Why Caitriona Balfe Is Afraid to Direct Sam Heughan in 'Outlander'

In the 10 years since Caitríona Balfe was cast as Claire Randall Fraser on Outlander, she has gone from actress to producer, and this season, she added director to her resumé when she began directing a few second-unit scenes.

Those included scenes with Sophie Skelton, who plays her daughter Brianna, and John Bell, who plays Young Ian, but she has yet to direct Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser), which will happen when the cast returns for season 8 and Caitríona will direct an entire episode. She shared with the audience at the ATX Festival that she’s “terrified” to direct her co-star.

When asked by Parade on a junket for Outlander season 7 if Caitríona had any grounds for her fear, Heughan joked with us that she “absolutely” has reason to be, saying, “She doesn’t know what she’s got herself in for. We’ll see how I feel on the day.”

Related: Sam Heughan on the Changes in Jamie for Outlander Season 7

Despite Sam's issuing a caution, Caitríona is looking forward to taking the reins of an episode.

“I am so excited about it, but obviously I’m very nervous,” she told Parade. “It’s a huge leap in terms of the workload, the responsibility and everything. But it’s a little like the person you want to impress the most is the person you’re most scared of. I know Sam is going to be an incredible collaborator and all of that kind of stuff, but I’m also scared.”

But first the two team up on the supersized season 7. The initial episodes are based on Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling novel A Breath of Snow and Ashes, which didn’t get wrapped up in Season 6 because it had to be cut short due to COVID, before moving on to An Echo in the Bone.

When we return, Jamie and Claire are separated. She’s in jail in Wilmington waiting to be tried for a murder she didn’t commit, and Jamie is making his way back to her after having almost been shanghaied by Richard Brown (Chris Larkin) and his men.

“I would say that their partnership is really strong this season,” Caitríona said of the Jamie/Claire relationship. “We’ll see it in many different ways. I think there’s a lot of adversity this season, but really what holds them both up is that they learned to really lean on each other and they’re very supportive of each other.”

Once the two are reunited and Claire is rescued from the threat of being hanged, the American Revolutionary War becomes an obstacle. The Frasers were hoping to make their way to Scotland, but shipping is blocked by the British, so when Jamie gets recruited into the American army, Claire goes along with him, knowing her medical skills will be put to good use.

Related: Outlander Stars Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe Adorably Bicker Over Their Pet Peeves

“She was there in Prestonpans and Culloden,” Caitríona reminds us of earlier battles that Jamie fought where she was by his side. “I think Claire’s the type of person that functions very well in these kinds of circumstances. She has the skills that make her a very useful person to have around in wartime. And though she may not be on the actual battlefield, she’s right there at the field hospital. I think it helps her in terms of her worry that she has something to do and something to be actively involved in while she knows that Jamie is risking his life."

Even though Jamie and Claire know the outcome of the war, it isn’t any less dangerous because they don’t know the specific outcome for them. And then there’s the added worry for Jamie that his dear friend Lord John (David Berry) and his illegitimate son William (Charles Vandervaart) are fighting on the opposite side.

“She’s very aware of what Jamie’s putting himself through,” Caitríona continued. “I think this time, especially Jamie, is in a position where it’s not just his life that he’s holding in his hands. He has so many people that he’s responsible for and she sees how that responsibility weighs very heavily on him. I think a big part of her role is also to be a sounding board and a support for him.”

Outlander premieres the first eight episodes of Season 7 on Friday, June 16. New episodes will be 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, As War Once Again Comes to the Frasers, Outlander Reveals Its Season 7 Trailer and Key Art