When I first meet Harriet Slater, she’s just come off a gruelling day of crying and killing.
“Five hours of crying followed by five hours of murder,” she tells me cheerfully. “Yeah, it’s quite exhausting. You don't really realize until the next day: I woke up this morning and I felt like I've been hit by a bus or something.”
All in a day’s work for Slater, who’s currently in the midst of filming the second season of Outlander: Blood of My Blood, the first season of which is just about to start airing on MGM+.
As the title implies, it’s a return to Diana Gabaldon’s beloved historical romance series, but with a twist: the new show focuses on the parents of series protagonists Jamie and Claire. Slater herself plays Ellen MacKenzie, the mother of Jamie, with actor Jamie Roy playing her opposite number, Brian Fraser, in 18th century Scotland.
It’s a big show – one of the biggest on US TV, drawing in millions of viewers per episodes - and Slater seems acutely aware of how big the opportunity is. “I've never been a part of a show that's had this much press around it,” she says, and her star is already starting to rise.
“I was on holiday with my family in Egypt and this lovely guy stopped me. I didn't think he was talking to me at first, because he said, ‘Congratulations on your job,’ and I genuinely thought he was talking to a member of the staff,” she laughs. “I had no makeup, my hair was in plaits. It really took me by surprise.”
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Born and raised in Leicester, Slater never wanted to be anything other than an actor and left home to attend drama school in Guildford. For the first few years of her career, she trod the boards in London, before getting roles in DC series Pennyworth and a bit-part role in the last Indiana Jones film, opposite Harrison Ford.
“I had to open the door and go, ‘Mr. Jones,’ to him. It was so surreal. And so strange to have Harrison Ford yelling at me for a day,” she says. “He got really into it. He was lovely. He was very cheeky and light-hearted even though he was playing this grumpy old man.”
After that came Belgravia: The Next Chapter, in which she played the lead role of Clara Trenchard, the impoverished heroine of the Victorian-era romance. And finally, Outlander, which is set to increase her fame still further.
It’s a difficult balancing act, and Slater is up front about her struggles with anxiety and panic attacks – for which a combination of therapy and acting has helped.
“They were about phone calls. I always found phoning people to be really difficult,” she says. “I think it's partly to do with things being misunderstood over the phone… you miss out on all of that body language that you get with a physical interaction with someone.”
In the future, she says, are plans to work on shows that help spotlight the issue. But for now, there’s Outlander to look forward to, and its legions of fans.
Fortunately, the old cast have sage advice. “I had a really lovely phone call with Caitriona [Balfe] a couple of weeks into moving up here,” Slater says, “And the one thing that she said was just, enjoy it. Enjoy the ride.”
Outlander: Blood of My Blood airs on MGM+ from August 9
