Actress Izzy Meikle-Small on Love and War in Outlander
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Outlander’s Izzy Meikle-Small didn’t make an ideal first impression on Diana Gabaldon.
“I met Diana on maybe my third or fourth week of filming, and I didn't know she was going to be there,” Meikle-Small, who joins the cast of Starz’s popular time-travel drama in season seven as Rachel Hunter, says of her introduction to the woman whose books inspired the TV series.
“It was such a funny day. We all really had the giggles because we were doing this scene where we were in this loch and me, Sam [Heughan], and Cat [Caitriona Balfe] were in a boat that was pushing off because we were escaping. It was really high stakes,” she says over Zoom in late June, describing a scene from earlier this season in the episode “Singapore,” in which British soldiers are coming to attack Fort Ticonderoga, forcing the Continental Army to flee.
“They put us in the shallowest part of the loch, but the boat was too heavy and Sam couldn't push the boat away. So every time we did the take, Sam would jump in and heroically try and push us off, and he would just be grounded every time,” Meikle-Small continues. “I realized that Diana had been watching this whole time and we were so embarrassed 'cause I felt like I just spent the whole day laughing. But she was very sweet and said that I was what she imagined for Rachel, which is obviously the nicest thing to hear.”
Meikle-Small is one of only a few newcomers to Outlander in its penultimate season. Her character Rachel is a Quaker woman, whose path crosses the Frasers’ just as America barrels toward the brink of the Revolutionary War. She’s introduced to the story alongside her brother Denzell (“Denny” to friends and intimates), who, too, is steadfast in his pacifist Quaker beliefs, but joins the colonists’ cause as a surgeon.
“It's just been so great to have someone to hold your hand throughout this kind of whirlwind experience, to know exactly what you're going through,” Joey Phillips who plays Denny, says of his on-screen sister. “We just clicked straight-away. There was such familiarity between the two of us, and I think we're both quite chill people.”
While Meikle-Small is one of this season’s rookies, Outlander is hardly her first period piece. In 2011, she played the child version of Estella in the BBC’s adaptation of Great Expectations; that same year, she also portrayed young Kathy in Never Let Me Go.
“I was a child actor for eight, nine years and then decided to go to uni and take a break. This is my first job back as an adult. I've done a lot of period drama, and so maybe that's what brought me here,” she says. “I've also done a lot of projects that were book adaptations.”
But more so than the setting of Outlander, or even that it is based on an extremely popular series of novels—the actress “immersed” herself in Gabaldon’s writings before starting filming—Meikle-Small was drawn to the character of Rachel herself.
“When you first meet her, you have such a view of who you think she will be and she completely undoes all those expectations. She is quite a modern woman for those times. Quakers were very forward-thinking, and they believe in parity between the sexes; and I think that modernness is really exciting. She ends up having a bit of an edge, and she's strong and she also has a fun love story.”
Early on, Rachel catches the eye of two members of the extended Fraser family: Young Ian (John Bell) and William Ransom (Charles Vandervaart).
“What's nice about this love triangle is that she has a completely different dynamic with these two different men. And it was really fun to play with this idea of romantic love at first sight, having that kind of spark that you can't get away from, versus a more platonic love of somebody that you love as a friend and it's unrequited. You do love them but not like they love you,” she says.
“It was interesting to be able to play both storylines within the same character. Rachel is also from a very sheltered background. She grew up in this closed Quaker community. So her reaction to it all is funny because she's overwhelmed by the whole experience. So that was another layer to add into this: complete naivety.”
Meikle-Small did a chemistry test with Bell as part of her audition process, but didn’t meet Vandervaart until they were filming. In fact, one of their very first scenes was quite intimate: it involved her shaving his face. “I was like nice to meet you, I'm going to lean in and shave your face now,” she says, with a laugh.
But despite the elevated emotions on-screen, off-set, the trio—along with Phillips—“got on really well.”
“I think it's fun to bring new energy to a cast that's been around for a long time. They were super welcoming and John [Bell] especially 'cause he's from Glasgow. He was very good about taking us under his wing at the weekends and showing us the sites,” she says. “Joining the show, it's daunting 'cause you're like, ‘Oh these people have been working together for 10 years. They obviously have their dynamic, I hope they like me.’ But it's mostly just exciting becoming part of this family. It's been a whirlwind, but it's been really great.”
It’s bittersweet though, that Meikle-Small is joining the family just as Outlander approaches its final chapter. In fact, the cast and crew started filming season seven thinking it could be the show’s last. “It wasn't until halfway through filming season seven that we found out we were getting to season eight,” confirmed executive producer Maril Davis to T&C. And everyone—but especially Sam and Caitriona want to give fans a “proper, well-thought-out ending,” Meikle-Small says.
“They've been on this journey for so long and they're so passionate about the show. They put so much hard work into it that I think it would be a shame to rush to end it. The producers and Sam and Cat are very keen to give fans the ending that they deserve.”
The mid-season finale of Outlander premieres on Friday. Shop Now
Photos by David Reiss. Stylist: Holly White. Hair: Chad Maxwell. Make up: Sara Hill.
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