Exclusive: Outlander’s Charles Vandervaart on how Jamie's son has changed
Outlander spoilers follow.
Outlander star Charles Vandervaart has opened up on his character's evolution since season 7.
The actor, also seen in The Craft: Legacy, plays William Ransom, Jamie Fraser's secret son entrusted to the care of Lord John Grey. In this new chapter, whose first half premiered on June 16, fans got to see a different side to William, as the star explained in an exclusive chat with Digital Spy.
"I think when we meet him at the beginning [of this season], he's still quite naive. He still doesn't really understand how the world works, he has really romanticised ideas about war," he said.
Related: Outlander just solved a long-running mystery in season 7's episode 1 premiere
Vandervaart thinks being brought up in a mansion has shielded William from the horrors of the real world. But his sense of invincibility will be put to the test on the battlefield, resulting in him becoming "a better person".
"He thinks he's invincible, because why else would he think anything different? Because, you know, he's been cooped up in his little mansion in England," he continued. "He comes from such a life of privilege that I think reality is going to hit really hard and we see that immediately he has some kind of adventure to go on.
"Things don't go as planned for him. So he has a lot of growing to do still. And he does, I think, come out of this a better person for sure."
Related: Caitríona Balfe talks "change" for Outlander season 7 and giving the show a "proper send off"
The actor also touched upon William's relationship with Lord John Grey, played by David Berry, teasing some "tensions" between the father-son duo.
"Lord John Grey is just worried about him. He doesn't want him to go to war and William, I think he wants to experience life by himself," he said.
"There's so much love there though. Because that's William's Dad, he's the one who raised him, he was the one who was there for him through thick and thin through his entire life. Right now, there might be some tensions between the two of them. But you know, deep down it's all love between those two."
Following the second half of the seventh season, set to be released next year, Outlander will bow out with an eighth and final chapter consisting of ten episodes.
Outlander season 7 part 1 premiered on Friday, June 16. The show airs on Starz in the US, and streams on Lionsgate+ in the UK.
You Might Also Like
