Caitríona Balfe Set to Direct 'Outlander' for the First Time & How She Feels About Directing Sam Heughan May Surprise You

For almost 10 years now, fans of Outlander have all joined in their love for Caitríona Balfe as the fearless Claire Fraser. And, luckily for fans, Balfe will be taking her participation in the show to a whole other level as she prepares to direct during the show’s eighth and final season, the actress revealed in a panel at ATX with SheKnows’ Reshma Gopaldas.

Balfe revealed she’s already directed a few of her co-stars and herself, but there’s one person in particular she hasn’t directed yet. Gopaldas asked Balfe if she’s ever directed her longtime friend, co-star and love interest on the show Sam Heughan. Balfe quickly answered, “No,” then laughed and added, “terrified.”

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Speaking to Good Morning America yesterday, Balfe continued to tease her directorial debut. “[I’m] really excited,” she said. “I feel really fortunate to be given this opportunity on the show. It just felt like the perfect place to try something new.”

Balfe continued, talking about Outlander‘s seventh season, which airs on June 16. “I’ve already been doing a little bit of second-unit this season and gotten to direct Sophie [Skelton] and John Bell, but not this man,” she said, looking to Heughan.

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Heughan quickly let his future director know one key piece of information, “Just to let you know, I do everything in one take,” he joked. Balfe’s reaction indicated that might not be totally true!

Also during their appearance, the pair talked about the new season ahead. “I feel like this season is the biggest one we’ve done since season one, and the scope of it is so huge, it just feels really epic,” Balfe said.

“There’s a lot that happens this season, 16 episodes, action-packed,” Heughan added.

As for how the two are preparing to say goodbye to the show, Balfe admitted it will be a “bittersweet moment.” “All things have to come to an end but it’s gonna be really hard to say goodbye to this show,” she said.

Although it will be hard to say goodbye, we can’t wait to say “hello” to Balfe as a director.

A version of this article was originally published in June 2023.

Before you go, click here to see Caitríona Balfe’s best ‘Outlander’ episodes.

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