How Outlander handled the arrival of Jamie’s [SPOILER!]

This is a great interview Lynette Rice, Entertainment Weekly, had with Matt B. Roberts.We instantly feel in love with Clark Butler – what a gifted actor he is! ~ Enjoy

Executive producer Matthew B. Roberts talked to EW about the challenges in making the latest episode, along with how easy it was to cast Willie, and why they went with a contemporary tune to end the emotional episode.

Did it take a long time to find 11-year-old Clark Butler, who played Willie?

Roberts: Surprisingly it didn’t. He kind of jumped out at us during casting. And the way we cast now isn’t the way we cast, you know, even five years ago. Before, everybody would come in and read. Now much of it is done online. So, [the casting director] gathers them all up and then sends them. We can watch [auditions] on our iPhones if we wanted to. And we were all spread out all over; all over the place when we watched the casting. Clark jumped right out. We all agreed. And we don’t normally always agree.

Were you looking for a perfect resemblance to Jamie?

No. We cast the best person for the role. The best actor. That’s been true with almost every single person we’ve cast. Sam is not really like the way Jamie is described in the book and Claire isn’t described like Caitriona. But now they’re beloved. They’ve taken over what people imagine in the books. I think that’s a testimony to their acting and how they’ve really brought these characters to life. That’s the way we cast now.