Hot Scots: Sam Heughan & Graham McTavish of ‘Men in Kilts’

Kate Hahn January 27, 2021, 9:00 am

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We say “aye” to Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip With Sam and Graham, a rowdy trek through Scotland with native sons and Outlander stars Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish. (Heughan plays 18th-century Highlander Jamie Fraser; McTavish was his now-dear-departed uncle, Dougal MacKenzie.)

Being a passenger in their wee camper van could not be better craic — slang for fun — as the lads wind through bonny scenery, stopping to explore cultural and historic sights (and flash some leg!). Heughan gets us going.

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Sweet gig! How’d you get the network to pay?

I managed to fool them, didn’t I? [Laughs] Graham, one of my best friends, and I shot a pilot over a number of weekends. Starz and [the production company] Sony jumped on board. We explore heritage, food, drink, music, dance. I subject Graham to activities he doesn’t want to do.

For example?

Scots are extremely superstitious, and we have this very dark history, especially around witchcraft. We found out ways they would make a witch admit to being a witch. Graham was a willing, I guess, volunteer.

men in kilts sam heughan graham mctavish

Starz

How much whiskey did you drink?

Graham is more of a white wine guy. I’m the whiskey drinker. There was always an emergency stash in the camper van.

Do you two get competitive?

We went to Braemar, home of the Highland Games, where clans competed and trained men for battle. We tried the tests of strength: lifting stones, tossing cabers [tree trunks]. There may be some high-stakes bets.

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Are there any sobering moments?

Visiting [the battlefield] Culloden. It’s a bleak, cold, wet place. On Outlander, Jamie went there expecting to die but was saved, probably by the memory of the love of his life, Claire [Caitriona Balfe].

Speaking of Claire, where is Outlander headed in Season 6?

The whole family is facing uncertainty, including the possibility of a fire at [their home], Fraser’s Ridge.