Do you ever watch a movie or television show and wonder how actors manage to cry on command? While there’s no exact science behind it, most performers develop their own personal techniques. Fans of Outlander may notice that Jamie Fraser appears emotional quite often on screen, even if his actor, Sam Heughan, insists that’s not entirely accurate.
“I would say he’s very stoic, so I’m not sure he does,” Jamie Fraser actor Sam Heughan says during an Outlander panel at New York Comic Con 2022. “I don’t think he’s a crier as in that I don’t think he openly weeps, but I think he always holds things back. He’s strong. But that’s what’s really fun to play. It’s much more interesting to play someone not wanting to cry, but I don’t ever try and go out of my way to squeeze one out, so to speak.”
Heughan explains that scripted directions can sometimes miss the deeper emotional context of a scene, making the process more instinctive than technical. “It’s a funny one because sometimes when you read a scene and it says Jamie cries, the stage directions are kind of slightly unhelpful because I always feel like you don’t know what the character is feeling and how the character is going to react. So, it’s not about going for the end product. It’s leaning into the emotion and leaning into the character, and whatever comes out of that will move you hopefully.”
That philosophy is shared by his co-star David Berry, who portrays Lord John Grey on the series. “You don’t try to cry, it happens,” John Grey actor David Berry says. “If you try to cry, it won’t happen. And if it does happen, and you get that single tear, then quietly inside you’re like punching the air.”
Still, capturing those emotional moments isn’t always easy, especially when scenes are filmed repeatedly. “But it’s also difficult because you do the scene so many times, so you also don’t want to peak too early,” Heughan adds.
For more insights from the cast, fans can watch the full Outlander panel discussion below.
