Harriet Slater
If you’d asked Harriet Slater five years ago what her breakout role would be, she probably wouldn’t have guessed it would come via one of the most beloved fantasy franchises of the last decade. But that’s exactly what’s happening this summer, as she takes the lead in Blood of My Blood, the new buzz-worthy Outlander prequel from Starz.
It’s a career milestone, no question—and it comes with the assurance of someone who’s been earning their place, step by step. Born in Leicester, Slater found her footing early in the local theatre scene before training at Guildford School of Acting. She moved to London after graduating and began booking screen roles shortly after—most notably in HBO’s Pennyworth, where she starred as Sandra Onslow across three seasons. From there, the momentum hasn’t slowed: the quirky, youthful horror flick Tarot on the big screen, Belgravia: The Next Chapter on MGM+, and now a slate of global projects that seem timed for a genuine crossover moment.
Though with Blood of My Blood, Slater also steps into a world with an already massive and devoted fanbase. In the series, Slater plays Ellen MacKenzie—Jamie Fraser’s mother and the steady center of a prequel set decades before the original. This chapter follows Ellen and Brian Fraser, tracing the family’s beginnings with a fresh, cinematic eye. When Slater finally got the call, the months of auditions and the scale of the fandom hit at once. “It felt big—exciting and terrifying in equal measure,” she says, citing the detailed eight-month process, the draw of filming in Scotland, and the recent shock of stepping onto the San Diego Comic-Con stage (or even seeing her face across a 30-foot billboard). “It really made it all feel real,” she admits.
Expanding the universe meant calibrating respect and reinvention. “There was an element of pressure because Outlander has been such a hit and we have big boots to fill,” Slater admits. “But the fans have been so positive, and it feels like a real privilege to step into something with such strong foundations.” That responsibility, she adds, “more than anything it motivated all of us to want to do a good job and make the show the best that it can be.” As for the result: “It’s set in the same universe, but it very much feels like its own thing… designed so you can come to it completely fresh.”
Her character Ellen MacKenzie is a name Outlander fans have heard for years—often referenced, never entirely realized. Blood of My Blood changes that. Across the ten episodes of its first season, audiences see her arc in full for the first time. For Slater, Ellen was “the biggest draw to the job.” She calls her “a fantastically complex human being… with so many layers to explore,” a woman forced to be adaptable in a society that denies women agency. “Ellen has to find ways to stay one step ahead of the men who seek to control her,” Slater says, describing a character who’s “smart and shrewd and determined and fiery.”
The prequel’s forbidden-romance engine was another major hook—appealing to her as “an exciting storyline that demonstrates the power of love and how far people are willing to go for it.” But the part that stuck was Ellen’s duality: the flinty exterior and the softness underneath. “It’s easy to see her as this feisty warrior—which she is—but a lot of that is armour,” Slater adds. “Underneath, she has a very compassionate, soft side, which only really shines through when she’s with Brian. He sees her for who she truly is, and his openness and gentleness enable her to let her guard down.”
Filming stretched over six months across Scotland, with Slater relocating to Glasgow for the shoot—a life pivot that arrived right on time. It was “a huge shift personally,” she says, but “I love living in Glasgow; I felt at home very quickly—largely thanks to the rest of the cast and how fast we all bonded.” Naturally, given its breathtaking landscapes, the locations did as much work as any scene partner. “Shooting on location is one of my favourite parts of the job. It really does make you feel like you’ve been transported back in time,” she adds. “When you’re surrounded by hundreds of supporting artists and everybody’s dressed in incredible, authentic costumes, it’s easy to trick yourself into believing that you’re there in the Highlands in 1715.”
And according to Slater, even the uncontrollable elements became texture to the aesthetic-heavy production. “The weather can be challenging, but if you lean into the elements, it can actually be quite helpful. There’s a lot that you get for free when you’re being battered in the face by high winds and rain. No acting required—we really are fighting for our lives out there!”
Costume isn’t just world-building here either; it’s purely character. Designed with an almost archival attention to period detail, the wardrobe shapes how scenes play and how bodies move—posture, gait, even breath. “The costumes are stunning,” she confidently says. The department “pride themselves on period accuracy and authenticity,” and for Slater, wearing their work is “such an honour.”
Her favorite look so far doubles as a story. In Ellen’s first appearance, she wears the MacKenzie plaid and a clan brooch—pieces we watch her receive in a flashback with her father (played by Peter Mullan). Ellen’s fear is clear: marriage, in her world, can feel like a prison. He counters with a gesture of lineage and permission—the plaid, typically reserved for men, and a brooch inscribed with the clan motto Luceo non uro (“I shine, not burn”). The moment reframes her agency within the rules of her time. “It’s a really empowering moment for Ellen,” Slater says. “It’s a symbol of his protection and a reminder of her identity and her strength.” She carries that charge forward, and the costume becomes a thesis for who she is.
Although Blood of My Blood is her highest-profile role yet, it sits within a filmography that keeps widening—period drama, psychological horror, stylized action. The variety isn’t completely random though. “I think there is a throughline in that they all have a combination of both strength and vulnerability,” Slater says. With Ellen, the steel shows first and the softness sits underneath; with Clara in Belgravia, it’s inverted—“wide-eyed and innocent” at the start, then gathering “courage and determination” as the series unfolds.
What typically pulls her in is tension—the gap between surface and truth. “I’m drawn to characters who have some sort of inner conflict,” she says. “It’s more exciting as an actor to hide things than it is to show them… peeling back the layers and listening to what’s not said.” She gravitates to flawed people—“neither wholly good nor bad”—because that’s where the honesty lives. Still, she already has something that she’s eager to explore, if given the opportunity. “I’ve yet to play the antagonist,” Slater shares. “That would be a fun challenge!”
Across Scotland, Thailand, and Los Angeles this year, the constant shift taught her as much as the roles did. “With each job, I’m gaining confidence—both as an actor and as a person.” That growth comes with a caveat: “It’s also hard to know whether I’ve adopted traits of the characters or whether those traits were always there and the characters brought them out.” When immersion blurs the line—“your body doesn’t always know the difference,” but she relies on boundaries. “Ask for what you need and don’t feel bad about it,” Slater says. “I was a people pleaser for a very long time, and I’m finally letting that go. You can’t please everyone—and that’s okay.”
Among those globe-hopping gigs, one pivot was the London indie with a smaller canvas, tighter focus, a story about a singer finding her footing. “It was my first indie and I loved it,” Slater says. “Twenty days in London—exhausting but exhilarating—and genuinely collaborative.” The tone stayed fluid: “One minute we were making a rom-com, the next a musical, then crying and shouting semi-improvised dialogue in a very naturalistic way.” That elasticity demanded faith in Danila Kozlovsky, who directed and starred in the film. “We had to trust him to hold the whole piece together… it still baffles me how he could split his brain and do both jobs at once.”
If London was intimacy, the next job was scale. The upcoming thriller—an untitled sequel to the viral film Fall—threw her into a different kind of intensity and logistics. “It was the loveliest, warmest, most relaxed set I’ve ever been on—which is hilarious, given the nature of the film,” she says of the upcoming sequel to Fall (2022), a survival thriller about two friends trapped atop a 2,000-foot TV tower. As expected, this one also demanded both nerve and stamina.
Slater notes, “For most of the shoot, the cast were stuck 14 metres above the directors—the Spierig brothers—and the rest of the crew on the ground below. We were looking down on them like an army of ants, and when they needed to communicate, they used a megaphone to yell across the quarry.” The experience was “a real challenge, mentally and physically,” she says, but also a thrill. “It’s exciting to be part of a growing franchise that gained so much traction the first time around. And living and working in Thailand is something I’ll never forget.”
Between these upcoming projects and Blood of My Blood now airing on Starz, Slater is stepping into one of the busiest (and most visible) stretches of her career. Press tours, extensive production needs, fan events, and promo are there, but she’s ultimately looking forward to the rare chance to keep building a character in real time. “I feel incredibly lucky to be shooting a second season of Blood of My Blood. You can never guarantee a green light, so I’m excited to return to this show and delve deeper into her psyche,” she says.
“There’s a lovely familiarity in coming back to a job and working with friends, in a known environment. Scotland really does feel like a second home now. I’m genuinely grateful every day I get to do what I love for a living—I still have pinch-me moments all the time. And it’s exciting seeing the response to the first season.” Slater concludes, “Episode 5 aired last week, and the reaction to the romance was amazing. There’s plenty more where that came from.”
Blood of My Blood may be the role that introduces Harriet Slater to a global audience, but it’s hardly the beginning. And it’s definitely nowhere near the end.
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Photographer - David Reiss
Styling - Olga Timofejeva
MUA - Katie Daisy
Hair - Josh Knight
Cover - Laramie Cheyenne
Words/EIC - Aedan Juvet
