Rory Alexander: Blood Of My Blood Is Fresher, Younger & Maybe A Bit Cooler Than Outlander

This weekend, the much-anticipated Outlander prequel Blood of My Blood will premiere, telling the tale of how the parents of Jamie Fraser met in 18th century Scotland, and how the parents of Claire Beauchamp met in WWI England. While there won’t be any familiar faces, there are some familiar names, including Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser, Jamie’s godfather played by Duncan Lacroix in the original series. But now the baton has been handed to Rory Alexander, who we sat down with ahead of the series.

We meet on Zoom at the end of July, Rory squeezing our chat between filming on season 2, which is already in the works months before Blood of My Blood premieres. When he heard the good news, ‘I was dead excited,’ Rory says, recalling Lime biking through London wondering ‘is this a productive use of my Wednesday afternoon’ when he got the call. ‘You get to go back to work! Thank God for that,’ he laughs. ‘It’s very exciting. It’s nice that they’ve renewed Blood of my Blood before it’s even out; it shows a level of confidence in the show, for sure.’

I’m calling Rory from London, sunlight pouring through my window, grateful for any breeze blustering through my voile curtains as another sweltering heatwave descends on the capital. Rory meanwhile is in Scotland. ‘I feel like we’re in different worlds. Everyone keeps talking about heatwaves,’ he laments, ‘but we’re stuck with the midges and the rain. It’s grey and wet here – as it always is in Glasgow.’

From filming Blood of My Blood to following Mark Rylance around on a previous job and keeping up his Scottish accent even on his days off, here’s our conversation with Rory Alexander in full.

Interview: Rory Alexander On Outlander: Blood Of My Blood

‘Renewing Blood of My Blood before it’s even out shows a level of confidence in the show for sure.’ Photographer: Jemima Marriott
Styling: Nathan Henry
Grooming: Charlie Cullen
Clothing: Jumper, MM6; Trousers, Studio Nicholson; Shoes, Emporio Armani.

What can we expect from Blood of My Blood?

Firstly, you don’t really need to have seen Outlander to watch it. It has characters in common: I play a legacy character, someone who exists in the original series, called Murtagh. Otherwise, Blood of my Blood kind of exists in of itself. It’s a little bit fresher, a bit younger, and maybe a bit cooler. It’s still got the Highlands and the battles and some pretty epic themes – just with a bit more of a current edge.

Outlander is wildly popular. How did it feel when you got the role?

It took forever because it was both sides of the strike. That was a long, dry, hot summer. I had to just forget about it all, really. Then my agent called me from Taiwan, and she said, ‘Do you want to play Murtagh?’, and I actually didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. I had tried to erase it so much I thought she was talking about a board game or something she discovered in Taiwan. And then I was like, ‘Oh, right, yes! I’d love to.’ Then it all went so quickly. I got the part that day, I saw my friends in the evening, and then at 5am I was on a plane up to Scotland. It was a proper whirlwind.

I’m not sure why it was so quick. It was almost like ‘you’ve got the job, now let’s get going, we need to fit you.’ So I was doing my first costume fitting, and trying to take it all in. It wasn’t until we started doing bootcamp – horseriding, sword fighting, that sort of thing – that I thought, ‘OK, I think I know what I’m in for now.’

Jamie Roy (Brian Fraser) & Rory Alexander (Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser) in Outlander: Blood of My Blood. (Starz)

Tell me about bootcamp.

It was a full assimilation. The key cast were all there, and it was a sort of rough landing into Glasgow: December, dark, cold, wet. I was working with horses for the first time. I’d done the classic, ‘yeah, I can ride a horse’ lie, and then they whacked me on a horse in the rain. 

I spent a lot of time with the dialect coach, and we did rehearsals. But actually it was ace that we got to do that: we had basically a whole month, and then we went away for Christmas, and then we came back and hit the ground running. So you knew the lay of the land, and you got to know each other under a bit less pressure. That’s a good way to start.

Any skills you intend to keep?

Supposedly I can now ride a horse. It remains to be seen if that is true. The first day on set, actually riding a horse, I accidentally started galloping towards the camera and the cranes and around 300 people and our director Emer Conroy was like, ‘Are you sure you can ride a fucking horse?’ And I was like, ‘I think so…’. But yeah, it remains to be seen. 

Accent stuff is always fun. I sit in my Scottish accent when I’m around town as well, because it just makes it easier. You don’t get as many dirty looks when you’re buying a pint in a strange pub on the east side of Glasgow.

Rory Alexander (Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser) & Sally Messham (Mrs Fitz) in Outlander: Blood of My Blood. (Starz)

You play a young version of a character we already know, Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser. How would you describe him? And how is he different in these younger years?

He’s pretty wide eyed, is our Murtagh. He’s quite a cheeky chappy. He fits in between a lot of the stories, which for me is so fun to play because it means you’re across everyone, and you have different modes of being with different people. He is Brian’s best friend, and he thinks the world is at his feet if only he could just get there, which is quite fun to play. He keeps getting knocked down but keeps getting back up again – more in a clown way than a heroic way. But he’s pretty kind and gentle, and because he’s a little bit of an outsider he gets to watch what happens and come in at an emotional level rather than out of a sense of duty. He gets to follow his heart – which is really nice because the Murtagh people might know from Outlander is quite jaded. It’s nice to be pre-trauma as it were, so then you can piece together how he started here and ends up there.

How did you get into character?

The accent is the big one. I mean, I’m not walking around as Murtagh on the streets of Glasgow, but it does help to put on the accent. Funnily enough, it’s also the boots. Murtagh only has one costume. I came back for season two and they were like, ‘we’ve been designing costumes all summer!’ So I said, ‘Oh, great, can I have a new one?’ And they were like, ‘No, you’re the same.’ 

But there is one particular pair of boots… I’m sure they’re period accurate as they’re very uncomfortable. Within 15 minutes of wearing them, your feet start hurting. That’s when I know that pretty much anything can come my way, and Murtagh will respond. Because my legs hurt.

Jamie Roy (Brian Fraser) & Rory Alexander (Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser) in Outlander: Blood of My Blood. (Starz)

Any standout moments from rehearsals or filming?

There’s a bunch. The wrap party – that was a good send off. We had such a giggle filming the Belton Festival, where everyone came together. It was pissing with rain, but we were under a massive marquee, and we danced, and we danced, and we danced and we danced. I basically just got the giggles for three days. All of the cast were there, pretty much. At times, I slightly forgot my character might not know their character, because I forgot we weren’t just a bunch of friends dancing in a tent. So I would keep smiling and nodding at Ned Gowan, despite the fact that my character had never met him before. Because I was like, ‘Oh, it’s my mate Connor (MacNeill), and he’s doing a jig!’ That was a lot of fun.

There’s another incredible moment on a Highland loch all lit by torches. We filmed it at night, and I’d never really seen anything like it – an actual physical location like that, and then to make it into a set on top of that. It was magic.

What about stand out filming locations?

Kinloch Rannoch, near Pitlochry where the stones are. The stones are up on a hill, and you can look all the way down the valley. If you go up the bend next door, you can see both coasts of Scotland. So if you’ve got a late start, you can get up super early and go for a massive hike. It’s so gorgeous – despite the wind, the midges and all that stuff. Nothing really helps you get into the character of someone in the 1700s than going somewhere that looks exactly the same as it always has – despite all the cameras and flat whites.

Anything you can tease about season 2?

Not really, so I’m going to have to play it safe… The good thing with Murtagh is that he wears his heart on his sleeve. That may open him up to a potential love interest, potential heartbreak… We shall see.

‘I use my Scottish accent around Glasgow; you get fewer dirty looks when you’re buying a pint.’
Photographer: Jemima Marriott
Styling: Nathan Henry
Grooming: Charlie Cullen
Clothing: Jumper, MM6; Trousers, Studio Nicholson; Shoes, Emporio Armani

What has been your favourite project to date?

Inland (2022) was pretty defining for me, in lots of ways. Mark Rylance is and always has been my acting idol, so getting to work with him was the most wonderful experience. Not just watching him act and acting with him – which is both one of the easiest and most challenging things I’ve ever done – but also how he was on set with people and the way I just watched him and tried to absorb as much of his essence as possible. I hadn’t really been on a film set before, so watching him move around it and interact with it – I just want to do it in the same way. 

Also the way that that film was made: we shot for like 20 hours a day on a single camera with director Fridtjof Ryder. They would sew the costumes beside a big fire that we would have every evening. We were sleeping in a little caravan, and Mark and I would make each other eggs and then walk onto set. It was unbelievable. That as an experience of filmmaking in general was far and away the best. I’d love to do more stuff like that. 

Doing Pistol was incredible too. That was my first experience of an enormous set with mad creatives like Danny Boyle and Vivienne Westwood, and a gorgeous cast who I’m still close with now.

Any roles in the pipeline that you’re excited about? (If you’re allowed to tell us!)

I’ve got some projects that I did last year that will come out soon – stuff I did with friends, and something I did this year. I write a lot, too. I’ve written a play about thatching, which has been picked up, so will hopefully be on next year. That’s about an old master thatcher and his young apprentice who is caught up in the county lines system. I’ve written it with my pal who is a real thatcher; we go thatching together, and the play was kind of born out of the roof.

Have you always wanted to write your own stuff?

Pretty much. I studied English at uni, and I didn’t know that I definitely wanted to be an actor. I’ve always written; it’s the thing that I do most consistently, other than acting, because you can just do it on your own time. I’ve written a bunch of TV shows that no one will ever watch, and a bunch of plays, and unfortunately some people did see one of those, which I’ll never be able to live down. It was an hour-long one person mime show. It was hideous.

Do you have a dream role?

No, I like to be typecast for my locks. Just talking hair. It’s weird, I think you don’t really know it until you see it. There have been certain auditions that come through, and I go, ‘Yeah, that’s the one!’ and then Josh O’Connor gets it. That’s OK: it’s nice to know they’re out there. 

I’ve written something about the restoration and Charles II. I think there’s something really gorgeous in making period stuff really grimy, as it would have been, but also funny. He was a very interesting man. He kissed all of his illegitimate children good night, going around London, before fighting for religious freedoms. The court became incredibly queer after he came back from the continent – so wildly progressive for the time. Being able to do something with him would be pretty exciting.

‘Mark Rylance is and always has been my acting idol.’
Photographer: Jemima Marriott
Styling: Nathan Henry
Grooming: Charlie Cullen
Clothing: Jumper, MM6; Trousers, Studio Nicholson; Shoes, Emporio Armani

What’s a genre you’d like to do more of?

I’ve never really done comedy. I thought I had done comedy when I did an hour long mime show, but that was a study in silence, both by me and the audience. 

I’d love to be someone who talks a lot. I often play quite still, sad, thoughtful characters. I’d like to be someone who prattles on… A bit like this!

Who is an actor, writer or director you’d love to work with?

So many. The list is kind of endless. I’m also so easily swayed. I watch something and then I just get obsessed. I’m in a Kelly Reichardt hole at the moment, who I think is fab. Alicia Rohrwacher. I’m basically listing Josh O’Connor’s career again. Paul Thomas Anderson. It’s kind of endless, which is great. I think if I said I just want to carry on working with the cast of Outlander, I think I should probably get into bed and never get out of it again.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

The usual stuff: the pub with my pals, football, writing, and I go thatching a lot. I’m a big walker, which is not the most interesting thing to say about oneself, but if I’ve got a morning, then I will just go for a big old walk to fix the noggin. Gigs. I used to do a bunch of music, and lots of my pals are still in music, so I will go to whatever gig I can get my hands on, and stand like a Radio 6 dad just nodding.

Top London recommendation? 

I always bang on about how the Gowlett in Peckham is the best pub in London, which is just objectively true. £5 Guinness, great pizza. I think I have achieved local status. I was living about 50 meters away from it, but one of the proudest things I’ve ever had is when you walk in there and they go, ‘Hey! The usual?’

There is also the best fishmonger in Nunhead called Soapers. It’s run by a dad and his son, and it’s been going for years. It does amazing fish, very reasonable. They recently put a sign outside saying, ‘part time work wanted’. And I was like, ‘I’d like to work in a fishmonger’. So I went inside and said I was interested in the job. They were like, ‘Yeah. Albert has had to go away for a minute because he wants to have a go at acting. We’re going to keep the slot open for him, so it’s only temporary, because, you know, bless him, it’s a hard industry. Anyway, what do you do?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, so…’. But I would like to work there one day!

‘The world makes me quite scared, but communally we can get to a better place.’
Photographer: Jemima Marriott
Styling: Nathan Henry
Grooming: Charlie Cullen
Clothing: Jumper, MM6; Trousers, Studio Nicholson; Shoes, Emporio Armani

How can we all live a little bit better?

It’s so multifarious. I think it’s tricky right now, obviously, with the genocide going on. I have no idea how you’re meant to engage with the world as it is at the minute. It’s quite alarming. It makes me quite scared. I go on long walks… 

I read something the other day: we are who we know. I think that can be taken as a negative, or quite social climby. But if the people you know are really good, then everyone just keeps leveling up. It’s pretty tricky to think ‘how do I make myself better?’ all the time. But if you keep surrounding yourself with people you really respect, admire and believe in, then it doesn’t necessarily put the pressure on you to be the best person ever. Communally, I like to think we can get to a better place.

Anything fun in the pipeline – professionally or personally?

This play could be pretty cool! And we are going to Comic Con in LA to launch season one of Blood of my Blood, which will be dead fun. Then I’m going on a walking holiday, as I keep wagging on about, to Ireland with my mum. I’ll hopefully see some whales.

Outlander: Blood of My Blood premieres Saturday 9 August in the UK on MGM+, and Friday 8 August on Starz in the US.