‘Outlander’ Season 2 Finds its Roger Wakefield in Scottish Actor Richard Rankin

“Outlander” has cast Scottish actor Richard Rankin in the pivotal role of Roger Wakefield, Starz announced Monday.

Described as intelligent, kindhearted, and charming, Roger is the grown up version of Reverend Wakefield’s adopted son, who we met in season one. After his parents died in World War II, Roger was raised by the Reverend (with help from his housekeeper, Mrs. Graham) and is a proud Scot through and through. Now a professor at Oxford, Roger has a keen interest in history, and all the secrets and insight it presents.

Fans of Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling novels know that Roger plays a pivotal role in the lives of Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) as their time-travelling story unfolds.

The Starz and Sony Pictures Television series is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and will return in Spring 2016.

Rankin recently appeared alongside Bradley Cooper in John Wells’ “Burnt,” along with TV series including “The Syndicate,” “The Crimson Field,” and NBC’s “American Odyssey.” Most recently, Rankin appeared in the BBC One drama “From Darkness,” and he will next be seen playing a detective in the BBC’s new drama miniseries “Thirteen.”

Season Two of “Outlander” begins as Claire and Jamie arrive in France, hell-bent on infiltrating the Jacobite rebellion led by Prince Charles Stuart, and stopping the battle of Culloden. With the help of his cousin Jared, a local wine merchant, Jamie and Claire are thrown into the lavish world of French society, where intrigue and parties are abundant, but political gain proves far less fruitful. Altering the course of history presents challenges that begin to weigh on the very fabric of their relationship. However, armed with the knowledge of what lies ahead, Claire and Jamie must race to prevent a doomed Highland uprising, and the extinction of Scottish life as they know it.