Yahoo Lifestyle Sam Heughan's Recast 'Outlander' Sister Reveals What It's Really Like to Join the Family
When Jamie (Sam Heughan) and Claire Fraser (Caitríona Balfe) and Young Ian (John Bell) returned to Scotland and Lallybroch for the second half of Season 7 of Outlander, there were a lot of surprises in store for them, the saddest being that Ian Murray (Steven Cree) is dying.
There was something new for the actors as well, and that was a fresh face. Kristin Atherton took over the role of Jenny Murray, Jamie’s sister and Young Ian’s mother, from Laura Donnelly, who decided not to return to the role she created after she played the character in the first three seasons.
Not only does Atherton have to step into the shoes of an established character, but she has to play Jenny in both 1778 and 1739, as Outlander is famous for characters who time travel. Jenny isn’t one of them, but she interacts with characters who do.
“It’s a really double-edged sword,” Atherton told Parade of taking on the role. “It’s enormously intimidating. I am so aware of how much this show means to so many people, how loved it is, how loved Jenny is as a character, and how well-loved Laura’s portrayal of her was. So, I allowed that little gremlin into my brain and then got on with it.”
Part of getting on with it was to watch the entire Outlander series from Season 1 to the midseason finale of Season 7, repeating the episodes featuring Jenny several times to help her get a feel for her character.
Courtesy: STARZ
“I was really trying to analyze who she was to all of her different family members, trying to tap into some of Laura’s energy,” Atherton continues. “But ultimately, I can’t be her, I’ve got to be me. Where we find Jenny at this point in time, she’s a really different woman. What she’s gone through we’re maybe not privy to, but that was for me to imagine.”
Once she had done her preparation, Atherton felt a sense of kinship to her fellow actors, even though she hadn’t met them yet. It was almost as if they were family. And when she walked on set, Heughan gave her a huge hug and said, “Hey, sis,” putting her instantly at ease, and the rest of the cast and crew were equally welcoming.
Just as Jamie, Claire and Young Ian faced a lot of changes in their return, so did Jenny have to deal with the alterations in Young Ian, who had grown into a man in the years he had been gone. And even though it was lovely to have her brother Jamie back, there was tension and unresolved things that Jenny needed to say to him.
Related: Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe on Why Their Outlander Love Story Is 'Endless and Boundless'
“It’s not just wonderful and cuddly,” Atherton says. “For me feeling like I don’t necessarily know how to be around these people, I could use that, that awkwardness and that discomfort, and rediscovering who these people are after Jenny hasn’t seen them for almost a decade is something that I can relate to. That was a lot of fun.”
New episodes of the second half of Outlander Season 7 will premiere at midnight ET on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms each Friday. On linear broadcast, it will debut on STARZ Friday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT in the U.S.
Next, Everything We Know So Far About Outlander's 8th and Final Season
