How to Get Cast on ‘Outlander: Blood of My Blood’

Outlander: Blood of My Blood is a prequel to the long-running series Outlander, which followed Claire (Caitríona Balfe), a former World War II military nurse who travels back in time, initially to 1743, where she falls in love with Jamie (Sam Heughan). Though she’s able to return to her life in the 20th century (and does in Season 2), when her present-day husband Frank (Tobias Menzies) dies in a car accident, she returns to the 18th century, where she’s reunited with her true love, Jamie. The narrative later moves to North America, where Jamie, Claire, and their loved ones become embroiled in the American Revolutionary War. 

The spinoff series will also be split between the 18th and 20th centuries. It will follow the love stories of Claire’s parents, Julia Moriston and Henry Beauchamp, during World War I, and Jamie’s, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser, in 18th-century Scotland. According to the logline, it’ll see them “fight against all odds to be together as their love stories unfold across time.” The official synopsis expands on this: “From the battlefields of World War I to the rugged Highlands of 18th century Scotland, two fated love stories must defy the forces that seek to tear them apart, intersecting in surprising and unforeseen ways.”

Further details of the plot are yet to be announced, but we know it will run for 10 episodes and stream on MGM+ in the UK and Starz in the US. Season 1 is predicted to land in the summer of 2025. 

Having taken us through all eight seasons of Outlander, Balfe and Heughan are not expected to appear in the prequel, but the following names have already been announced as the cast. 

• Harriet Slater as Ellen, Jamie’s mother
• Jamie Roy as Brian, Jamie’s father
• Hermione Corfield as Julia, Claire’s mother
• Jeremy Irvine as Henry, Claire’s father
• Tony Curran as Lord Lovat, Jamie’s grandfather
• Rory Alexander as Murtagh 
• Sam Retford as Dougal 
• Séamus McLean Ross as Colum 
• Conor MacNeill as Ned 
• Brian McCardie as Isaac Grant (marking the actor’s final TV role before he passed away in April 2024)
• Jhon Lumsden as Malcolm 
• Sara Vickers as Davina 
• Peter Mullan as Red Jacob 
• Harry Eaton as Private Charlton 

Suzanne Smith, of Suzanne Smith Casting, is the casting director for Outlander: Blood of My Blood. She’s been putting faces to Gabaldon’s Outlander characters from the start, casting all eight seasons of the original series alongside Simone Pereira Hind of SPH Casting.

Smith is part of a creative team including showrunner Roberts and director Jamie Payne. Roberts is also an executive producer, along with Maril Davis and Michael Wilson.

Due to the skills needed to portray characters from different time eras, “most of our actors have gone to drama school – not all, but they learn to do period in drama school,” Smith explained in an interview with Backstage about casting the original Outlander series.

While she often looks at young actors and thinks “you’d be great for a period piece [because] you’ve got an old-fashioned look,” Smith revealed she and her team do not cast actors based on their similarity to descriptions of characters in Gabaldon’s books. “Like Claire [Randall, the show’s main character] – her eye color was described differently in [Gabaldon’s] books, and of course [casting a role is] not about that; it’s about the essence of the actor,” she explained. “In general, it’s more about styling than about the actors,” she added. “[It’s] about the way they present themselves.”

Actors who make it in the room to audition with Smith and her team are given some agency over how they present their audition materials. “We always give them the option of sitting or standing,” Smith said, as one example.  

The official Outlander Instagram page announced last year that filming for Season 1 of Outlander: Blood of My Blood had wrapped, with the series set to land in the summer of 2025. While a second season is yet to be announced, given the huge success and many recommissions of Outlander, there’s a fair chance a second season of the spinoff will be greenlit if its viewing figures are anywhere near those of the original.

While Outlander: Blood of My Blood isn’t currently casting, it’s worth checking the official Instagram page and both the X account and website of Suzanne Smith Casting for future casting announcements. 

Speaking to Backstage, Smith shared some tips for actors submitting a self-tape. “Just think colorwise – if you’ve got blue eyes, then wear something that’s got a bit of blue in it, because it will enhance your eyes. Think about what background you’re doing, because sometimes just a white background doesn’t work; sometimes a gray background works better, or blue,” she advised.

Whether you’re auditioning remotely or in the room, preparation, she said, is key. “I often say, practice [scene work] with your peers. Get confident.”

Another tip? Try not to worry if it starts to go wrong. “Never be frightened. If you are going into an audition with a director or producers and you start off by fluffing, just say sorry, take a beat, and start again. Obviously, it’s difficult if it’s in the middle of something or at the end. But if it’s the beginning, I just say calm yourself,” Smith said.

Remember, the casting directors want you to do well. They’re fully invested in finding the right actors to fill each and every role and bring the show to life. With any luck, your blood and bones might be just the match for one of their characters.