Sam Heughan: Outlander actors 'forced' into nude scenes
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- Sam Heughan said Outlander actors were 'perhaps forced' into filming nude scenes, telling an audience that in the show's early years the cast 'were very much left to our own devices' before intimacy coordinators were introduced
- Heughan made the comments on stage with fellow Scottish actor Alan Cumming at Pitlochry Festival Theatre, discussing the early years of the US series that began in 2014
- Heughan said negotiations with the production team over nudity 'wasn't particularly a nice one' and recalled auditions early in his career where he was told to 'take your top off now' — 'it was awful'
- Heughan called the introduction of intimacy coordinators in later Outlander series a 'great protection' for actors, adding 'I promise you, it's not like that anymore'
- Heughan described filming a scene in which Jamie Fraser is captured, tortured, and raped as the most challenging scene of his career, filmed over many days and 'horrific to do'
- Cumming told the Highland audience that in previous years 'some lines have been crossed' by actors during intimate scenes
- Outlander ended this year after eight seasons; a prequel series, Blood Of My Blood, began in August last year and has been renewed for a second season due in September
Why it matters: Heughan's account adds a high-profile voice to industry conversations about on-set safety, contrasting the unprotected early years of Outlander with the protections now standard. With Sony Pictures Television's long-running series wrapped after eight seasons, his remarks give weight to the shift that has made intimacy coordinators default practice across major productions — a change he says 'totally changed' the industry.
