Here is a NEW Interview with Richard Rankin from ELLE Magazine
From ELLE:
Outlander fans breathed normally for the first time in two weeks tonight, as the show’s latest episode confirmed that Roger (Richard Rankin) did, in fact, survive being hanged at the Battle of Alamance. The man’s not without his scars, however; three months later, he still can’t speak—nor does it seem he really wants to.
Roger’s ordeal and its aftermath are explored in excruciating detail in the fifth Outlander book, but the show takes an unexpected risk with this essential storyline, drawing on Roger and Brianna’s (Sophie Skelton) affinity for silent movies to recreate the hanging in a haunting black-and-white sequence that Roger relives throughout the episode. The scenes are unexpected and immersive, agonizing but never gratuitous. For a series often criticized for its unsparing depiction of trauma, “Famous Last Words” is one of the show’s most compelling episodes thus far.
More after the jump!
Rankin hopped on the phone with ELLE.com to discuss Roger’s journey, why Young Ian’s return was so emotional, and what to expect from the rest of the season.
Have your Twitter mentions been wild since last Sunday?
Yeah, there’s a lot of bemused fans wondering what the hell’s going on. A lot of people know because they’ve read the books, but I’m very aware there are fans that haven’t who watch the show and want to keep things spoiler free. So they’re all like, “Oh my God, is Roger dead, what’s going on?” And I put out a little tweet as well, just to stir the pot. So people are like “No, it can’t be. It’s not Roger.” And I’m like, “That absolutely is Roger in that tree.”
What was your initial reaction to giving Roger’s ordeal the silent film treatment?
Our director, Stephen Woolfenden, really pushed for that. He thought it would be a powerful way to tell the story. I trust Stephen and his creative license, but I didn’t know how he was going to do it. I didn’t know how that was going to come together without being potentially comical. But I remember seeing one of the first assemblies of the silent movie material and it had this sort of drone under it—which I think it still does—and just thinking, that is really dark.
Great interview with Roger. I love the way he describes what it is like working such long hours to do a scene or episode. We, as the audience, don’t often realize all the hard work and tears to takes to make such a wonderful Series. Thank you for sharing.