'Outlander' Star Charles Vandervaart on What it Takes to Play Jamie Fraser's Son

In the TV series version of Outlander, we have twice met Jamie Fraser’s (Sam Heughan) illegitimate son William Ransom. First as a newborn and then as a young lad during the years Jamie was serving as a groom at Helwater stables. His mother was Geneva Dunsany (Hannah James), daughter of the property’s owner. And then once again year’s later when Lord John Grey (David Berry) visits Fraser’s Ridge with William in tow, as he is raising the allegedly orphaned William as his stepfather, having married Geneva's sister Isobel (Tanya Reynolds) following Geneva's death.

Now, in Season 7, we’ve met the adult William (Charles Vandervaart), who has purchased a commission in the British army and has come to America to fight on the side of the Red Coats. And it’s hard not to compare the two men —although they have yet to be side to side onscreen.

While there are some similarities between Sam and Charles—both men are over 6 feet tall—Sam is 6-feet 3 inches, while Charles is 6-feet 1-inch—and they are both devilishly handsome, there are also some differences in their characters’ characteristics.

Jamie is a Scotsman through and through, while William was born and raised a Lord. Jamie has red hair, while William has brown hair [this is also as it is in Diana Gabaldon’s novels], taking after his mother in this regard. But what about mannerisms?

Related: Outlander Author Diana Gabaldon Weighs in on Why Jamie Is a Hero on Season 7's Fifth Episode

We asked Charles how he prepared to play Jamie’s son.

“I watched the show, of course, and I had lots of discussions about what mannerisms or what behaviors that Jamie has that William would also have,” he tells Parade. “And, likewise, with my dad who raised me, Lord John Grey, what kind of traits that William has that he inherited from Lord John—the dad that stepped up. But I think it was also important that William was his own person. He’s not just a carbon copy of Jamie or of Lord John Grey. He has his own attributes, but he definitely has that same fire and attitude, that passion that Jamie has, while he gets a lot of his mannerisms from Lord John Grey.”

Related: Outlander’s Sam Heughan on Life Isn’t Worth Living for Jamie Without Claire

William has come to the New World to help protect the honor of the crown, by not letting the patriots win the war against King George. Unlike Jamie, he hasn’t experienced the horrors of war previously and Charles says that from William’s perspective he’s quite naïve.

“I think a lot of his eagerness to go to war is just purely of ignorance because he doesn’t realize how messy and how bloody and how horrible war can be,” he says. “But he has a similar passion to Young Ian [John Bell], that he really wants to fight for what he believes in. And it’s interesting that they’re on opposite sides because when we did meet each other, we formed quite a lovely relationship.”

Related: Meet Izzy Meikle-Small and Joey Phillips — Outlander's Hot New Stars for Season 7

That meeting took place when Ian rescued William, who was at death’s door, from the Great Dismal Swamp and took him to the home of Denzell (Joey Phillips) and Rachel Hunter (Izzy Meikle-Small) to receive medical attention because Denzell is a physician.

Ian, of course, has no choice since he is aware that William is his cousin, but their friendship will be short lived once William releases that Ian is fighting on the side of the “traitors,” and then there’s the added fact that both men are smitten with Rachel.

“We have such a lovely relationship,” Charles says. “Of course, love gets in the way of that and there’s some tension, for sure.”

New episodes of Outlander are available to stream weekly on Fridays at midnight on the STARZ app, all STARZ streaming and on-demand platforms, and internationally on the Lionsgate+ premium streaming platform in the U.K. New episodes will air weekly on the STARZ linear platform on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET in the U.S.

Next, Outlander EP Maril Davis Teases What Will Happen in the Final Season (Season 8)