Katherine Heigl as a possible Claire?

Some of you may have seen the NY Times article where Katherine Heigl is mentioned as a possible candidate to play Claire in an OUTLANDER movie.

If all goes well, Ms. Heigl will then turn toward sharply dramatic work, starring as a Scottish heroine in an adaptation of "Outlander", the novel by Diana Gabaldon. “Scotland? 2012? What do you think?” she said.

This news broke last night and has, quite understandably, caused an uproar among OUTLANDER fans online. (You can see my own initial reaction here.)

UPDATE 10/2/2010 8:31 am: Diana has posted her reaction on her blog. Her initial comments have been deleted from Compuserve -- and before you ask, no, I didn't do it, she did.

I won't attempt to repeat most of what she said here. But I will say this:

  • I suppose we can discount the "Scottish heroine" reference above as sheer ignorance on the part of the person who wrote that NY Times article. <shrug>
  • OK, so Heigl's mom is a huge fan of the series, and Heigl herself is also a fan. That doesn't mean she is the best choice to play Claire. (In my opinion, of course.)
  • On the question of an American actress playing Claire, Diana said, "They assured me that Claire _is_ English and stays English." (I'm personally relieved to hear that, but still very skeptical that Heigl can pull it off.)
  • For those of you who doubted what I said the other day about Diana's opinion of Allan Scott-Douglas, look at item #6 in Diana's post. [UPDATE 10/2/2010 8:31 am: This part of Diana's post has since been deleted. Let's just say she had some positive things to say about him, and leave it at that.]

Opinions? What do you all think of this latest development, and/or Diana's comments?

11 comments

Anonymous said...

I'll believe it when I see it.

I just hope they don't come up with some cheesy bodice ripper.

And, I still can't see Mr Scott-Douglas as Hiimself.

Barbara

Anonymous said...

I'm not on Compuserve so I will post my opinion here, if that's okay. Actors often are cast in roles that require them to speak in an accent that is not their native speaking voice. Therefore, I don't have a problem with them casting an American woman as Claire. I also don't have a particular problem with KH being cast in that role. I also agree that having a known actor will bring in funding and a larger audience. I worry more about the actual script than the specific actors involved.

My 2-cents-worth,
Amy in Atlanta

Karen Henry said...

Amy - your reference to "KH being cast in that role" made me do a double-take...because my initials are also KH! :-)

Karen

Diane in GA said...

I commented on the previous post, but since this post is specifically about Ms. Heigl..... if Vivian Leigh, a British actress, can be Scarlett O'Hara, then an American actress should do just fine as Claire! :-)
Diane in Atlanta, too

Cristina H said...

I don't like Katherine Heigl for the role...she is a good comedic actress, but seems to not have enough depth to play Claire. Didn't think her dramatic work on "Grey's Anatomy" was that spectacular. I know that a "name" makes a film easier to make, but I'd love to see unknowns in the roles of both Jamie & Claire.

Joy said...

IMO, I don't think it matters the nationality of the actress ultimately chosen, but the question of the depth of her acting abilites should be the prime deciding factor.

If KH is cast in the role of Claire - and that's a big IF, can she pull off a credible English/British accent for an entire film? Has anyone ever seen her in a 'period' role of any kind? Only things I've seen her in are romantic comedy roles and a few episodes of 'Grey's'.

stacey k said...

Just a repost of what i've commented on DG's blog...

I cannot for the life of me, imagine that a large American movie company would even consider Allan Scott-Douglas as a male lead.
Having checked out his "acting" skits on youtube, I've yet to see any charisma or star quality there at all. Let's be honest here, the stuff on youtube is quite lame, probably more harmful than good for an "aspiring actor".
He may well be a really neat guy in real life and I kind of think that may be influencing Diana's opinion of him...but he's hardly going to make the ladies pulses race. And yeah, I do know it's not all about looks and body shape, but the actual acting skills are not that great either. Sorry if this sounds harsh but i'm being realistic here.

I just don't get it *shakes head*

Shona1985 said...

I'm with Diana on this one I am huge fan of Allan for jamie!

I am not a huge fan of Katherine as Claire, however I will reserve judgment until it has been confirmed and some idea of her acting as claire and how she will look

Laura's Reviews said...

I am already wary of Ms. Heigl taking on the role of Stephanie Plum in one for the money, but I really think she is unsuitable for the role of one of my favorite characters of all time, Claire Fraser. I would really like this movie to be made, but I'd much rather see an unknown in the role or at least someone I could picture as Claire!!

Unknown said...

Just saw Armie Hammer in the facebook movie Social Network. Wow..... great choice for Jamie in a movie. 6'5, gorgeous and charasmatic... enough for me to overlook his familiarity to the public (but he's not TOO familiar yet) and his lack of Scottish birth/accent.

I've checked out most of the other suggestions for actors - Gerard B would have been perfect but too old and overexposed now. This guy is by far the closest I have seen anyone come.

Gaia IvoryWitch said...

I would like to see Rachel Weiss give the part of Claire a go...or perhaps Jenny. She's a great actress, and certainly has the talent for either role. She physically resembles the description of Jenny at a glance...but I think the eyes are wrong. They are also wrong for Claire's eyes...I hope they find someone with the correct screen presence for all the roles, but Claire and Jenny (and Jamie) in particular. I also like Angus McFaydyen for the role of Roger.

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