Outlander’s Sophie Skelton Reveals Final Season Secrets and Life After Brianna
jacket AWAKE MODE, shoes MITHRIDATE, tights HEIST, sunglasses LINDA FARROW
When Sophie Skelton flew into London from New York for just a few days, you might have expected her to be in “blink and you’ll miss it” mode. But the second she stepped onto the PIBE cover shoot set, everything changed. Warm, smiling, and totally at ease, she became the heart of the set and a muse for the photographer.
After more than a decade on screen, and years spent playing Brianna Randall Fraser on Outlander, Sophie is now gearing up to say goodbye to a role that basically grew up with her. With the series’ final season premiering on March 6, she’s reflecting on what it really means to let go—and trust us, it’s not as simple as taking off a wig. Fans will also get a chance to see her in I Can Only Imagine 2, the follow-up to the box-office hit, hitting theaters February 20.
In our chat with PIBE, Sophie spills on saying goodbye to Brianna, stepping into new roles, and even drops a hint about the secret payoff in Season 8 that fans have been dying to hear about. From behind-the-scenes mishaps to lessons she’s taken from ballet to acting, Skelton proves there’s more to her than what meets the eye, and why everyone on set can’t stop talking about her charm and energy.
Left: skirt & shirt HECTOR MACLEAN, ring COMPLETEDWORKS • Right: dress, bag & shoes STELLA MCCARTNEY, glasses LINDA FARROW, earrings DINOSAUR DESIGNS
As Outlander heads into its final season, what has surprised you most about Brianna’s journey, and how has your approach to playing her changed since the start?
Sophie Skelton: Brianna has had so many major curve balls thrown at her over the years, so not a whole lot surprises me anymore! But I would say that the level of pride I felt for her this season did catch me off guard. It felt as though she had finally made it through the haze and hardships that life had dealt her for so long and that - not only had she come out the other side of it - she’d walked out of it a glowing, grounded, impressive version of herself. It felt so settled and right. I felt: “I can let her go now, she has made it.”
As for my approach, it organically changed each year of filming. I’ve been fortunate to play her through so many different ages (flashbacks and such), time periods, and scenarios - so there’s always been something new to research, and to get my teeth into. I’d say my approach has changed from the early years in the sense that I allowed myself to let the book Bree stand alone. I think just confidence in not worrying about letting book-readers down meant that I could trust the screen version skin of hers I’d been sitting in for so long, and make her my own.
Outlander has been a huge part of your life and Brianna has grown up on screen with you. As you say goodbye, will you feel loss or relief?
SS: Going back to what I said before re Bree being the person I always hoped she would become; I feel that made it so much easier to leave her there, and let her go. That made any fear of loss less prevalent.
I didn’t know what to expect in terms of how I’d feel. Not many people can relate to letting a character go that you’ve grown up in and with for such formative years of your life. There’s definitely bits of me tied up in Bree, and vice versa. We seen each other through a lot, so on paper it could’ve sounded scary to break that tether, but it was actually very cathartic. I tried not to think about it during shooting. When I took the wig off for the last time I felt really calm. Just grateful, and ready. It really felt like tying a bow around a whole world, and book-sized chapter. It was quite peaceful really. I fully said goodbye and handed her over - now Bree is the audience’s forever, and that brings relief in a sense. She’s in good hands with the fans, and she lives on there. I just hope people continue to love and learn from her like I did.
Without spoiling the plot, is there something about Season 8 that you’re most excited for fans to finally see, a secret payoff or reveal?
SS: Well, unfortunately Brianna doesn’t have a THIRD father pop out of the woodworks. Sorry to let you guys down there. Yet the ghost of one might be lingering… in more ways than one. Very cryptic - that was cruel of me.
Left: skirt & bra JOSHUA SMALL, jacket THE FRANKIE SHOP, shoes CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN, necklace DINOSAUR DESIGNS • Right: dress JOHANNES WARNKE, earrings MISHO, shoes AQUAZZURA
Playing Shannon in I Can Only Imagine 2 is deeply emotional and rooted in faith and love. What did this role ask of you personally, and did it even reveal some truths about your own relationships?
SS: Shannon taught me patience. Previously, I would have said I’m a pretty patient person but I had to check myself there because Shannon is a whole different level!
If someone isn’t willing to help themselves and you become the collateral damage of that, then that can be very painful. Shannon never sinks to a lesser version of herself amidst that reality. She knows how to give space without pushing. She does an incredible job of sheltering her kids from the pain that is filling their home. She really is the emotional thread of the film, and of that family’s life.
You can feel her pain in this film, but in real life she is such a fun person to be around. To look at their family now, you would think their life had been so perfect and easy. They are such a joy, and the relationship between them all is magical. I would feel very rich in life if that’s what my family dynamic feels like when/if I start one of my own. So, in answer to your question, I think she has taught me to not take things personally when you’re feeling unseen by the people closest to you. She’s taught me to have unwavering faith that people will come back in their own time, but to have the courage in yourself to recognise what you’re choosing. Sometimes it’s hard to know when you’re barking up the wrong tree, and when you’re not doing yourself a disservice by holding steady and waiting patiently.
Northern England to New York is quite the jump! What’s been the biggest cultural surprise for you since you made the move?
SS: Yes! Well, I have to translate myself. Both ways. If I come back to England my family take the mickey out of me for saying “hood/trunk” or “sidewalk” but if I’m stateside and I mention the “pavement” it’s as if I’m talking gobbledygook.
I find NY a lot like the north of England, in that people will just talk to you on the street. I think the people do make NY. There’s a real friendliness amongst the brutal pace of the city that’s surprisingly homey to me.
I did have a moment on set of ICOI2 where I talk about my kid having a “paddy” (tumble weed) “strop”? (nothing) “a fit”? To which I got a whole crew chiming with blank faces “Sophie, what on earth are you saying?” For the life of me, I couldn’t find an equivalent terminology to explain what I was trying to say. Nor could they. We laughed and moved swiftly on. Sometimes it really does feel like two different languages. Cotton wool bud? Forget it.
One of the biggest day to day surprises is food. We are so lucky in the UK in that we have local farmers and you can really taste that in our fruit and veg. I also massively miss a Sunday roast, and pub culture.
When you think about that little girl stepping into a ballet studio at the Royal Academy, what part of her still lives in you, and what’s one thing acting has taught you that dance never could?
SS: Gosh. That’s a great question. I was so tough on myself, and I still am. Those exams were intense. I would read and memorise the entire syllable in French, so that I had it in my muscle memory and in my mind should a change be thrown at you. Last minute changes and adjustments like that really came in useful. I think it took me years to really make the connection as to where those skills came from. I took them for granted. I didn’t really know they were particular “skills” until people mentioned it at work.
Only then did I really give it the credit and gratitude use those many years deserved! The discipline, the “stage face” when your feet are bleeding to the bone on a daily. Mind over matter. Long hours. All work, no play. The list goes on. Acting has taught me the opposite on dance. One thing I loved about ballet was the meditative side-effect.
You’re thinking so intensely about what every bone and angle is doing, from your pinky finger to pinky toe: where you’re looking, when you can sneak in a breath, the exact beat of music in which your arm reaches its final position with the leg in sync.
You’re so aware of your body that that is all encompassing. It probably fuelled some control freak side of me. Acting is the opposite. The last thing you want to be doing is to be inside your own head. It taught me to let go. You can’t be watching yourself from the inside, or concerned about appearance. It’s meditative in the opposite way, in that you have to be so out of your own head that when you come out of a scene you don’t really remember what you did. There’s no right or wrong, you just gotta feel it. I suppose in that way it taught me to let go of ego or fear and be prepared to make a fool out of yourself in that sort of unconscious state. Ballet’s worst fear!
Left: coat TOVE, earrings TOM WOOD • Right: jacket & skirt THE FRANKIE SHOP, shirt MILO MARIA
Which of your characters, Brianna from Outlander, Shannon from I Can Only Imagine 2, or Julia from Castlevania, would you most want to go for coffee with, and why?
SS: Ohhh that’s tough because Shannon is a real person and she is amazzzingggg. We had many a coffee.
With Brianna: I feel I’ve had coffee with her for the past 10 years, so I’m - potentially unfairly - going to say Julia. She is intriguing, and I’d love to know more about her past. I wish I could have done more with her. Maybe she can tell me over a brew.
If this moment feels like the end of one chapter, what would you call the next one and what are you hoping happens in it?
SS: I feel very lucky that the end of this chapter has aligned with the end of my 20s. That made it very tidy to close the things off in one fell swoop.
So, I guess I’d call the next one my 30s! Eeek.
The last decade was testing in a lot of ways, and so I feel very equipped to handle pretty much anything that comes my way. (Gone and jinxed that for myself, haven’t I?)
Maybe this is a bit of a phoenix era; I am hoping I have learned the lessons, and passed the tests, and now I get to take those into the next decade but with a different “me”. A me in a new country, with new jobs and new characters.
I’m a nerd at heart, so I love chucking myself in the deep end of research around a character and project, and being given challenges. I’m looking forward to working with new people, and finding work I feel passionate and excited about. This chapter feels very fresh, and I’m really grateful for that.
Interview / Lucas Pontidas, Managing Editor, PIBE
This PIBE exclusive has been produced by:
Photography / Iakovos Kalaitzakis
Styling / Anna Hughes-Chamberlain
Make up / Faye Bluff
Hair / Jordan Robertson
Talent / Sophie Skelton
Photographic Assistant / Christopher Gowar
Styling Assistant / Emma Seery