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Sam Heughan to star in 'Outlander' series for Starz

Image courtesy of Amazon.com.
Image courtesy of Amazon.com.

LOS ANGELES, July 9 (UPI) -- Newcomer Sam Heughan is to play the role of Scottish warrior Jamie Fraser in the upcoming series "Outlander," Starz and Sony Pictures Television said Tuesday.

Based on Diana Gabaldon's international best-selling books, the drama is to premiere on the cable television network in 2014.

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"Oh. My. God. That man is a Scot to the bone and Jamie Fraser to the heart. Having seen Sam Heughan not just act, but be Jamie, I feel immensely grateful to the production team for their painstaking attention to the soul of the story and characters," Gabaldon said in a statement.

"From the very beginning, I knew the part of Jamie Fraser would be difficult to cast," Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore said. "I had no one in mind for the part. I knew that someone would just come into the audition and be Jamie Fraser. And that's what Sam did."

"In 'Outlander,' Jamie Fraser strikes up a passionate affair with Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743," a synopsis said.

Heughan is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama who has appeared on the BBC soap opera "Doctors." He has also had roles in television series such as "River City," "Island at War," "The Wild West," "Midsomer Murders" and "Any Human Heart."

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