'Outlander' Season 2 News: Actor Richard Rankin Cast As Roger Wakefield
"Outlander" now has its Roger Wakefield. The American-British drama TV series has cast Scottish actor Richard Rankin in the role of Roger Wakefield, the show's network Starz has announced.
"Outlander" is based on the bestselling time travel series of novels, also called "Outlander," by the writer Diana Gabaldon. In the novels, Wakefield plays a crucial role in the lives of Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe) as their time-hopping narrative unfolds.
In the novels and in the TV series, Roger Wakefield is the adopted son of Reverend Wakefield. The Reverend brought him up after his parents perished in the Second World War. In the novels, Roger Wakefield is a 20-something Oxford scholar who meets Claire and her 20-something daughter Brianna. In Gabaldon's "Dragonfly in Amber," on which "Outlander" Season 2 is based, Wakefield becomes a major player in the story of Jamie, Claire, and their daughter Brianna.
32-year-old Rankin recently appeared in the Bradley Cooper-starrer "Burnt" (2015), the TV miniseries "The Crimson Field" (2014), and "The House of Him" (2014). He appears in the television series "From Darkness" and "The Syndicate," and will appear as Detective Elliott Carne in the BBC's new miniseries "Thirteen."
The actor expressed his excitement over working on "Outlander," writing on Twitter: "Hugely excited to be joining the @Outlander_Starz family. An amazing production filled with truly wonderful people and the best fans around!"
In Season 2, Rankin will be joined by fellow "Outlander" newcomers Margaux Chatelie (Annalise de Marillac), Lionel Lingelser (King Louis XV), Rosie Day (Mary Hawkins), Stanley Weber (Le Comte St. Germain), Dominique Piñon (Master Raymond), and Robert Cavanagh (Jared, a cousin of Jamie's).
"Outlander" is produced by Starz and Sony Pictures Television. It was created by Ronald D. Moore, who is also the show's executive producer.
"Outlander" premieres its Season 2 in Spring 2016.
