Happy Sad Confused - Sam Heughan

Episode Date: April 18, 2016

Sam Heughan is a charming guy and hard working actor. Sam joins Josh this week to talk about the new season of the Starz series Outlander, where he was in his career before he got his role in the series, and the pros and cons of being objectified for your looks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D.C. high volume, Batman. The Dark Knight's definitive DC comic stories adapted directly for audio for the very first time. Fear, I have to make them afraid. He's got a motorcycle. Get after him or have you shot. What do you mean blow up the building? From this moment on,

none of you are safe. New episodes every Wednesday, wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, and welcome to happy, sad, confused. I'm Josh Harowitz. Welcome to my podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Do people tune in anymore?

That's an antiquated phrase. I'm old. That's been coming up a lot lately. I had a big birthday lately, so I can't help but talk about my advanced age. But I'm young. I'm vibrant. I'm still going, guys. I'm still delivering.

podcast after podcast, nothing can deter me, not even a big trip or two. I've been away a lot. I just got back to New York yesterday. I'm taping this on Sunday morning. You might be hearing this on Monday if you're a regular podcast listener and you subscribe and you downloaded ASAP, which is really the way to do it. You want it fresh and steaming out of the oven. And anyway, I was out of town last week in Las Vegas, Nevada. Um, for cinema con. Cinema con is bizarre, but it's awesome. It's a, um, it's, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, it's a, um, it's a, it's a, um, it's a, um, and they, um, and they, um, and they are basically there to, uh,

meet with the studios, who all present their big movie. stars and slates for the coming year. So from my vantage point, I've gone a few years. And it's fun for me because I get to see a ton of content from the upcoming year from all the major studios. They show off exclusive trailers and clips. They bring out movie stars that I can sometimes talk to. And it's fun. What's not fun is that I literally got about 10 minutes of daylight outside human air in the space of about five days. So, That was silly and bizarre and probably destroyed my brain, but it's all for the greater good because I did get a chance to see some cool stuff. I tweeted about some of the stuff, but I know a lot of you guys that listen to this are probably big, you know, fans of movies.

So I'll mention some of the stuff that stuck out to me. I really liked a couple of things at the Sony presentation, including Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence starring a new film called Passengers, which is kind of a sci-fi film. So it really only has two characters, and they play characters on, like, kind of basically a spaceship that's going on, like, a 120-year mission that wake up a bit early and only have each other to hang out with. And it looks like a really cool, special sci-fi movie. I also really like from Sony, and this might have been my favorite trailer that I think will drop soon. Angley's new film, Angley, of course, most recently directed Life of Pie, one best director for that. directed Brokeback Mountain. He's one of our finest filmmakers,

and he's directed a movie that it's been on my radar for a while, and I think a lot of people haven't really paid attention to it, but I think they're about to. It's called Billy Lynn's Long Half-Time Walk. It's a mouthful, and it stars somebody that I've never seen before

in the lead role, Billy Lynn, but it also has him surrounded by some really cool talent ranging from... It's a very weird eclectic cast, like Vin Diesel and Kristen Stewart. And there are a couple hooks to this one, that really got me. Well, A, the story looks hugely compelling. It's, it looks like kind of a Vietnam era film, kind of a slice of life character study of a young man, dealing with both

war and what's going on at home. And sure, this is stuff we've seen before, but when we've seen it done well is exceptional. It almost reminded me of kind of like, you know, the old Oliver Stone platoon born on the Fourth of July, that era of filmmaking, which was fantastic. But also worth noting, just from a technological standpoint, this is a film that Ang Lee has shot in 3D and has shot at times, I believe, in, I'm going to get the math in this a little bit wrong, but I think it's like 128 frames per second, which is, which suffice it to say, if you're not like a technological, you know, expert means that it's super, super crazy high definition, way higher than what we're used to seeing in film.

And it looked gorgeous. It looked amazing. So I'm really, really psyched for this one. And I think it's, judging from the trailer, I think this one could be a big Oscar contender. There was a lot more. I saw some cool news stuff from X-Men Apocalypse that looked better than anything I'd seen before. Saw first look at Assassin's Creed, starring Michael Fastbender. There's a lot of great stuff.

So, and I should mention that there's a bunch of fun interviews that I got to do that are on MTV's. website mtb.com search it out there's um let's see i spoke to jesse eisenberg about batman v superman i spoke to dave franco about hans solo i spoke to the entire cast of suicide squad including kara delving and will smith and margot robbie um there are too many i probably interviewed about 30 or 40 people in the span of a few days i also two interviews to look out for um i sat down with jeff goldblum which was about 10, 15 minutes of utter insanity that just was gold. And hopefully we'll do something with that on MTV.com. If we don't put something out there, I'll make sure I put it on the podcast because it's just too much fun.

And also scored the only sit down with Chris Pratt, my old good old buddy Chris Pratt. So thanks to him for agreeing to sit down. Thanks to his publicist for agreeing for him to sit down. He only did one interview in CinemaCon. And it was with little old me. And he was great. Chris is awesome, and we talk a lot about passengers, Magnificent 7, which is his first Western coming up, as well as, of course, Garden to the Galaxy, Volume 2, which he's in the middle of shooting. So a lot to come, a lot to look out for on the website, and we haven't even mentioned today's podcast.

Today's podcast is an interview with Sam Hewann. I know a lot of you probably are tuning in based on the name here, because Sam Hewens got a following, Outlander's got a following. And, uh, and he's a charming guy. He's kind of easy on the eyes. So I, this is a podcast if you didn't know. So you can't actually see him when you listen to this. But use your imagination. Use your imagination as you would in reading outlander. Use your imagination as you would as you drift off to sleep and think of pleasant things. Conjure up images of the gorgeous flowing locks of Sam Hewin. Maybe he's wearing a tartan of some sort. Uh, maybe he's wearing a tartan of some sort. Uh, maybe he's wearing a, uh, maybe he's wearing a, a full suit, whatever you want him to wear. But he's a delightful young man who has found kind of the first big role of his career in Outlander, which is, of course, on stars and has a ginormous fan base. And I understand why based on the material and based on the casting. So Sam's one of these guys who I haven't really talked to much. I spoke to him in Comic-Con in San Diego a few months ago. But when this opportunity came around, I was intrigued. I knew that

you guys would be intrigued. So the rest is history. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Sam. And only one interview this week. I know we've been experimenting with multiple interviews. I think we'll get back to that. I'm really enjoying that format. And hopefully you are too. We'll see. It's kind of based on scheduling and yada yada. But since I was away, it was hard for me to kind of book two interviews. But we'll get back into that hopefully soon too. Suffice it to say, you guys are getting a lot of free shit from me. Okay, so stop complaining. I know you're not complaining. But thanks for tuning in. Hit me up on Twitter. Joshua Horowitz, let me know who you want to hear, what you're digging, what you're into. And most importantly, just sit back and relax.

Enjoy this conversation with Outlander Star Sam Hewitt. We're diving in. with Sam Hewann. It's good to see it, man. Hello there. Good to be here in sunny New York. Yeah, it's not so sunny. Scottish weather. You're just saying I brought the weather everywhere I've been on this press store. Oh, is that right? Yeah, it rained in Sydney, Tokyo, L.A., and now New York.

You're a harbinger of doom and gloom wherever you go. Absolutely, yes. Very depressing. But we were saying, as we tape this, this is a big week for you guys here in New York. You're taking New York by storm, so to speak. Yeah, I feel like we're taking over New York a little bit. We have our premiere tonight, which is going to be very exciting. And then we have the Sacks store. We have our costumes up, a great display in the windows there.

And then at the end of the week, it's tartan week. So I'm the Grand Marshal this year, very honored. And I'm going to be leading the pipes down 6th Avenue. That's probably not something when you're growing up as a kid. You're like, you know, probably one day it's all going to lead to this. Yeah, that's really odd, actually. Yeah, I never thought that would ever happen. so do you enjoy the um i mean you've been you've been racking up the frequent fire miles traveling

the world in support of this is this it's work but is it enjoyable uh i've had no fun at all it's it's been it's been terrific you know i've uh i've had a you know a good day off you know wherever i've been and uh explored in japan i went to kioto on the bullet train and did lots of fun stuff in in australia and uh yeah this is kind of like the climax the culmination Is there more comfort this go-around in the press tour in terms of after promoting the second season versus when it was new and you didn't know how it would be received,

etc.? Yeah, we had to do everything by bus last time Yeah, and now we're being very well looked after. You know you've made it when. Yeah, everybody gets their own car and... Yeah, exactly. No, we were extremely well-looked after. It's wonderful. It's kind of very strange.

But I guess what I would say is that we've maybe a bit more used to it now. I would like, you know, the first year was definitely a learning curve. Yeah. Did you, well, first of all, I feel like I owe you an apology. The only other time I met you was you and Cat at Comic-Con this past July. And it felt like such a novel idea. Oh, let's play like a know-your-co-star kind of game, a newlywed game.

And then I like look online, like, as I'm researching you. And like, you've probably played that horrible game like 15 times at least. Maybe once or twice. But to be honest, I still lose. And I'm very competitive. And I get asked the same questions and I still never know the answer. So normally when's cat's birthday and what's her favorite food? And I still can't remember.

So what do you warn about her on the second go around now having worked with her for a couple of years? What do you know about her now that you didn't know in the first season? Do you know, it's funny actually, season two definitely. I think we've got even closer. And I just, I mean, I'm absolutely overwhelmed about how lucky I am to be working with her. and I think that bond between us is definitely, you know, in the show, in season two, it's more complex, it's sort of deeper rooted, and it's like a more of a grown-up relationship or more of like a modern marriage in the show. And I think that was also reflected in our sort of personal relationship as well. Can you, you know, you could have a drinking game associated with the times chemistry is mentioned in terms of like, you know, co-stars and making it work or whatever.

Is too much made of that? can you can you like could a show like this but be achieved if you legitimately just didn't get a long offset you think oh that's a really good question um because you do you go into these chemistry tests right and uh i was very just an audition basically or not it's basically an audition yeah um and i was very lucky to be involved quite early on in our show so i tested with lots of um very attractive young ladies and um you know I felt chemistry with a lot of them. But it was, no, I don't know. I mean, it's a funny thing.

When you're in it, you don't, you know, you're not aware of what's happening. You're just, you know, in the part. And I guess it's for everyone watching to look for the chemistry. But I don't know. What do they look for? Well, I mean, what do you recall of meeting her for the first time in terms of like, was there something different then versus the other women you were testing with? Yeah.

I mean, the only thing I would say is, and when she walked in, it was like, oh yeah she's absolutely perfect and then and to be honest before I knew it you know we were doing this very intense scene that uh it's in the show but it's you know quite dramatic and before I knew it I mean we were literally getting physical like sort of tearing chunks out of each other and I remember at one point thinking God Bob she can really give it back so I think um to be honest I think Katrina just wowed everyone with you know her performance so I'm curious um like where were you at in your career in your view on your own career and you're like self-worth or whatever when you've gotten cast in this.

What was the, if I was talking to you like the day before you got tested for this, where were you at? It's actually very funny. I was, I'd been in America for quite a while. I'd just finished the pilot season and tested on about four shows. Quite, you know, quite exciting stuff and got really close on things. And then returned back to the UK, a little bit despondent. And actually started doing one of those things.

I guess an actor does all the time. She started going, can I actually do this? You know, I'm not getting any younger and, you know, am I going to be able to support myself in the future? And I actually was at a point where I was looking at, you know, having to, you know, go work in a bar or, you know, do that sort of thing or, you know, or jobs. But it's been something, you know, every actor does, especially when you're starting out, you know.

And then I got a call to go and audition for this series and it was kind of just stepping on this roller coaster. Well, it does feel like, you know, in the narrative of people like write about you, it feels like overnight success, but you'd been doing this a while. You mean early 30s when you get this part, right? Yeah, yeah. So it's like, how did you rationalize that when you start to sort of like see what the press kind of made of you? And you're like, well, I've actually been doing this for like 10, over 10 years and having some successes and maybe not some successes or whatever.

I've been on the roller coaster for a while. Yeah, I mean, it's it is a little bit, but in also a way, it's wonderful. You know, you get, it's just absolutely catapulted, you know, my career. and changed my life. It's become my life. But I guess, yeah, no, absolutely. I graduated drama school 2003, and I've been working ever since,

you know, off and on as a jobbing actor. So a lot of theatre and, you know, bit parts in drama. But this is, you know, in a way, is very new, but also I feel lucky that it's come out of time when I sort of feel I know what I'm doing almost. Right. Almost. Always something to learn.

Was there, was there one, that got away in the in the years prior that you felt like oh this is going to change my life i'm like in the top you know top three or four now and they're about to i think it's going to happen and then clear coasting to the top yeah was there one uh many yeah many can see i got a long list i mean how long have you got um but yeah and also when you start when you test on shows and you you get so close and what they do when you do a test is that before you do your test your your your agents, they have to strike, you know, the deal. Right, you're signed on to like three or five years or whatever.

Money you're going to get. And always, you know, before you've got the job, you start imagining, you know, how you're going to spend your money and you maybe even go out and buy yourself something. You're like, this is, this is great. Okay, so year three, I guess I'll buy the house. I'll buy the house, the car. And that new watch I've been looking at. So, yeah, I mean, it is.

And I guess, you know, over the years, you get a bit more aware that this. This is the process that happens. And then actually that you can't let it sort of, you know, take you over. But now I'm in a fortunate place where people bring me coffee. It's just like magic. That's the dream. Again, when you start out being an actor, the dream is wanted to be on a podcast where someone just brings you coffee when you ask for it.

Do you know, this guy kind of looks a bit like you. Oh, yeah. I can't do. Probably not to talk about the brand, but yeah. There's a spectacled man that needs a haircut on the coffee. Maybe you should start your own coffee brand. It's my side business. The podcast doesn't pay the bills, man.

I've got to do what I can. So, in retrospect, do you know what you were getting into when you got involved in this? Does it feel like, I mean, this kind of a thing that engenders the kind of passion in fans does not come along very often. Did they, did whoever Ron or whoever kind of explained to you what the ride was going to be like or can anyone even do that? No, they can't. And I actually, no, I don't think I knew what was getting into. And I guess, again, you know, going back to being an actor and being that sort of thing, you always play it down and you're saying, you know, it's not going to... Well, because you've been burned before probably. Every actor's like had that thing where, like, oh, this is going to be the one that clicks.

Yeah. So, you know, you do a show and then, you know, it doesn't get picked up or you do series or whatever. So you're always trying to, you know, not get your expectations too high. And I think it's also been a real learning curve for the show. It's been terrific. And I think that's what's great about it. You know, it's never going to get tiring or tired. it's constantly changing and reimagining yourself.

And certainly how season two is almost a completely different show. So give me the pros and cons of sometimes being objectified. Is there any con? I would feel like I would wish this on myself to feel like people are judging me by my looks in a good way. How do you mean? Well, I've been thinking it's an odd thing. Here's my perspective on this.

So I've been in MTV for many years. And, for instance, in a much different kind of a franchise or whatever. But, like, I had many conversations with Robert Pattinson, for instance, in Twilight. And I feel like he had to kind of, like, ride out this very odd thing where he, people projected stuff onto him because he was playing this character. And there was a disconnect between him and the character. And, you know, for you, I would think there is a bit of that where some people see Jamie and not Sam when they see you. Is that something that you've experienced and something that is just, it's fun? or can it be a little bit of a mind fuck in a way for you?

Yeah, I suppose I have seen that, which I guess I'm flattered by, I guess it means I've probably done my job. Right. But there are other people that I pay money to sort of worry about those things. But I take it all in good humor, and I think it's nice that people kind of so buy into use a character. But then I guess, you know, there are times when, you know, you wish people would sort of see you as the acting. You're not actually that person and you're just playing a role. And, you know, I guess actors always worry that they're going to be typecast or always seen

as one person. You start to go against trend or against type. But I don't know if that's a good idea or not. I'm not sure. Are you seeing that in the things that you've been offered or the things you've been up for since Outlander has it changed? And are they interesting or are people kind of like just again taking at face value this one character you've done and just giving you similar parts to that initially yeah i had i was offered something uh and it was to play a redheaded scottish warrior in this period piece i was like what imagination you've got outside the box for that uh it's quite a big show but um no it's it's changing as well and um yeah i've had some really interesting uh things that we're sort of working on at the moment and uh yeah i'm very excited

And it's all down to Outlander and the fact that, you know, has got this great fan base and that the show seems to be doing pretty well. What were the first, you know, again, we're talking about how you know one can possibly know what they're getting into and something like this. What was the first kind of exposure to fans or in a massive way, in a small way that was kind of like, okay, this is not going to be the normal run-of-the-mill experience. This could be something that resonates on a massive level. Yeah, I think we did a fan event very early on. I think we'd only shot maybe two or three episodes, I think. And we did this fan event in downtown L.A. We may have not even completed those episodes,

but I think we showed them a small trailer. And, you know, there were people out there, you know, queuing up from sort of, you know, very early in the morning. And I guess we didn't expect that. In every way, you know, on Twitter, you know, that also for me, because we're in this bubble in Scotland, where it's kind of removed from it, which is in a way quite nice.

But on Twitter you can sort of see, or social media, you can see, you know, the excitement and the anticipation that people have for the show. And I think that's definitely very rewarding when we then get to come to, you know, New York and let people, you know, finally see it. Is there a kind of typical fan or have you been surprised by the breadth of fans

and the kind of different age groups or whatever? Yeah, I think that, you know, the original book fans are maybe of a certain demographic because Diana wrote these books 20 years ago so they've been waiting 20 years so a group of people that probably read those books back then that had been waiting for them to be made

but we've attracted a lot of new fans even people that haven't read the books especially you know I think the show is just I think it stands alone obviously we wanted to represent the you know Diana's great book series but yeah we've been

attracted people that haven't, you know, sort of even read the books. And then they've gone on to do that. Well, and it's fun, too, also like, I mean, I remember when I first heard about it, and, you know, again, yet based on the book series or whatever, that I frankly wasn't myself knowledgeable about, but then I heard Ron Moore. I'm like, okay, that checks a different box that makes me very intrigued by this. And it's that unique blend that I think is probably expanding your audience beyond maybe what typically you would expect it to be.

Yeah, I think our show does to appeal to a lot of people because it's got so much in it. And I think season two certainly really, we begin to start to play with the other stuff. You know, season one is about individuals and, you know, there's the history side and the sort of time travel is, you know, it is a factor, but it's not a huge part of the show.

Right. You know, and there's obviously this romantic interest as well. But season two really starts to play on a larger scale. And Ron definitely plays a lot more with time and time travel and also the effects of that. So it does feel a bit like Back to the Future. Nice. Yeah.

Referencing the poster behind. I love that post it. So let's talk a little bit about influences growing up, just like what you were into, just what your sensibilities were, clearly, back to the future fan. What else? What were you into? What rocked your world as a kid? Yeah.

Spielberg, I guess. Definitely. Yeah. You're not, right? Yeah, exactly. You were in the right age group. Yeah. I was a big, you know, a big fan of, you know, in Jonah Jones and that sort of thing as well.

And I guess Bond films, you know, I had, I grew up, we had a black and white television that you had to sort of tune in with a dial. I think we had only maybe four channels, three channels and we're only allowed to watch one show a night with a strict parent but it was great

and I saw Star Trek for me and that's obviously Ron you know Ron Moore was involved and that's Star Trek next generation but also theater as I got older it was a big big influence for me and I think that's kind of where I got the passion did anybody in your family was any of your family

in the business at all or was it to surprise everybody that young Sam wanted to get on a stage and do this kind of thing. Young Sam, I have a rather artistic family, so I guess they were quite pleased, but also actually warned me a lot that, you know, this is a career that could be very difficult to get into, and you're never going to make any money, and you're going to be miserable, but no, it's been great. They sort of kept me grounded.

So what was the first professional kind of gig? You were acting in school, when did it kind of, like, when did it kind of, like, go from fun to potential career? I joined a youth theatre in Scotland, and then I went to drama school, Royal Scottish Academy. I think it's called the Royal Conservatoire now. Yes, it sounds very classic. Very classy. And I guess that's where it all changed for me.

I was very lucky in my second year. I got asked to do a play that was in the Edinburgh Festival, and we transferred to London at the Royal Court. And I got nominated for an Olivier Award, which was incredible. And I think that's, you know, the point, you know, so then I got an agent and things started to go from there. But, yeah, just very lucky to be, to be, you know, chosen or to have that sort of opportunity. Was the dream to come here to the States or would you have been content to simply work in Scotland, work in the UK, whatever, and make your life there? Because plenty of obviously do and can. Yeah. Actually, you know, I guess as you start to dream bigger, you know, your aspirations get bigger.

But I initially, you know, was captivated by theater and, you know, learn who, you know, who was running which theater and what plays I wanted to do. And I think that for me was definitely the drawer. But then as you get into it, certainly at drama school, you start to get seen for jobs. You start to hear about other success stories. And that makes you dream bigger. And I, you know, I do remember walking down the streets, you know, after school sort of dreaming about being in Band of Brothers or, you know, being in a hit TV show. So it's very strange to actually be back in Scotland, you know, where it all began and be in an American TV show. Does it still apply to dream bigger when you're on this scale where you're having phenomenal success with a show that's like, again, really resonating with millions and millions of people?

Do the aspirations get higher? Do like, you know, I mean, you mentioned growing up with Indiana Jones and Bond and your name has come up for things like Bond, etc., which is great. I mean, amazing and must be like. It's funny, yeah. honestly I think I guess yes I can't say too much but you know I'm having some meetings at the moment they're all very exciting and it feels it feels like I'm in a moment yeah it feels very lucky so I guess it does you know and it's all down to Outlander you know it's certainly opened up a lot of opportunity and kind of give me a good exposure as well have you

could you imagine yourself in a superhero movie I feel like this is the question I have to ask everybody contractually in 2016. I think absolutely. I've actually played Batman. I know, Bruce Wayne. In a live, in a live actual thing,

which, you know, um, to be honest, I think is, is more difficult than, uh, maybe on film because you've literally got your, your,

your quick changes and you're, and you're, and you can't mess it up. And, uh, it's a very physical show. So, uh, but yeah, I would love another,

I'd love another Lycra suit. Pretty cool to hang up in the wardrobe. Why not? Um, was uh well i'm curious like what's the so you mentioned like spielberg today are you big you can see a lot of film tv what do you have time for um do you know i don't i mean i try and watch as much as i can um but when you're shooting it's very difficult you know we have long days and then you get home in the evening and you need to you need to learn scenes for the next day or

go over stuff that's coming up so you know downtime is is um it's kind of taken up but weekends i do try and get to to the cinema um and i do occasionally be binge. But yeah, a mix of things. And actually, you know, on this press tour, I've managed to have a lot of time on airplanes. So I've been catching up. Nice. Anything you've binged on recently that you were into? Binged on Jessica Jones. Oh, it's really good, right? Yeah, it's amazing. I love it. I think it's... David Tennant in that, by the way. I mean, they're all great, but... I mean, I didn't realize it was him in the first episode, and you just hear his voice, and it's quite dark, quite ominous. And I think Kristen Ritter, I actually had the opportunity

to meet the other day. and I think she's terrific in the show. What filmmaker would you lose your mind to get in the room with? Maybe you've already met with them or not, but who are the ones that kind of today would fry your brain? Ridley Scott, who, you know, I just absolutely love. Or like a Zach Snyder film would be amazing talking about superheroes. Yeah, but I think Ridley Scott, I've always been a huge fan of the alien movies.

I love that world he's created. Have you met Ridley yet? He's doing another alien movie. He's doing a couple more. Ah, he is. Yeah, I haven't met him. Hmm. Pregnant paws in the air.

Turns around. Wait, where are you going, Sam? They've all gone. So, oh, yeah, I do want to ask about a little bit more about the Batman thing, because I'm just fascinated by that. I didn't know this existed, and it must have just been, like, I think you said it well. Like, it's one thing to create a Zach Snyder thing with $150 million, but to sell that on stage, Spider-Man had a tough time doing it, too, here in the States. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Was that, I mean, just can you give me a sense of sort of, was that a fun part to play? Was it an easy part to play? Was it? I mean, you know, in a way, again, it was one of these sort of moments in your life. And, you know, the show, it did okay. We toured around. We did the Staples Center. We did Vegas.

We did a lot of Europe, South America. It just, it had this amazing soundtrack. It was recorded by the London Filmark Orchestra. And that moment when, you know, you walk up the stairs. dressed as Bruce Wayne and the lights come up on you. Yeah, it's very powerful. And yeah, what kind of suit? Was it? How heavy you like that?

Well, so underneath, you know, you had the Bruce Wayne outfit. And underneath that, you had a full body harness. And then obviously, you know, you have this quick change, which we got down to 20 seconds into the Batman costume, which was this, yeah, I mean, incredible latex rubber, but quite very thick. He was kind of more of a kind of tank kind of Batman. And the cow, obviously, and you'd sweat buckets and fly out over the audience.

And it was great. I mean, I remember moments of, like, being in Brazil, like, hanging upside down for the second half of the season, just second half of the show, just, like, waiting to fly in. And, you know, just hanging above, you know, thousands of people. And it's very odd. But, yeah, a great job. And actually, I think I learned a lot from it, which I think then I used in the group. It's just about confidence, I guess, and about...

the power as well, the power of the actor, I guess. What do you think you'll take from Outlander and hopefully it continues on for many seasons? But what are the lessons or what are the skills that you've accumulated here that you didn't have prior? Probably the ginger hair is like one of them. Yeah, I know, absolutely. As I said, it's been a learning curve. It's taught me a lot about not only doing the job, which is, you know, one side of its sort of technical side and you're trusting yourself as an actor and learning lines.

and working in a sort of studio capacity and actually the endurance of it all. Yeah. But then the other side as well, I guess, you know, that this press tour and just how all-encompassing it is. But it's been, yeah, it's been a really nice journey to be on and I feel very fortunate. Is there stuff that's brought up in the interviews invariably that you kind of like steal yourself against, like, parts of the show, whether it's the sex or whatever, that you feel like, yes, it's a part of it, but do we really need to go there again? or are you kind of comfortable with it all at this point? Yeah, I don't have a problem with it at all. You know, sometimes it does seem to be the focus of a lot of interviews,

but really, you know, I think it's part of the show, and it's an important part of the show. And we've put a lot of thought and time into those scenes and those episodes, and I'm really proud of it. So, yeah, it's good. I mean, the only question is what's under the kill. I think that's always just become... And I still can't think of a good answer, but

So my next 12 questions Yeah, exactly, go on. No, no, it's not at all. You'll find out on Saturday. It's not in parade. Exactly, exactly. So you're excited for obviously sharing this season, which has a different look by virtue of Paris, et cetera.

Does it feel like it's going in unique different places than first season? Are the fans going to be enchanted as much as they were the first time around you think? Absolutely. I think they'll be surprised. I think season two really is a different, It has a different feel to the show, a different look to the show, obviously. And certainly, it is, the relationship that Jamie and Claire have has changed. They've become, they're in this marriage now.

You know, season one was about discovery and about sort of the honeymoon period and newlywed. Season two is definitely, you know, the more grown-up kind of complex marriage and them dealing with a lot of issues. But it really is. It's a great season. It's got, you know, two counterpoints. The first half is in Paris. in this very sort of high society and the second half we're back in Scotland

where it's more immediate and there's more blood and mud. More your speed? More my speed. You know, I think that's the characters as well. You know, in Paris they're not comfortable. They're there and it's not their world and everyone's kind of a fish out of water. And then Scotland actually in a way

in this season kind of plays, it's very healing in a way. And before I let you go, I do want to mention that on your to do list in the near future or semi-neur future, You're going to be climbing, right? Kilimanjaro. Wow, yes, yes, indeed. So what's the impetus for something like that as someone that tries to resist any kind of physical activity whatsoever?

I'm just curious what goes on in your brain. That's different than mine. I love challenging myself and I love, just being in Scotland doing the show, I've got a real, found a real enjoyment in going up in mountains and sort of getting out there. And certainly the charity that I, event that I created this year might be challenged. That's sort of an extension of that trying to encourage people to just, you know, have a bigger horizon, a bigger outlook and a healthy lifestyle. And Kilimanjaro, for me, is, you know, a little challenge and it's just going to be amazing, beautiful. It sounds like you're kind of a goal-oriented guy, whether it's in terms of, like, as a kid, wanting to, you know, dreaming dreams like that or even today of whether it's in your chosen profession or leisure activities, it's helpful for you to kind of have things to shoot for. I think so, yeah. I'm not very good at doing nothing.

In fact, yeah, I'm always trying to, I don't know, it's just, I'm always sort of constantly active, though I probably will have a snooze later on today before the premiere. Power nap? Yeah, definitely. But it's great. I love it. It's, it keeps me going. Well, we named checked Indiana Jones earlier today. I've got this Indiana Jones fedora here with a bunch of random questions. You're not obligated to answer all of them because that would take five hours. There are a lot. But answer a few. Did you write them all, or? The good ones I did.

We'll save the good ones I did. Okay, we're going to write the bottom here. That's a nice fedora. Okay, there we go. That's a very short one. Favorite that they missed off the E. Someone's edited in. Favorite childhood TV show.

Favorite childhood TV show? Oh. Actually, there was a British show which no one will know. There's cartoon all about Excalibur. Legends of Prince Valiant, actually. I was kind of upset. with it. No one's ever heard of it.

And, yeah, it was cartoon all about Prince Valiant and Excalibur and Arthur and I've always been kind of obsessed

by that. In fact, someone should do a movie. Oh, no, they just have. They did. Guy Ritchie just did

something right. I was going to say that's been a surprisingly tough nut to crack for Hollywood. Like, they've never real,

like, they've tried, they did the Richard Gear, Sean Connery one that didn't yeah. The best was

definitely the Patrick Stewart. Well, the Excalver. Yeah, that was John Borman, which is a just, it's just crazy. That's one of those films like, I don't know what age you saw it,

but I saw it like probably a few years too young. Yeah, myself too, yeah. It was a crazy movie. It was intense, yeah. Right? I think I saw it, and I must have been around 10, maybe younger, and it was on one Christmas. And it's like every great British actor is basically in it,

that like some of them before they did anything. And Brian Blessed, obviously, just shouting his way through it, which in fact, every film that he's done is just terrific, made better by Blessed Shouting. Blessing shouting, exactly. Yeah, yeah. Flash Gordon being one of them Oh my Flash Gordon

You would be a good Flash Gordon Well, you heard it here first That's why they should remake It actually was a remake and I was up for it A long time ago I can't remember when But yeah I'll come around sooner away again

Sure it will Yeah The best sitcom of all time is Friends Fraser's up there as well Friends in the UK You know It was on all the time It was on Channel 4

And I think everyone in the UK kind of grows up with them. Nice. Yeah. It's kind of our idea of what New York or America is. Yeah. And we all like wander around going, where's that coffee shop? Central perk. Yeah.

Choose your own end. Find the question that you like. Oh, I get to. Yeah, wherever you feel the natural ending is. I'm putting the onus on you, Sam. Okay. I think this might be the last one. Okay, let's see it.

Have I ever been arrested? Nice. No. No, I haven't. I'm probably a bit of a do-gooder, to be honest. I've made a citizen's arrest. I think it's been talked about that before. But, yeah.

But, no, I actually haven't disappointed in myself. Maybe I should. No. Every actor should have, you know, these sort of interesting side. You're not in your dark period yet? I think it was going to come. Yeah, I think where I'm on the edge. How old manifest?

What are you going to do? It's not going to be anything really bad. It's going to be like peeing in a corner in public or something. That's not so bad. Just something a little. Yeah. I think it's going to come. Okay. Keep an eye out. Sam is looking for a crime to commit.

Exactly. Yeah. Don't tell him my PD. Enjoy your week here. We're all excited for Alander returning. And it's always good to see it, man. Thanks for stopping by today. Thank you so much. Thanks, buddy. From the right, I'm Mark Hard. And from the left, I'm Pete Hard. And we're the hosts of Hard Nation. We're covering all the biggest stories this election season on Earwolf while talking to your very favorite politicians like Ted Cruz.

Who would I cast? A dream cast of the People v. O.J. Simpson. Obviously playing O.J. Simpson. Jesus Christ. Hillary Clinton. I'm a chop by yo dick. Oh! Tom, chum, chum, chum, chubb, chubb, chum, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb.

Donald Trump. If I became president, I would bronze. every immigrant child, and I would attach them to naval ships. Listen to Hard Nation Today, America, on Earwolf, Howl, iTunes are your favorite podcast app. Get Hard. This has been an Earwolf production, executive produced by Scott Ackerman, Adam Sacks, and Chris Bannon. For more information and content, visit Earwolf.com. American history is full of infamous tales that continue to captivate audiences,

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