Outlander star admits they 'pushed' for major change to death scene

Outlander's Dougal MacKenzie, portrayed by Graham McTavish, has disclosed how he advocated for a significant alteration to his death scene, which involved Jamie (played by Sam Heughan) and Claire Fraser (Caitriona Balfe).

Dougal met his end in the second series of the popular Starz show after a confrontation with his nephew, having overheard Jamie and Claire plotting to assassinate Bonnie Prince Charlie (Andrew Gower) to prevent the catastrophic Battle of Culloden.

In a heated battle involving Dougal and the married couple, the MacKenzie Clan War Chieftain met his demise.

Claire joined Jamie in thrusting a sword into Dougal's chest in the blood-soaked scene.

Now, star McTavish has shared how he requested a major modification to the sequence, reports the Scottish Daily Express.

The 65 year old House of the Dragon and The Witcher actor stated: "I knew before I started filming the series, right back in 2013 actually, when I first did it, I knew that Dougal died, which I was fine with.

"But when we came to do the scene, that was a really great scene to do - the fight.

"And I really pushed for Caitriona to be involved in the actual killing, because I felt they needed to be seen to join together in this moment as husband and wife, almost like the Macbeths, 'We're going to kill this guy together'.

"Because I didn't want her to be just sort of standing off to the side watching. I wanted her - and this is what I pushed for on the day - as I said, 'I really think Caitriona should be there doing it'. Also, I didn't want to be killed by Sam alone."

He recounted having a photo from the set that captured the two stars chortling away after he lay "dead" on the floor, with the snap taken from his perspective looking up at their amused faces.

Adding: "That's the great thing about these sort of shows, and it's sad that sometimes people don't realise it, but in the most intense scenes, the most passionate, the most serious moments, there's always laughter."

Even though Dougal was written out of Outlander, the actor remains closely knit with its crew and cast.

Not merely content with past glories, McTavish graced season seven when Roger MacKenzie (Richard Rankin) accidentally travelled too far back in time, and also embodied Buck MacKenzie, the love child of Dougal and Geillis Duncan (Lotte Verbeek), in the fifth instalment.

Additionally, McTavish teams up with Heughan for the successful Starz travel series Men In Kilts, with plans underway for another jaunt once their diaries align.

Now, with an assortment of new ventures, including his latest foray into film with the indie feature Dirty Boy, McTavish's schedule is positively brimming with excitement.

The chilling psychological thriller follows a young schizophrenic man's desperate attempt to expose a cult framing him for a series of ritualistic murders before time runs out.

McTavish takes on the role of cult patriarch Walter Wentworth, with the actor confessing that this quiet yet sinister character is one of the darkest he's ever portrayed.

He revealed that after "trawling through his evil rolodex", he had always been able to understand previous villains' perspectives.

"But Wentworth, yeah, it's very, very hard to justify anything that he's doing. I find that very difficult," he admitted.

In his depiction of the cult leader, McTavish stated: "I wanted him to be very calm, very ordered, very reasonable", rather than a stereotypical villain.

McTavish currently has two films in production and will feature in Starz's grand sequel series Spartacus: House of Ashur.

Dirty Boy will be in UK cinemas from August 22

Outlander season 7 is streaming on MGM+ via Prime Video now