Starz’s Outlander TV show has inspired millions of people with its daring action scenes, feminist tones and romantic plotlines, with Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) at the center of it all. Now the series has added a character for the second season who will certainly help to continue the traditions of the show. Actress Sophie Skelton has landed the part of our fair heroes’ daughter, Brianna.
The news, from TV Line, notes that Sophie Skelton is a relative newcomer to acting, but the dark-haired actress has already dyed her hair the fiery shade of red needed for the part of Jamie and Claire’s intelligent, strong-willed, statuesque and grounded daughter, who is in her early 20s when we first meet her.
Outlander is based on a series of books by author Diana Gabaldon. In the books Brianna is actually the second daughter of Claire and Jamie, but the television show has her as their first born. Readers of the series of novels will notice that Sophie Skelton appears to be the spitting image of the character described in the books. A quick look at Skelton’s IMDB page shows that, of her ten film and TV credits, she's mostly worked in television. The British actress began in TV with her first credit on DCI Banks in 2012, and has since appeared in Waterloo Road, So Awkward and Ren, among her other credits.
The books chronicle the life of Claire, a WWII combat nurse who gets thrown back in time to 1743 while on a second honeymoon with her husband in the Scottish Highlands. Their relationship soon takes a backseat to the one she develops in the 18th century with Jamie, whom she’s fallen in love with. Claire and Jamie then become involved in the Jacobite rebellion and are forced to undergo many trials to stay together, including Claire’s eventual return to her own time.
The reason Claire returns to the 1940s, where she’s been missing for six months in their time and been desperately searched for by her husband, is to give birth to the daughter she’s having with Jamie. They both realize that her pregnancy and the birth will be easier with modern medicine and sacrifice being together to ensure that their child will be safely brought into the world.
Outlander has been wildly praised by critics and audiences alike. The show has a rating of 7.8 out of 10 on Rotten Tomatoes and Entertainment Weekly gave the first show an A- rating, saying it was “sexy and smart and stirring.” The series, which premiered in 2014, has also won six awards for its first season, while being nominated for a total of 22 awards.
Right now, it appears that the perfect young actress for Brianna has been found in Sophie Skelton. All we have to do now is hope she lives up to the brilliant character that was created for the novels. Outlander returns for Season 2 on Starz in April.
Photo courtesy of Starz.
