“Outlander” isn’t known to shy away from sexual imagery — but there’s one infamous scene that made star Sam Heughan squeamish.
The 42-year-old actor has played the heroic character from the Scottish Highlands for six seasons of the Starz series, starting in 2014.
Heughan recently released his memoir “Waypoints: My Scottish Journey,” and he’s getting candid on how the graphic sex scenes have affected him.
He spoke of one particular scene in Season 1, when his character, Jamie Fraser, is sexually assaulted by his enemy Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies). Heughan has said he was frustrated when producers added an “unnecessary” shot of his penis in the scene.
“This wasn’t a moment where I felt that being naked would add to the horror of what Jamie undergoes in that castle dungeon as a form of punishment, subjugation and humiliation,” Heughan wrote.
“I pushed back, reasoning that nudity sexualized a horrific experience for my character, and it sparked quite a debate,” he explained.
Heughan is getting candid on how the graphic sex scenes of “Outlander” have affected him.Netflix
In one particular scene in Season 1, when his character is sexually assaulted by his enemy Black Jack Randall (Tobias Menzies), Heughan said he was frustrated when producers added an “unnecessary” shot of his penis.NetflixThe Scotland native went on, “Creative conversations are a feature of all productions, good art is made by questioning the truth and we all want to get it right.”
Heughan and the production team agreed that Jamie would only be seen naked after the intense rape scene. And any NSFW shots would be discarded “on the cutting room floor” and not be presented to viewers.
However, the “Bloodshot” star also noted that if those hardcore scenes were filmed in 2022, they “would have been handled differently.”
Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall and Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser in a scene from “Outlander.”© 2014 Sony Pictures Television
Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan have starred as husband and wife in “Outlander” since 2014.AP“Times have changed. The c–k shot was unnecessary and did betray my trust in the creative team a bit. We don’t need to see the horror to imagine what the characters go through. Imagination is way more powerful,” he penned.
Elsewhere in his book, he described being passed up for the role of James Bond in 2006’s “Casino Royale.” The role eventually went to British actor Daniel Craig.
The Sassenach whisky brand owner reflected to Entertainment Weekly ahead of his book release on Monday about losing out on the role.
Heughan and the production team agreed that Jamie would only be seen naked after the intense rape scene, and any NSFW shots would be discarded “on the cutting room floor.”Netflix“It was a stage in my life where I probably wasn’t ready for it,” he said. “But I wonder what would have happened if I had got it.”
In his memoir, he scribed how the Bond audition was “so hush-hush that nobody ever confirmed that I was being considered for the main role, but I knew. Of course, it blew my mind to think I might even be in the frame for such an iconic figure … I had to remind myself to relax and let them see what I could do with the character.
