Sam Heughan’s ten secrets before ‘Outlander’: from his father leaving to sell perfume in Harrods

1. Abandoned by His Father

Heughan admits that there is one truth in his biography that marks his character: abandonment of his father. “When I was 18 months old, my father left home and never came back. For a long time his whereabouts was a mystery,” she explains in ‘The Waypoints’. His first contact with her was when she phoned him on his 10th birthday, even though he didn’t know him. “I don’t let people into my life easily. It’s something that takes a while to develop trust. I have very few close friends. This could no doubt be due to my father’s disappearance when I was very young. He’s young, although I don’t use that as an excuse,” he says. When he was in his early twenties (his father put him in the theater when he went to see her) and for the next time and last time, he heard from her again as she was preparing to play the lead in the first season of the show. Foreign. He invited the actor and his brother to visit him at his remote cabin in Canada, where he lives as he is dying of cancer. “I forgave him for leaving“Despite the pain it causes, but I still don’t understand it.”

2. Raised among the ruins of a castle

His father’s abandonment resulted in Heughan’s mother raising her two children alone: ​​Sam and his brother, circus, five years older. Both are named after their father’s admiration for him. ‘Lord of the Rings’. After the patriarch left, the woman found a home in a complex of converted barns on the outskirts of the city. New Gallowayon the grounds of a ruined castle, Kenmur. It is said to be the birthplace of John Balliol, King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. It has been abandoned since the middle of the 20th century, the walls have collapsed and nature has surrounded it. Of course your ghost storiesAlthough Heughan admits he’s never seen the headless piper who was supposed to be the star of the show.

3. A chubby kid wearing bottle-based glasses

No one knows now imposing physics It could be imagined that Heughan “was” throughout his childhood.a chubby and very sensitive boy“, in his own words. He was also nearsighted and wore glasses funded by social security because his mother could not afford proper glasses. bottle butt cups. “They made me feel very conscious Although he was already tall at the time (1.90 cm now), his physical appearance meant that he was not very confident as a child.

4. From bailiff to salesperson at Harrods

Before succeeding as an actor, Heughan had to get his chestnuts out of the fire by doing multiple jobs to make ends meet: bailiff in a theatre, manager from an internet cafe trayomist At the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, waiterhanding out sandwiches by bike, taking care of shift work for South London Social Security doctors, receptionist from a mental institution, making announcements, serving sofas, Selling Vivienne Westwood perfumes and clothing at Harrods…. She continued to go to castings as she never lost hope of success between work, on stage or in front of the cameras.

5. Multiple refusals and your ultimatum

Heughan’s career has been filled with rejections over the years. newfangled Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dramatic Artthat he wasn’t good at auditions and that “a brutal industry“He was asked to take the role. ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Aquaman’, ‘Superman’, ‘Tron: Legacy’, being James Bond…. Although he went from test to test on public transport, he was paying the little money he had saved for trips to the USA to attend the pilot season in Los Angeles. He eventually moved to North Hollywood, where he slept on a mattress on the floor. “When I was rejected, I was so worn out by disappointment that I left him and moved on”; “I’m back almost immune to rejectionThere was an ultimatum: if she didn’t manage to become an actress by the time she was 40, she would give up on her dream.

6. No money to return to the UK

The difficulties of getting paper before the ‘scene’ of ‘Outlander’ hit him left Sam Heughan at times finding himself in water up to his neck. For example, on his way from ‘casting’ to ‘casting’ in Los Angeles, he found a warning from the bank: his account had red numbers and I had no money to return to London.. “One time things got so tense that, tax agents They knocked on my door. She was naked and kind of helpless,” she recalls. Her role in a Scottish soap opera helped her get out of this monotony.

7. He found out it was Jamie at the supermarket

Being given the role was a turning point in his life. Jamie Fraser in Outlander. He found out while pushing a wheelbarrow around a fresh fruit rack at the local supermarket in Muswell Hill. Roaring with joy, he left the car and went to the ‘bar’ to celebrate with his friends. Searching for a TV partner Claire Randallit took longer and didn’t stop until the producers of the series were completely sure between him and the actor. caitriona balfe necessary chemistry. Because his story is full of hot scenes. In fact, one clause in Heughan’s contract required him to register. nude scenes. What always bothered her was that she had to respond to rumors about her relationship with her co-star, which were shelved when she went public with her relationship with the music producer. tony mcgillShe had a child in 2022.

8. Paint damage

The actor’s family has several. redheads: grandfather, uncle, mother… Although the character of Jamie Fraser is characterized by red hair, he is not like that. To achieve this, they asked him to dye his hair. He bleached seven times in the first two weeks until his hair rebelled at the start of the second season. Turned purple and started to fall. “It hasn’t been the same since,” she complains. So he began to wear a wig, as in fiction, to his daughter. sophie skelton. Among the shootings of the series, the most cumbersome did not happen. The scars his character had taken to characterize him with the scars showing the lashes he had gone through. more than three hours of makeup. Now the process is faster, but it still takes about an hour to get them all out.

9. Honoris Causa, Doctor of Glasgow University

Though considering studying English and Film Studies, Heughan eventually made his way to acting school. Failed on first login attempt Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, but he did not miss his second chance and a year later found a place to train as an actor. She took her first steps on the stage, and indeed Heughan thinks her roots are in the theater: “I was born there as an actress.” The tours gave him the feeling of being a constant nomad and “living with things in a suitcase”. But he didn’t care because “it’s part of the profession”. His acting success earned him an award. honorary doctorate from the University of Glasgow He’s in Dumfries, near his hometown, dressed almost like Harry Potter because he likes to joke.

10. He does not like football and prefers whiskey.

Unlike many of his compatriots, the actor he has never been addicted to football. with the exception of RugbyHe admits that team sports, which he loves as an audience, are not for him. But he has a passion for fitness and created the charity. My Summit Challengetransmitting the values ​​of healthy living through exercise and nutritional routines, and incidentally raising funds for scientific research on diseases. What she likes too whiskeyA ‘hobby’ he was able to deepen as an entrepreneur thanks to the name engraved from ‘Outlander’. Has its own brand sassenachalso started a tequilaEl Tequileño because he loves Mexican culture.