Who Plays Jamie's Adult Son William Ransom on Outlander?
One of the moments fans have most been looking forward to in the super-sized seventh season of Outlander, is the arrival of Jamie's son William to the colonies. Here, everything to know about Charles Vandervaart, who will play the character.
Charles Vandervaart plays Jamie's son.
Last May, TVLine reported that the pivotal role of Jamie's adult son had been cast. Actor Charles Vandervaart will play the adult version of William Ransom, the child that Jamie fathered during season 3. Vandervaart is best known for his role in season 3 of Netflix's Lost in Space.
As fans will recall, Jamie was blackmailed into a having sex with Geneva Dunsany (Hannah James), who then gave birth to their son. This isn't the first time William has appeared in the show—Lord John Grey brought him to visit Jamie as a young boy during season 4. After Geneva's death, Lord John raised William as his own son.
Per the show's official character description, William will arrive in Wilmington as a British soldier who's enthusiastic about helping to stamp out the American revolution. "On the surface, William is a courteous aristocrat," the description reads. "But simmering under the surface is a Highlander’s fire." It's also worth noting that William is still unaware of his real parentage—though it's safe to guess this may soon change.
"We are happy to welcome Charles to the Fraser family for season seven of Outlander, joining the cast with the other talented actors that bring our stories to life," showrunner Matthew B. Roberts said in a statement. "Scotland will again be our production home as the Frasers and MacKenzies try to make a home against the backdrop of the Revolutionary War. This season promises more adventure, time travel and emotional peril than any season before."
"The character of William Ransom is a wonderful role, and one fans have been eager to see," said executive producer Maril Davis, in her own statement. "Finding someone with the talent and physicality to play Jamie’s son was a daunting task, but Charles’ charisma was evident during the audition process and we are excited to see what he will bring to William’s multi-layered journey."
The William storyline is one of Maril Davis's favorites.
"I love the William storyline this season because it allows the audience to be on his journey with him in terms of—it's a young man who approaches war with the ideals of a person who's never been in a war before," she told T&C. "Jamie and Claire have been in wars, they know what that's like. And William is someone who is excited about war, doesn't understand what the realities of war are and the after effects and how that affects everyone's life. He is the one character that changes the most over this season. His trajectory, both of finding out the realities of war, finding out the realities of his situation personally, and the fallout from both of those things—I think is such an amazing difference from where we started and the man we know at the end of the season."
Vandervaart says joining the cast was "definitely a bit nerve wracking."
"It's such a massive show and such a lovely fan base. But I've been met with nothing but love so far," he tells T&C. "I 'm not even on screen yet, and the fans have been so generous. We got a good casting crew, a great casting crew here, so we're all a good family now."
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