Irish actress Caitriona Balfe has been cast in the lead role in 'Outlander', the new Starz and Sony TV series based on Diana Gabaldon's best-selling books.
Born in Co. Monaghan, Balfe has previously appeared in feature films including ‘Now You See Me’,’ H+’ and ‘Super 8’.
Balfe will play the role of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is thrown into an unknown world and forced to marry a young Scottish warrior (Sam Heughan).
Other confirmed cast members include Graham McTavish (‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’, ‘Casualty’), Sam Heughan (‘Doctors’), Tobias Menzies (‘Game of Thrones’) and Gary Lewis (‘Billy Elliot’).
John Dahl, whose credits include ‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘Dexter’ and ‘Justified’, will direct the first two episodes of the upcoming drama, from ‘Battlestar Galactica’ executive producer Ronald D. Moore.
Balfe is also starring in the upcoming film ‘Escape Plan’ with Arnold Schwarznegger and Sylvester Stallone.
Filming on "Outlander" starts this month in Scotland and Starz expects to premiere "Outlander" in 2014.
