When she booked the breakthrough role of Claire, a former World War II nurse in Scotland who is transported back to the mid-18th century, where she collides with a group of rebel Highlanders, including her true love Jamie, Balfe was considering quitting acting altogether. “I will never underestimate the growth that I experienced. I had never done any TV, and had only had a few small parts in film, so Outlander was such a huge leap,” she says. “But I am so fortunate that the people I worked with most closely in the beginning were such seasoned, amazing actors and set this incredible example for me. To always strive for truth, to ground everything, even if the circumstances are fantastical. It really helped me solidify the type of actor I wanted to be.”
Along the way, Balfe learned the kind of lessons that only come with devoting a quarter of one’s life to a single project—particularly after becoming a mother in 2021. “Personally, I do think having a child changed my relationship to work, in that I would never again just be ‘Caitríona—a single entity following my passion,’” says Balfe. “I now had someone who came before that. Someone who was so much more important in every way, and though that might make it seem that the work suffers, I think it can be the opposite, your focus is stronger and your instincts, I think, sharpen.”
Savannah Walsh
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