From 1883:

Congratulations on the premiere of season five! With your character appearing since the season two finale, how does it feel to be a regular member of the cast?

Roger was always going to be a lead character on the show; I always knew that before starting. It’s quite a big decision to take on such a commitment. I had no doubt about the popularity of the show, and I knew we would run for quite a few seasons and I was given plenty of information from executive producers and the creative team about where the character was going and what that would become. And that was one of the main influencing factors. I knew that Roger was going to be one of the lead roles on the show from about season four onwards, and I was aware season two and three were going to be more of an introductory period for these characters as it is in the books…

Which leads us to my next question: Were you familiar with the books by Diana Gabaldon? Gab-aal-don?

[Laughs] No one knows!  [Whispers] No one knows how to pronounce the name! Off the record, everyone pronounces it differently and whenever anyone goes to announce her name on stage, they go: ‘Diana Ga…..!’ [Laughs] I think it’s Gabal-donn. It’s a pronunciation that doesn’t sit well in my accent, so it’s a bit funny but it is a lovely name. I think it’s just one of those ones you never really know how to pronounce.

But yeah, I read the books and read up to book five. I knew about the books beforehand and began reading them when casting had started. I’d already auditioned for one or two parts — for characters that appeared in season one — so I was very familiar with the show. It really arrived with an impact in Scotland, and it still has a huge impact. I read the books for a few reasons: One, before I was officially cast, to give me an idea of this character and to give me an idea of where he was headed; and then after I was cast, reading the books took up a large part of my researching and prep. So, my character development was initially based on what I got from the books.

Read the full article here 

Pics after the jump! 

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