It seems like only yesterday Claire Randall was whisked back in time, into the arms of one Jamie Fraser, in Outlander's award-winning 2014 debut. Ahead of the show's long-awaited June 16 Season 7 premiere, Outlander stars Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan are opening up about the promise they made to each other when their onscreen romance began a decade ago.
"It's been an amazing journey, honestly, with each other and with our fellow cast members and crew, but also with the fans, right?" Sam Heughan, who co-stars as the dashing Highland warrior Jamie Fraser, gushed in a June 6 appearance on Good Morning America. "I mean ten years. It's been an epic journey."
Outlander Season 6 wrapped in May 2022. At a whopping 16 episodes split across two parts, the upcoming Season 7 is set to be the series' largest installment since Season 1. For Caitríona Balfe, who's nabbed four Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal of Claire Randall-Fraser, the "epic" scale of Season 7 was unimaginable when she first signed on to the show.
"We were young when we started!" said Balfe of her and Heughan's initial casting. "We were both quite new to the industry, and I think there's something about stepping into something, and just being really open and naive to it in a way was perfect."
Balfe cited the terrifying, electrifying moment the pair realized that their on-screen romance was going to strike a chord with fans of the Diana Gabaldon book series on which Outlander is based. Six weeks into filming the first season, the stars were flown to New York for their first fan event, and the immense turnout was stunning.
"It was over two thousand fans, and they hadn't seen anything. [We] stepped out on the stage and were just absolutely shocked."
Outlander Season 1. (Starz)
Outlander executive producer Maril Davis recently dished on Balfe and Heughan's magical first chemistry test before the series began filming, crediting the pair for maintaining a close bond throughout the show's planned eight-season run.
"I think when we saw them together in Los Angeles...I remember this like it was yesterday...that that chemistry was there," David recalled in a panel at last week's ATX TV Festival, per Showbiz Junkies. "That friendship and that chemistry has always been so evident. They just work so well together. You see it on the screen and in real life, and that relationship...we've always hoped that they would stay that way and they would continue that friendship. And it has, and it's grown."
While Balfe admits that she and Heughan haven't always seen eye-to-eye ("we've definitely irked each other"), the actress says they've never betrayed the touching promise they made to each other in Season 1:
"He and I went for a walk in Hyde Park. We were just talking and we were like, 'Look, don't know what this is going to be but we're going to be the only two who know what it's going to be like in this. So, we have to have each other's backs.'"
"And we did," Balfe continued. "We made that decision and it's always been that way."
Outlander Season 7 premieres Friday, June 16 on Starz. Check out the trailer for the upcoming installment below:
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