1 of 4 | Left to right, Hermione Corfield, Jeremy Irvine, Jamie Roy and Harriet Slater star in “Outlander: Blood of My Blood,” premiering Friday. Photo courtesy of Starz
Outlander: Blood of My Blood stars Jamie Roy and Harriet Slater say their characters’ relationships with their respective parents greatly impact the people they become and how they treat each other.
The Outlander prequel premieres Friday on Starz. It follows the twin romances of Brian Fraser (Roy) and Ellen MacKenzie (Slater), who live in 18th-century Scotland, and Julia Moriston (Hermione Corfield) and Henry Beauchamp (Jeremy Irvine), who meet in early 20th-century England.
The couples are the parents of Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire (Caitriona Balfe), the star-crossed lovers from the original Outlander.
“Living with him is honestly living in a nightmare,” Roy told UPI about Brian and his father Lord Lovat (Tony Curran) in a recent round-table interview with reporters.
Two timeless love stories. One epic new show. Outlander: Blood of my Blood premieres August 8 only on STARZ. pic.twitter.com/4duw9X971h— Outlander Universe (@Outlander_STARZ) July 10, 2025
“But it’s one that he’s chosen to live with because, if he leaves, then who knows what may happen to his mom, Davina (Sara Vickers)?” Roy added. “Brian definitely sees his father as everything that he doesn’t want to be. He sees how he treats women and how he treats everyone. His ambition and all this stuff, he sees how much it’s corrupted him as a person.”
Brian, fortunately, gets what he needs emotionally from Davina, Lovat’s housemaid.
“He has a mother who just is full of nothing but love and support and that’s where he learns to love,” Roy said of Brian.
Red Jacob MacKenzie (Peter Mullan) is Ellen’s best friend, according to Slater, and the young woman is devastated when he dies in the first episode without naming an heir, plunging her family into turmoil.
“They were really, really close and she was his favorite child, which he didn’t hide, so that causes some difficulties with her siblings because there’s definitely jealousy there, but I think he trusted her,” Slater said.
“He listened to her. She was kind of an adviser to him at times and he protected her,” she added. “She doesn’t want to marry for the sake of the clan, which is what’s expected of women at the time, and he promises that he won’t make her do that. So, once he’s gone, she’s left very vulnerable.”
Ellen’s education — coupled with the confidence Red Jacob instilled in her — help her influence her brothers Dougal (Sam Retford) and Colum (Seamus McLean Ross) to get what she wants.
“She manages to find some agency and save herself from the situations that she finds herself in,” Slater said.
The actress called Brian and Ellen’s first meeting as “love at first sight.”
“It is described in the script as a ‘thunderclap moment’ when lightning strikes and these two souls, who are destined to be together, finally meet,” she said.
“They fall in love with each other before they even know who each other is. It’s not until the second meeting when they find out that they’re actually from rival clans,” she added.
“The whole thing’s going to be pretty awkward, but it’s too late. They’ve already decided that their hearts belong to each other and they’re going to stick with it and overcome all the obstacles together.”
Roy said he has enjoyed being part of the Outlander universe, while also telling a fresh new tale.
“It’s really fun to explore characters, which we don’t really know much about because it gives you, as an actor, a lot of freedom to have fun with it and kind of make it your own and put a stamp on it,” he added.
“It’s something that you don’t have all the answers to at the start. It’s not as if you read one script and you’re like: ‘Cool. Episode 1, I know exactly who Brian is,'” Roy said.
“Because, as humans, we’re constantly changing and evolving and that’s just what happens with these characters over the course of 10 episodes. In Episode 1, we see he’s a totally different guy to who he is in Episode 10.”
The series has already been renewed for a second season.
