Canadian actor Charles Vandervaart did something actors aren’t supposed to do when he auditioned for the part of William Ransom in the time-travel period drama “Outlander”: he allowed himself to believe the role was his.
“Sometime between audition number two and three, I was kind of convinced I was going to get it,” Vandervaart said in an interview.
Normally, he tries to forget about auditions because “you do 100 auditions in a year — if I get really emotional about every single one I’m gonna fall apart as a human being — but this one, I was telling my friends that I was gonna go to Scotland (where ‘Outlander’ was filmed) before I even knew,” the Toronto actor said.
And so he did. And for two seasons — including the eighth and final one, which debuts in Canada on Monday — Vandervaart has played privileged but troubled young aristocrat William.
“Outlander” is based on the book series by Diana Gabaldon about an English Second World War nurse who time-travels to 18th-century Scotland and falls in love with a Highlander. But the series, like the books, is not just a spicy romance — it’s also a historical epic, spanning from the Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland to the Revolutionary War in the United States, as well as a heartfelt family drama.
Vandervaart’s character is part of that family (and here’s a spoiler alert if you’re not caught up): raised in England as the ninth earl of Ellesmere by his stepfather, Lord John Grey (David Berry), he is actually the illegitimate son of rebel highlander Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) — a revelation that outraged William in Season 7, causing him to act out in volatile ways.
“He carries a lot of confusion and anger with him at all times, because he really has no idea who he is,” said Vandervaart during a chat at an east-end Toronto coffee shop.
“There have been many times where, just as a person, I had a hard time playing him because I so passionately disagreed with how he was behaving. (But) he was a really interesting character to play and I was really honoured to play him, because it’s very infrequent that an actor gets to play someone with such a level of nuance,” he added.
Vandervaart is just 25, but he knows of what he speaks. He has been acting professionally since he was eight or nine, beginning with Tiny Tim in “A Christmas Carol” at Theatre Orangeville, the Ontario town where he was born and grew up.
More theatre followed, including work with Soulpepper in Toronto before screen roles beckoned. Vandervaart, who moved to Toronto at 17 to be closer to the work, has appeared in TV series including “The L.A. Complex,” “Lost in Space,” “Murdoch Mysteries” and “Holly Hobbie.”
But “Outlander” is the first show he’s done with such a broad reach internationally.
Vandervaart didn’t know much about it when his agent sent the audition his way — his mom was a fan so he’d seen a couple of episodes in passing; he later binged it and loved it.
“I was kind of worried about doing (the audition),” he recalled. ”My English accent was absolutely terrible.”
Since he had just finished watching “Peaky Blinders,” which is set in Birmingham, Vandervaart figures his audition accent was more Brummie than plummy.
Nonetheless, he moved from a couple of Zoom auditions in his childhood bedroom to one filmed professionally in a Toronto studio, booking the part six months after his first try-out.
“I feel lucky to somewhat resemble Sam Heughan,” Vandervaart laughed. “I started hitting the gym immediately once I figured out I got the role. That’s a big man,” he added about Scottish actor Heughan.
The physical demands of the part also included learning how to ride a horse. Although Vandervaart had ridden occasionally as a child as well as for a scene in “Murdoch Mysteries,” he had to ride English style in “Outlander,” as well as speak and sword-fight while astride.
Even sitting in a chair required training. “For a lord, sitting would be considered an active activity,” Vandervaart said. “You’d be sitting with this posture that would signify that you were not, in fact, resting. You were upholding these values of nobleness.”
Vandervaart also spent an hour a day with a dialect coach during the first month on set learning RP, or Received Pronunciation English, a.k.a. the Queen’s or King’s English.
“Even up until the end of (shooting) Season 8, I was still doing a couple hours a week with the dialect coach, because there’s just things that intuitively you wouldn’t know. For example, I had to say the word ‘wrath.’ And in an RP accent, it’s like ‘wroth,’ with an O sound,” he added.
All in all, it was a whirlwind.
“It didn’t really click for me (until) basically the last scene that I filmed with Sam in Season 7 that the show that I watched and really enjoyed was actually happening right in front of me,” Vandervaart said. “It kind of felt like I was having an out-of-body experience where I was watching a single shot of Sam in a scene, but I was actually there, and it all felt really surreal.”
Vandervaart also recalled shooting the First Battle of Saratoga, which took place between the British and American armies in September 1777 at Freeman’s Farm in New York state.
“There were dozens and dozens and dozens of enemy soldiers on that side, and dozens and dozens of friendly (British) soldiers on this side. And they built the Freeman Farm. If you could unfocus your eyes from the camera for a second, it would feel like you’re really there.”
Despite the relatively short time he spent on the series, Vandervaart said shooting the final episodes was very emotional.
“I had a second family there,” he said. “I started, when I got there initially, knowing nobody. And everyone was so kind and so good about putting in the effort to make sure that I was comfortable there and make sure that I had a community.”
One of his co-stars returned the compliment.
“He’s such a generous actor. He’s such a joy to work with,” said Sophie Skelton, who plays William’s half-sister, Brianna, in a separate interview. “As Brianna, having a sibling in the show really meant a lot, and he really feels like a sibling in real life.”
“He’s probably one of the kindest people I’ve ever met in my life,” showrunner Matthew B. Roberts said of Vandervaart in a different interview. “He’s just a lovely guy and I think part of who he is as a person made William so likeable, no matter what he was doing.”
Vandervaart isn’t convinced “Outlander” will alter his career — “I don’t think it’s typical that one job will change your career permanently; it’s more about having a body of work,” he said — but he’s grateful to have had the opportunity, one that he said definitely changed his life and has given him friends for life.
“I was talking about that with John Bell, who plays Young Ian in the show. We were doing this publicity thing in Australia. We were both thinking how surreal is it that, you know, I did an audition in my room on my computer four years ago and now all of a sudden I’m petting a kangaroo.
“I’m just happy to go where the wind blows,” Vandervaart added. “I like the approach of expecting nothing but appreciating everything. So no matter what comes my way, I’m just thrilled.”
Season 8 of “Outlander” debuts March 9 at 9 p.m. on W Network and streams on StackTV.
