Sam Heughan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sam Heughan
Heughan in 2014
Born	Sam Roland Heughan (1980-04-30) 30 April 1980 (age 45) Balmaclellan, Scotland, United Kingdom
Alma mater	Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
Occupation	Actor producer author entrepreneur
Years active	2001–present

Sam Roland Heughan (born 30 April 1980) is an actor, producer, author, and business owner from Balmaclellan, Scotland. He is most famous for playing Jamie Fraser in the TV show Outlander (2014–present). For this role, he has won awards like the People's Choice Award and the Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television. He was also nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series.

Sam Heughan has also acted in movies such as the spy comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) and the superhero film Bloodshot (2020). Early in his career, he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Most Promising Performer for his acting in the play Outlying Islands.

Heughan and his Outlander co-star Graham McTavish wrote a book together called Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other. This book became a number one bestseller on the New York Times list in 2020. In the same year, Heughan started his own whisky brand, The Sassenach. The name comes from his Outlander character's nickname for his wife, Claire. His whisky has won several awards.

Early Life and Education

Sam Roland Heughan was born on 30 April 1980 in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. His parents were part of a special community in London called Gandalf's Garden. This community was inspired by the books of J. R. R. Tolkien. Because of this, Sam and his older brother were named after characters from The Lord of the Rings. Sam's mother, Chrissie Heughan, was an artist. She raised the two brothers after their father left when they were young.

When Sam was five, his family moved from Balmaclellan to New Galloway. He went to Kells Primary School there. During this time, he lived in old stables on the grounds of Kenmure Castle. At age twelve, he moved to Edinburgh. He went to James Gillespie's High School for a year. Then he attended the Edinburgh Rudolf Steiner School until he finished high school.

In 1998, he joined the Lyceum Youth theatre. In 1999, he was accepted into the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow. This school is now called the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He graduated in 2003.

While studying at RSAMD, Heughan acted in many plays. These included The Twits, Crime and Punishment, The Seagull, Prometheus Bound, and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In 2002, before he graduated, he was one of four students chosen to represent his school in a radio talent competition. In 2022, his old school gave him an honorary doctorate degree.

Career Highlights

While still a student, Sam Heughan took time off to act in the play Outlying Islands by Scottish writer David Greig. The play first showed in Edinburgh and then moved to London. Heughan was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance. This award is for promising new actors.

In 2004, Heughan got his first professional TV role in the miniseries Island at War. This was a World War II drama about the German occupation of the Channel Islands. He also appeared in other TV shows. These included an episode of Midsomer Murders, the crime drama Rebus, and two episodes of Party Animals. Between 2007 and 2009, Heughan acted in several live plays. These included The Vortex, Hamlet, The Pearlfishers, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Plague Over England.

He was nominated for a British Soap Award for playing a villain in the TV series Doctors. The next year, Heughan starred as Alexander the Great in the movie Young Alexander the Great. This film was about the life of Alexander as a teenager. He then starred in the BBC TV film First Light. This film told the story of an RAF pilot during the Battle of Britain. After that, he was in the mini-series Any Human Heart. Heughan also acted in a play based on the novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. Around the same time, Heughan played Hugh Tennent in funny commercials for Tennent's Lager.

Heughan at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con promoting Outlander

In 2011, Heughan starred as Prince Ashton in the Hallmark Channel film A Princess for Christmas. He acted alongside Roger Moore in this movie. He was nominated for an award for his inspiring performance. That same year, he was in the play Amphibians. For the next two years, he played Batman in the touring stage show Batman Live. During this time, he even helped with a real-life citizen's arrest! In 2012, he played King John in Shakespeare's play King John.

In 2013, Heughan was chosen to play Jamie Fraser in the Starz TV series Outlander. He was the very first actor announced for the show. The author of the books, Diana Gabaldon, was very happy with the choice. She said he was "a Scot to the bone and Jamie Fraser to the heart." He has been a main actor in all seven seasons of the show. He will continue for the eighth and final season, which will film in 2024. In 2019, he and his co-star, Caitriona Balfe, also became producers for the series.

In 2014, Heughan appeared in the movie Emulsion, about a man whose wife disappears. He also starred in the comedy Heart of Lightness. In this film, he acted with two future Outlander co-stars: Laura Donnelly and Rosie Day. In 2016, he played the main role of Jacob in the film When the Starlight Ends.

In 2018, Heughan co-starred as a secret agent in the action comedy film The Spy Who Dumped Me. He filmed this movie when he had a break from Outlander. In the same year, he voiced the character Mirror Master in the video game Lego DC Super-Villains. He also appeared on a BBC Two Scotland show called The Adventure Show, which focused on walking in Scotland. It was also announced that Heughan would play Corporal Jimmy Dalton in Bloodshot, a movie based on a popular comic book. Bloodshot came out in March 2020. In November 2018, Heughan was cast as Tom Buckingham, the main character in SAS: Red Notice, a film based on a novel.

In 2019, it was announced that Heughan would play Paul Newman in To Olivia. This film is about the lives of Patricia Neal and Roald Dahl. To Olivia was released in the United Kingdom in February 2021. In 2020, Heughan was cast as Henry in the romantic comedy Mr. Malcom's List. He was also cast alongside Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Celine Dion in the romantic drama Love Again.

SAS: Red Notice, a British action thriller, was released in 2021. The film premiered in the United Kingdom in March 2021. Heughan finished filming the romantic drama Love Again in early 2021. He stars in this movie with Priyanka Chopra and Celine Dion. The film was released in cinemas in May 2023.

Other Work

Besides acting, Sam Heughan became the first Global Brand Ambassador for the English clothing company Barbour in 2016. He has helped design several clothing collections since 2017.

In November 2020, Heughan published a travel book called Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other. He wrote it with his Outlander co-star Graham McTavish. The book became a bestseller. Clanlands is a companion to Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip With Sam and Graham. This is an eight-part TV series that Heughan and McTavish created and starred in. It premiered in February 2021.

Also in 2020, Heughan launched his own whisky brand, The Sassenach. He started this through his company, the Great Glen Company. The Sassenach whisky has won double gold medals at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Charity Work

Sam Heughan believes in giving back. He often talks about how important youth theatre was for him. In August 2014, he became a supporter of Youth Theatre Arts Scotland. He wants to help young people in Scotland find opportunities through theatre.

In 2015, Heughan started an organization called My Peak Challenge. This program helps people set personal fitness and nutrition goals. It also creates a community for them. At the same time, it raises money for charity. The foundation has worked with groups like Leukemia Lymphoma Research to raise money for cancer research. In 2019, Heughan worked with Omaze to raise money for Bloodwise UK.

In September 2016, Heughan took part in the Great North Run to raise money for Bloodwise. He has supported this charity since 2011 and became president of Scotland Bloodwise.

In 2018, he ran two marathons in one month to raise money for Cahonas Scotland. He raised over £38,000 for the charity.

Personal Life

Sam Heughan lives in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Awards and Nominations

Honours

• Heughan received an honorary doctorate from the University of Stirling in June 2019. This was for his great work in acting and charity.
• He was given an honorary doctorate by the University of Glasgow in July 2019 for his artistic success and charity work.
• He received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on 7 July 2022.

See also

In Spanish: Sam Heughan para niños