Steven Cree: The actor on Outlander and his on-screen Scots accent

Cree, known for his roles in Outlander and A Discovery of Witches, co-stars in the crime thriller with Sophie Rundle of Gentleman Jack and Peaky Blinders fame. Also among the cast are Danny Sapani (Harlots), Dylan Brady (Ralph & Katie) and Laia Costa (Victoria).

The series opens with the unexplained death of a young British bar worker on a yacht berthed in a notorious marina. While the police believe it was down to a tragic accident, the man’s father is convinced something far more sinister is at play.

Cree, 43, plays suave and enigmatic Consul General Sam Henderson who, it quickly becomes apparent, is the human equivalent of an onion when it comes to peeling back the layers of his character.

Steven Cree in Outlander. (Image: free)

“As soon as you are introduced to Sam, there is this sense that something is going on with him,” attests the actor. “Then, very quickly, we realise that he maybe isn’t exactly who he says he is – there is more to him than meets the eye.

“That is something played with throughout the series: a questioning of morals. Nothing is black and white. There are often grey areas.”

The Diplomat packs an impressive pedigree. Created and written by Ben Richards, whose previous credits include Spooks, The Tunnel and Cobra, it was made by World Productions, who are also behind TV gems such as Line of Duty, Bodyguard and Karen Pirie.

The show was filmed on location in Barcelona. “It was honestly one of my favourite jobs ever,” says Cree. “Barcelona is an incredible city. I knew it a little bit but not that well. I fell in love with it. When you are filming away from home and your family, being in a nice place definitely makes it easier.

“The cast all got on fantastically well. It felt like a big family. We had a great social life when we weren’t filming. I have been away on a lot of jobs before where it is not necessarily like that, and it can be very lonely.”

READ MORE: Gird your loins: a journey behind the scenes of hit TV series Outlander

His shoe leather took a pounding as Cree prepared for the role. “I felt like Sam was the sort of character who would probably know Barcelona well,” he reflects. “Barcelona is a little bit like Glasgow in that it is pretty compact.

“The first weekend – according to my phone – I did 32km walking round because I wanted to understand the layout. That is something I always like doing when I am working away, but particularly here, I wanted to feel like someone who knew Barcelona and some of the back streets.”

His stint in the Catalan city also brought what Cree describes – tongue-firmly-in-cheek – as one of his all-time “most romantic” evenings during a visit to the famed Magic Fountain of Montjuic. “A few nights a week they have a huge light show, fireworks and play music,” he says.

“As the fountain starts erupting, they play Barcelona by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe. Dylan Brady and I were down there. We didn’t realise the fountain was about to erupt and ended up soaking wet. There was music playing and fireworks going off in the background.

“I FaceTimed my wife and told her: ‘I am having one of the most romantic nights I have ever had in my life with Dylan …’” He laughs at the memory. “Dylan was great. He was the ringleader for suggesting things to do. It was thanks to him a lot of the time that we went out and did stuff.”

Cree will return to our screens in Outlander this summer as he reprises his role as Ian Murray, brother-in-law of Jamie and Claire Fraser, the couple played by Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe. It marks Cree’s first appearance in the hit show since the fourth series in 2018.

“It was a privilege to be invited back,” he says. “I was meant to go back in season five but couldn’t because I was doing A Discovery of Witches. I had always made it clear that if they wanted me to come back to tie up anything with Ian Murray’s storyline, I would be happy to.

“It was great that the schedules worked out perfectly last year. To be honest, it was like going back and hanging out with friends, getting to film with Sam again. And a lot of the crew are the same too.”

Cree and Heughan have forged a close bond over the years, their bromance cemented partly through the former’s knack for regularly winding up his friend and fellow actor. “And vice versa – he does give it back too,” interjects Cree. “Mostly, it has been me, to be fair …”

Also in the pipeline is The Bagman, a psychological horror film directed by Edinburgh-born Colm McCarthy, whose work includes Peaky Blinders, Sherlock and Endeavour. Cree says he enjoyed the challenge of doing a New Jersey accent for the job.

“I don’t think there was a single American actor in it – we were all either British or Canadian, with Sofia [in Bulgaria] faking as New Jersey,” he says. “The writer John Hulme is New Jersey-born and bred. He came out to Bulgaria for a couple of days and saw some scenes I was filming with Sam Claflin.

“It was weird for him, being from New Jersey, the fact it was all being shot in Bulgaria. But he was blown away by how the sets had been built to look exactly like where he grew up. He said watching Sam and I in the scenes, it felt like he was watching two guys from New Jersey.

“So, if it is good enough for him, hopefully that passes the witness test. Because if you are doing an accent you want to be as accurate and believable as possible.”

The movie’s plot, says Cree, is “about a father grappling with childhood fears and how a family deals with that”, alongside the darker undercurrents woven throughout.

“At its heart is Bagman who, in a nutshell, is the bogeyman of the piece,” he explains. “I thought it was a fantastic script. I found it very unsettling and creepy just reading the script, so hopefully it will have the desired effect in the cinema.”

We return to talking about accents. Cree uses his own dulcet tones for The Diplomat and Outlander, albeit in slightly “exaggerated” form for the latter show. “In Outlander, it’s a bad Scottish accent I use,” he jokes. “It is emphasised – I hear it back and think so.

“I did this thing last week and had cause to see some earlier episodes of Outlander from years ago. I hear it back and, to me, I feel like I am somebody who is not Scottish trying to do a Scottish accent. I think it is Ross-shire the characters are meant to be from – there is an exaggerated lilt to it for sure.”

Based on the bestselling books by Diana Gabaldon, Outlander has garnered millions of fans around the world. How has being part of this global phenomenon changed his life?

“From what I know Outlander hasn’t led to other work,” says Cree. “It is not like I have been in Outlander, and I then get offered work left, right and centre. I still audition for everything.

“My part in Outlander has not changed my career in that sense, but through being part of this fandom I have gone to conventions in different countries and met people from every continent in the world, apart from Antarctica. That shows how far and wide the fandom spreads.

“I am involved in a charity called Cash For Kids,” he adds. “They [the Outlander fans] have helped raise a lot of money through contributing to that. Any charitable venture I have been involved in, they get behind the cause instantly which is incredible and a real privilege – I never take it for granted.

“That is why, when I was asked to go back for season five and wasn’t able to because it clashed, I was disappointed. I love going back but I also know how much it means to the fans. I don’t mean that in any saccharine way. But I have met some incredible people.

“It has been life-enriching. That is how Outlander has changed my life more than anything – it has enriched my life. I have met people I never would have before from so many different walks of life.”

The Diplomat continues on Alibi, Tuesdays, 9pm