts of the city/surrounding towns. So glad they decided not to try. (Makes sense that an American child raised by two British parents and
attended a private school wouldn’t have one anyway – imho)
I’m willing to BE convinced, but they will have to convince me, particularly that Ms Skelton is Bree-enough to be Bree. IMHO hers is the one of the few book characters for whom physical appearance, as described in the books, is so important to her “character”. It is possible for 2 blue-eyed parents to have a brown-eyed child, but that seems like such a small thing for them to have corrected and would keep thousands of feathers from becoming ruffled. Again, if she can BE Brianna and the adorable Rik Rankin can BE Roger, then I’ll likely forget all about all of that stuff.
The eye color bothers me.. because yes CLaire’s Eyes are gold/brown in the book.. but they are blue in the show, and so are Jamie’s.. so it REALLY feels out of sync for hers to be brown
I have read all 8 books at least 3 times over the years, and am enjoying watching the series I don,t think the color of the eyes will make any difference to my enjoyment of it, as it is so well portrayed so far.
👍
I’m looking at the pictures above of Jamie and Claire and then looking at Brianna. Although Ms. Skelton doesn’t look at ALL like I pictured from the book, she does look like a good mix of Cait and Sam so I think it’ll be ok.
Pingback: FIRST Still of Brianna and Roger on Outlander — Outlander Online – cm houghton
Things like eye color are irrelevant. It is all about bringing these characters to life. I am sure they will be brilliant. This show has not disappointed yet! I can’t wait to see Roger sport the KILT!
So far Ron D. Moore and company have done a fantastic job bringing all the characters I love to life and I have faith that they would only cast the perfect people to portray characters like Roger and Bree. I can’t wait to see!
I agree with almost everyone else that Sophie “acting ” like Bree will be the most important thing. But, Bree is so often described as 6ft tall with Jamie’s blue eyes that will take a little getting used to. However I imagine it would be almost impossible to find a 6ft tall female actor. To be honest when watching the show I’m so engrossed in the episode I’m not really looking at eye color. I am curious as to why they just don’t have her wear blue contacts but….if she can pull off Bree’s personality that should win over most people.
Roger is awesome but the gal is NO Brianna. I’m SO super disappointed. I hope she doesn’t make me want to stop watching Outlander. She seems to me to be the very worst cast character. Bummer! I don’t know what they were thinking, she looks nothing like Bree.
OMG are you serious????? Adaptations of the book are always going to be different…Bree is YOUR perception of the description in the books….get real it just a story.
They probably looked for an actress with similar physical attributes first. But to be honest, what matters more is if she fits the character of Bree. You will always have book Bree. Also one of the reasons I never really liked Bree was because she HAD NO PERSONALITY in the books. Her physical traits are what *preceived* her character in the books. I have a feeling that I will whole heartedly like TV Bree more, if they went for the personality of Jamie. Just wait and see, they haven’t led us wrong in casting yet. I highly doubt they have not messed up with the casting of Brianna.
Edit— I DID NOT Like Bree from the books!!!!
I love the 1968 clothing. I had a jumper like that!
you know what would be REALLY out of synch? A Bree who does not capture the spirit of Jamie, who lacks intelligence/curiosity/strength/courage….a bree who is a princess. May Sophie live up to Bree’s personality.
It’s not just the eye-color (although I could go with any light eye color blue or green) because Richard’s eyes are blue but it’s okay because they are light and so are Lotte’s & Graham’s so you can fudge it a bit. I will give her the chance she’s an actress lets see what she throws down but there are TOO many variables missing in the choice that throw things of. The height- unless they are going to dig trenches for every scene she’s in that’s a tough one. The hair color looks like they went crazy with a case of Sun-In. It doesn’t look red but 98% brown with a slight red tinge. This bleeds into her coloring, it doesn’t lend itself to the coloring needed, she is more olive skinned and would have been better cast as Ian’s ” works with her hands” Emily. Even if they had a light eyed actress with blonde or light brown hair it would be easier to manipulate the color toward the character description but she is sooo far on the other end of that that it takes you out of the story. She’s lovely just not for this part but I will give her the chance. I love Murtaugh, Angus & Rupert all different from the book but not as divergent as this, they made it their own and I will see what she does. I just think it’s unfair to her for production to have cast her, she is a young actress and this is the most high profile things she’s done, the pressure is intense on her to get it perfect right out of the gate, people aren’t going to wait for her to find the character’s voice, she needs to know it off the bat because she doesn’t phenotypically fit the part.
This is my all time favorite show from the day it started, I’ve read all of the books (within a little over a week). Now my husband is hooked on it too! So happy to see all of the characters come to life on screen, I always look forward to watching it! ❤️❤️
Pinned onto Outlander the Series.
Bree’s eye color is described so many time as being like her father’s (slightly slanted bright blue) and a major part of her appearance just about everywhere she is mentioned. How could the casting group not understand that everyone who has read the books is expecting to see this important physical attribute that identifies her as a Fraser? I am disappointed.