Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

Caitriona Balfe has been cast as Claire Randall, the nurse swept back from 1945 to the time of the Jacobite rebellion in Outlander, Starz’ adaptations of Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling novels produced by Battlestar Galactica‘s Ronald D. Moore.

The seven-novel series began in 1991, and follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie Fraser, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire’s heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

“The casting of Claire Randall was a long and difficult one because the role is so crucial to the success of our show.  Outlander is told from Claire’s point of view and we experience the entire story through her eyes, so it was vital that we find exactly the right actor to play her,” Moore explained.  “Caitriona wasn’t on anyone’s radar, she wasn’t on any list, but when we saw her audition tape, we immediately knew she was someone special. Then, after we had her read with Sam [Heughan], we knew we’d found our Claire.  At its heart, Outlander is the story of two people – Claire and Jamie – their loves and losses, their adventures and tragedies, and now we finally have them both.”

Diana Gabaldon added, “Hard to believe lightning can strike twice, but it surely did.  The moment Caitriona Balfe came on screen, I sat up straight and said, ‘There she is!’  She and Sam Heughan absolutely lit up the screen with fireworks.”

Balfe was previously seen in JJ Abrams’ Super 8. Other castmembers include Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser), Tobias Menzies (Frank Randall/Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall), Graham McTavish (Dougal MacKenzie), Gary Lewis (Colum MacKenzie), Duncan Lacroix (Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser), Annette Badland (Mrs. Fitzgibbons) and Stephen Walters (Angus Mhor). The series begins shooting in Scotland this month.