Oh, happy day! Saturday morning (Oct. 24), I joined Outlander fans for an Outlandish Vancouver Party in the Suite with Paul Gorman!
You remember Paul? He appeared in Outlander Season five, playing the Beardsley twins, Joshia (Jo) AND Keziah (Kezzie)!
What is Outlandish Vancouver (OV)? OV is an annual event held in Surrey, British Columbia, independent from but concurrent with the Surrey International Writer’s Conference (SiWC).
I have been attending both events since 2016, although I missed 2017; forgivable, because I was touring Scotland! 😃
A wee bit about SiWC. For more than two decades, SiWC has included Diana Gabaldon as speaker, teacher, and panelist. One year, she served as organist for Michael Slade’s Shock Theater! Shock is supposed to be silly and mysterious, hence the creepy music, but who knew she also plays the keyboard?
OV has focused entirely on Outlander, hosting celebrities and cast members. Over the years, I have met John Bell, Cèsar Domboy, Lauren Lyle, Steven Cree, Carmen Moore (S4, Wahkatiiosta), Braeden Clarke (S4, Kaheroton), and Trevor Carroll (S 4, Ta’wineonawira or “Otter-Tooth”), known in the 20th c. as Robert Springer!
Every interaction I have had proved to be delightful and well worth the long drive from Oregon to British Columbia!
This is me with Outlander’s Gaelic consultant, Àdhamh Ó Broin, who offered a rousing presentation and Gaelic lesson at OV 2016!
You might wonder, who is the MasterMind behind the OV creative venture? Why, it is KoKo! Also known as the wee pocket dynamo!
Both SiWC and OV were cancelled this year, but OV came to the rescue with virtual interactions between attendees and Outlander guests. Many thanks to her and her crew for their heroic efforts putting Outlander fans and cast in contact during a global pandemic. Kudos to all! 🙏🏻
Now, on to Paul! He joined the Zoom group precisely at 10am PT, to a bevy of adoring fans.
What a cutie! Have you ever seen a more generous and genuine smile? Adorable! (psst…I can safely state this because I am old enough to be his grandmum!) 🤗
BTW, his somber IMDb photo does little to reflect this funny, articulate, and expressive young man!
As we each introduced ourselves, he greeted each attendee with enthusiasm, interest, and curiosity.
Understand, we came from near and far to meet Paul! Scotland, Washington, Oregon, Florida, New Jersey, California and as far away as Lebanon – the country!
And, this lucky lass, Carrie Needham, joined us from the Fraser’s Ridge set. Yep! She was actually there!!! 👍🏻
Paul offered a brief introduction including the tidbit that Lizzy finds BOTH brothers verra interesting. 😉😉
Next, each attendee was given the opportunity to ask Paul a question.
Tell us what your first day was like on the Outlander set? He thought for a moment and then responded that his prior acting experiences had been limited to theater so he was extremely nervous about filming!
Early on, he met Caitlin O’Ryan (Lizzie Wemyss) for a “chemistry” test – it went very well!
On the first day of filming a van picked him up at 5am and hustled him to the set! Everyone, cast and crew, was extremely friendly and helpful, but he felt a bit overwhelmed by the number of people who periodically descended to fuss with his hair, costume, and makeup. He explained that Sam and Cait helped calm and reassure him given the newness of the situation. He also said that Sam was always in the background crunching on carrots! 🥕😆
Given that Kezzie is deaf, how was their communication determined? Paul said that sign language wasn’t available to Kezzie and Jo, raised in the back country of North Carolina, so they had to develop their own communication scheme.
In preparation, he worked with a consultant to develop style and signs unique to Kezzie. Paul recalls about 60 or 70 different signings – extras in case a director asked something of Kezzie that was not scripted.
Were you outgoing and gregarious as a kid? No, actually he was shy and an introvert (surprising as he came across as a natural people-person in this Zoom).
He also noted that young girls scared him. How about the older ones? 😂
He settled on acting after visiting the Royal College of Art. Eureka! He realized hat he could get a job in the field of acting! And, aren’t we pleased that he did?
Are you musical? Yes! He plays bass and guitar in a band, although he claimed he sings, badly. Ahhh! I am dubious about this, because he possesses a mellifluous speaking voice!
Does he share similar traits with the twins? Paul said, yes. He pointed out that both Jo and Kezzie want to be part of a family. Kezzie, especially, is very affectionate. The twins are aware of the world and strive to put others first; these are traits Paul aspires to emulate. And, working on Outlander has affirmed to him how kind people really are.
Are you a hunter like Jo? Paul responded, “only of hearts!” Clever lad! 🥰
Paul has never hunted animals. Lacking such experience, he did research into Native American hunting styles reasoning that Jo would likely emulate their practices. He studied still hunting, a technique requiring practices such as slowness, patience, covering tracks, taking down the leader of a herd to make it less defensible. Growing up as a Beardsley servant in the back country of North Carolina, Jo also had learned by trial and error.
He also revealed that in Outlander episode 509, Heroes and Monsters, the rabbit was dead but the maggots were very much alive!!! So, he is gaining experience with game. 😳
How did you film the twins together in one scene? Paul explained that director Jamie Payne had never filmed one actor acting as twins. For some of the scenes, they used a double for him to interact with. For other scenes, Paul acted to air, but against a blue screen not a green one, as the latter did not work well in a forest setting. He said acting to air was not difficult because this is done in theater work.
Jo (L) and Kezzie from Outlander, episode 503, Free Will
Do you like cats? Turns out, Paul is obsessed with CATS! He likes dogs, but felines are the cat’s meow!
He has two cats and both are Siberian forest cats. He secured them from a breeder near Glasgow. This breed is hypoallergenic and fetch much like dogs.
He whipped put his phone and shared images of his furry children. They are sisters!
Ruby
and Alexi.
If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Well, he has been obsessed with Spiderman since 5 y.o.! As proof, he shared a cute picture from his cell phone: Paul with his Spiderman costume! But, since Spiderman is not a super power, he would choose to be a shape shifter. Great choice, Paul!
Final question: How was the tonsillectomy scene from episode 505, Perpetual Adoration filmed?
He said filming that scene was trying because he spent the entire day with a mouthful of gauze! A bit of filming followed by “cut,” where upon his mouth was decorated with bits of blood or tonsillar scraps! More filming and repeat. The Outlander medical advisor was on hand to add authenticity and pointers.
After the last question, the session came to a close. A thoroughly charming young man is Paul Gorman. I look forward to more storyline about Kezzie and Jo during Outlander, Season 6! 🙏🏻
Thank you OV and thank you Paul!
PS: If you wish to find out more about OV, you can find them on FB or their website.
PSS: OV images were taken from my iPad by my iPhone. Thus, they are a wee bit blurry. 🙄
The deeply grateful,
Outlander Anatomist
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Photo and Video Credits: Sony/Starz, Outlandish Vancouver, Outlander Anatomy
