First Published: October 22, 2013 1:00 PM EDT Credit: Starz
Caption Nell Hudson
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- “Outlander” has found its Laoghaire!
Nell Hudson has been cast as Laoghaire MacKenzie in Starz’s “Outlander,” Access Hollywood can exclusively reveal.
The upcoming television show is based on the best-selling novel series from author Diana Gabaldon, and produced by Sony Pictures Television. Ronald D. Moore (“Battlestar Galactica”) is the executive producer.
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Fans of Gabaldon’s series will know Laoghaire very well, but for newcomers, the character is described as a 16-year-old girl who is attracted to the enigmatic Jamie Fraser (played by Sam Heughan).
(She’s not the only one. The athletic Jamie is the same man that catches Claire (Beauchamp) Randall’s eye.)
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Laoghaire is blonde and fair, with the kind of natural, girl-next-door beauty that could easily get a teenage girl in trouble. At first she seems shy, harmless, mousey even, but eventually we see her vengeful side, and eventually Laoghaire sets off a course of action that has far reaching consequences.
Some fans of the series like to refer to the character on the “Outlander” blogs and fan sites as “Leg Hair,” a reference to the presumed pronunciation of the character’s name. On her “Frequently Asked Questions” page on her website, Gabaldon explained that she got the name Laoghaire, “off a map,” and the actress who does the audiotapes “pronounces it ‘Leery.’”
Nell graduated from The Oxford School of Drama in 2012. While studying there, she appeared in “Cast Offs,” a short directed by Garrick Hamm for Ribeye Films, followed by “Eros,” a Sony Camera Corporate film directed by Bruce Logan for F-Stop Academy.
Nell had a guest lead in the British medical drama “Holby City,” but “Outlander” will be her first major TV series.
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She joins a cast including Caitriona Balfe (Claire), “Game of Thrones” star Tobias Menzies (Frank Randall/Jonathan “Black Jack” Randall), Graham McTavish (Dougal MacKenzie), Gary Lewis (Colum MacKenzie), Duncan Lacroix (Murtagh Fitzgibbons Fraser), Annette Badland (Mrs. Fitzgibbons), Lotte Verbeek (Geillis Duncan), Laura Donnelly (Jenny Fraser) and Stephen Walters (Angus Mhor).
“Outlander” will debut on Starz in 2014.
-- Jolie Lash
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