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, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland
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 a Scottish actor, producer, author, and businessman. He is most famous for his role as Jamie Fraser in the TV series Outlander. This role has been very popular with fans and critics.

For playing Jamie Fraser, Heughan has won a People's Choice Award and a Saturn Award. He was also nominated for a Critics' Choice Television Award.

Heughan has also acted in movies. He was in the spy comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018) and the superhero movie Bloodshot (2020). Early in his career, he was nominated for a major theatre award, the Laurence Olivier Award, for his work in the play Outlying Islands.

Besides acting, Heughan is also a successful author and businessman. He co-wrote a bestselling book called Clanlands with his Outlander co-star Graham McTavish. He also started his own whisky brand called "The Sassenach."

Early Life and Schooling

Sam Roland Heughan was born on April 30, 1980, in Balmaclellan, a small village in Scotland. His parents were part of a community in London that loved the books of J. R. R. Tolkien. They named Sam and his older brother after characters from The Lord of the Rings.

When Sam was five, he moved to New Galloway and went to Kells Primary School. He lived in converted stables on the grounds of Kenmure Castle. At age twelve, he moved to Edinburgh. He attended two different high schools there.

Heughan loved acting from a young age. He joined the Lyceum Youth Theatre and later studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) in Glasgow. He graduated in 2003. While in school, he performed in many plays, including The Seagull and Romeo and Juliet. In 2022, the school gave him an honorary doctorate to recognize his success.

Acting Career

Early Career in Theatre and TV

While he was still a student, Heughan was in a play called Outlying Islands. His performance was so good that he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award, a very important award in British theatre.

In 2004, Heughan got his first TV role in a miniseries called Island at War. He then appeared in the Scottish soap opera River City. Over the next few years, he acted in several TV shows and movies, including Midsomer Murders and Rebus.

In 2009, Heughan played a villain in the BBC soap opera Doctors. He was nominated for a British Soap Award for this role. He also starred as a young Alexander the Great in a movie and played an RAF pilot in the TV film First Light.

Heughan at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con promoting Outlander

In 2011, he played Prince Ashton in the Hallmark Channel movie A Princess for Christmas. From 2011 to 2012, he starred as Batman in the touring stage show Batman Live.

Breakthrough with Outlander

In 2013, Heughan was cast in his most famous role: Jamie Fraser in the Starz drama series Outlander. He was the first actor chosen for the show. The author of the Outlander books, Diana Gabaldon, was very happy with the choice. She said, "That man is a Scot to the bone and Jamie Fraser to the heart."

The show has been a huge success, and Heughan has played the role for all seven seasons. He will also be in the eighth and final season. He and his co-star, Caitriona Balfe, are also producers on the show.

Movie Roles

While working on Outlander, Heughan has also starred in several movies. In 2018, he was in the action-comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me with Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon.

In 2020, he played a soldier named Jimmy Dalton in the superhero movie Bloodshot, alongside Vin Diesel. He also played the famous actor Paul Newman in the 2021 film To Olivia. In 2023, he starred in the romantic movie Love Again with Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Celine Dion.

Other Projects

Writing and TV Production

Heughan and his Outlander co-star Graham McTavish wrote a book together called Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other. It was published in 2020 and became a number one New York Times bestseller.

The book was a companion to their TV show, Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham. In the show, the two friends travel across Scotland and explore its history and culture. Heughan helped create and produce the series.

Business and Fashion

In 2016, Heughan became the first Global Brand Ambassador for the clothing company Barbour. He has helped design several clothing collections for them.

In 2020, he launched his own brand of whisky called "The Sassenach." The name is a reference to his character's nickname for his wife in Outlander. The whisky has won awards for its quality.

Charity Work and Views

Heughan supports many charities. He started an organization called My Peak Challenge. It helps people set and achieve personal goals while raising money for good causes, like cancer research.

He is also a patron for Youth Theatre Arts Scotland. He believes that youth theatre gives young people great opportunities. He has run marathons and other races to raise money for charities that fight cancer.

Heughan has also shared his political views. He supported the idea of Scottish independence during the 2014 referendum. He said he believes in Scotland and sees it as a "great opportunity."

Personal Life

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 for his acting and charity work.
• He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Glasgow in July 2019.
• He received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on 7 July 2022.

See also

In Spanish: Sam Heughan para niños