Tobias Menzies reflected on the harrowing Outlander scene
Outlander’s Tobias Menzies has expressed his solidarity with co-star Sam Heughan, following the latter’s resistance to the creative team during the filming of a distressing scene, reports the Scottish Daily Express.
In a recent chat with the iPaper, Menzies was asked about his views after Heughan disclosed in 2022 how he felt “betrayed” by the creative team when they insisted on him filming a full-frontal nude scene during Captain Black Jack’s (portrayed by Menzies) terrifying torture and rape of Jamie in the first series.
The team eventually reached a compromise with Heughan, agreeing to only depict Jamie naked in the aftermath of the savage attack.
Fortunately, none of the nudity ended up in the final edit, and Menzies expressed relief that Heughan’s concerns were acknowledged.
He also empathised with “the pressures on Sam, early in his career”, emphasising that it was “essential” for producers to obtain actors’ consent when filming such scenes
Menzies, who is currently promoting his new film F1: The Movie, spoke out after Heughan candidly discussed feeling “betrayed” in his memoir Waypoints: My Scottish Journey.
In his book, Heughan stated: “The c**k shot was unnecessary and did betray my trust in the creative team a bit.”
He further added: “We don’t need to see the horror to imagine what the characters go through. Imagination is way more powerful… I pushed back, reasoning that nudity sexualised a horrific experience for my character, and it sparked quite a debate.
“Creative conversations are a feature of all productions, good art is made by questioning the truth and we all want to get it right.”
Since his early days as a lead actor on Outlander, Heughan has taken on the role of executive producer alongside his co-star Caitríona Balfe. One of his key contributions was introducing an intimacy coordinator to the Starz series, known for its numerous intimate scenes.
From season six onwards, intimacy coordinator Vanessa Coffey worked with the cast and crew to choreograph sex scenes and other intimate moments, a role that didn’t exist in the film and TV industry when Outlander first began.
Heughan recruited Coffey, who was lecturing at his alma mater, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and brought her on board. Coffey has also worked as an intimacy coordinator on various productions, including BBC’s Vigil, Rebus, House of the Dragon, and 28 Years Later.
In a 2022 interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Heughan explained his decision to hire an intimacy coordinator, stating that he wanted to ensure “everyone is protected” and provide storytellers with a means to “explore these scenes” and potentially “actually maybe get something more out of them.”
Furthermore, Heughan aimed to create a better experience for young actors entering the industry, unlike his own when he first started out.
