Sam Heughan has been playing Jamie Frasier on Outlander for a decade now. While he was a relatively unknown actor before landing the part, the show without a doubt made him a household name. Outlander was recently renewed for an eighth and final season and Heughan already has ideas about which role he would like next. The Outlander star is desperate to appear in a different fantasy series.
Sam Heughan and his family are huge fantasy fans
Heughan was born in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland in 1980. His parents were part of a hippie community that heavily borrowed from the works of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings writer J. R. R. Tolkien. Their love for all things Tolkien inspired them to name their children after Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings characters.
In an interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the Men in Kilts star confirmed that he and his brother’s names are straight from fantasy novels. “Yes, yes it’s true. My brother is called Cirdan. Those Lord of the Rings fans that are out there, they might recognize it,” Heughan said.
“I believe he was the elf that took all the elves from Middle Earth to wherever the elves go at the end of the book. He was the shipwright,” he added. The actor also revealed that his own name is short for another Tolkien character. “My nickname is Sam for Samwise. I wasn’t christened that but yes, my parents were probably hippies,” he said.
Sam Heughan would not turn down a role in ‘Rings of Power’
Heughan’s parents may have passed down their love for fantasy books and shows, specifically Lord of the Rings. Heughan recently sat down with Audible to promote his new book, Waypoints: My Scottish Journey where he revealed that he grew up in a derelict castle in Scotland which reinforced his love for fantasy. “I imagined myself as Robert the Bruce or King Arthur,” he said.
The Outlander star didn’t hesitate to subtly campaign for a role in The Lord of the Rings prequel Rings of Power while at it. “These were great influences to me growing up, and I still am desperate to be an elf or a dwarf, so if ‘Rings of Power’ is still casting, I’m available,” Heughan said.
The actor joked that he is already prepared for the role and even has a ginger wig he can use. The host said it would be challenging to imagine Heughan as an elf given his height and build, to which the actor jested that he may get prosthetics to make it possible.
Season 7 of ‘Outlander’ premieres in 2023
Outlander debuted in 2014 and was an instant success. The show aired its sixth season in 2022 after a two-year hiatus. Season 7 will debut in mid-2023 and will consist of 16 episodes.
The new season will pick up with Claire Fraser in prison, wrongfully accused of the murder of Malva Christie. Claire is also accused of practicing witchcraft and is set to hang. It is up to Jamie to prove her innocence and prevent her from being killed.
Season 8 will be the final season of Outlander. Gabaldon is currently writing her tenth book which is set to wrap up Jamie and Claire’s story. Unfortunately, this may mean the show will cram events from the last three books into one final season.
