‘House of the Dragon’ Star Graham McTavish Would Be ‘Delighted’ to Return to the ‘Outlander’ Universe
House of the Dragon’s Graham McTavish is currently starring as Ser Harrold Westerling in the Game of Thrones prequel. But, the 61-year-old actor formerly known as Dougal MacKenzie on Outlander has made it clear that he would love to return to that universe. Is it possible that McTavish will reprise the Dougal role in the new Outlander prequel Blood of My Blood?
An ‘Outlander’ prequel about Jamie Fraser’s parents is in the works at Starz
The official Outlander Twitter account recently announced that the prequel Blood of My Blood is officially in development at Starz and the writer’s room is open. The new series will follow the love story of Jamie Fraser’s (Sam Heughan) parents, Ellen MacKenzie and Brian Fraser.
Ellen was the oldest child of Jacob and Anne MacKenzie, and she grew up at Castle Leoch in the Scottish Highlands with her brothers Colum (Gary Lewis) and Dougal (McTavish). The character has not appeared in Outlander because she passed away before that story began.
But considering how close she was to her brothers — and the fact that they are an integral part of Ellen and Brian’s love story — there is an expectation that they will be part of the upcoming prequel.
‘House of the Dragon’ star Graham McTavish would be ‘delighted’ to reprise the role of Dougal
McTavish played the role of Dougal for the first two seasons of Outlander before the character was killed off the show. He also returned for a cameo in season 5 as Dougal’s descendant Buck MacKenzie. And, he co-hosted the road trip series Men in Kilts with Heughan.
But now, McTavish is part of the House of the Dragon ensemble. That doesn’t mean, though, that he would turn down the opportunity to return to the Outlander universe if it was presented. Could McTavish’s willingness to return be a clue that he will appear in Blood of My Blood?
“Well, we will have to see,” McTavish said, per The Daily Record. “You would never get me to tell you anything about the interior world of Outlander, but all I can say is Dougal is one of my absolute favorite characters that I’ve ever played and if ever I got the opportunity to play him again, I would be absolutely delighted.”
The ‘Outlander’ prequel might not be the best fit for the ‘House of the Dragon’ star
Despite the fact that McTavish loves the Dougal character and would be willing to reprise the role, there is a bit of a problem — Blood of My Blood is a prequel. The story takes place before Jamie Fraser is born, when Ellen is a young woman. Even though Dougal will likely be part of that story, they would have to cast another actor to play a younger version of the character.
Fans will have to wait and see how it plays out. But in the meantime, McTavish has shared some insight on the differences between acting in the Outlander universe compared to House of the Dragon.
In both series, McTavish has been required to ride horses. On Outlander, he’s in a kilt while sitting on a steed. In House of the Dragon, he’s in full body armor. So, which one is worse?
“Good question!” McTavish told TVLine’s Dave Nemetz. “It all depends on the horse. It really does. If you get a good horse, you can sit on them with anything.”
House of the Dragon airs Sunday nights on HBO. Outlander Seasons 1 through 5 are now playing on Netflix. Season 6 is expected to premiere on Starz in late 2022 or early 2023. A premiere date for Blood of My Blood has yet to be announced.
