Outlander Stars Sarah Collier & Hugh Ross On That Big Death Scene and Working with Sam Heughan & Caitríona Balfe

No matter what time period, life on Outlander is never easy, especially for Jamie and Claire Fraser, and anyone in their general vicinity. On the recent episode, “Death Be Not Proud,” there was fire, murder, funerals and general chaos that came to the Ridge. Also known as a regular Tuesday for Jamie and Claire. Sarah Collier and Hugh Ross, who play Mrs. and Mr. Bug, sat down with SheKnows to break down the episode that saw their characters taking a dark, golden, and in one of their cases, somewhat fatal turn. The episode marks Collier’s memorable exit from the show. She and Ross tell us about their favorite Outlander scenes, and what it was like filming the funeral scene in which Caitríona Balfe sang “Ave Maria.” Plus, they reveal why they’ve loved working with Balfe, Sam Heughan and the rest of the Outlander cast these past few years. Watch the exclusive video to hear more about Collier’s last Outlander episode.

Season 7 of Outlander has kicked off with more drama in the first few episodes than most shows do in an entire season. Murder, mayhem, singing, gold, revenge, and Collier and Ross’s characters have fallen right in the center of it all. The gold ended up being the reason that Mrs. Bug’s life ends in murdery mayhem. John Bell’s Young Ian ends up shooting her with a fatal bow, but he thinks it’s actually Mr. Bug. Collier and Ross shared what it was like shooting the death and funeral scenes. It seems they had to do both quickly due to weather conditions. “It was the wettest day you could possibly image. It was absolutely monsoon!” Ross shares. So much so that they were worried they wouldn’t get it all filmed. In the funeral scene, Balfe sings at the request of Arch Bug. Ross shares, “Caitríona’s great, she just goes for it. She doesn’t make a fuss. If it says, ‘Sing,’ she’ll sing. She’s thoroughly professional.” Collier adds, “I have to say I thought it was rather lovely, because she can sing in tune… I think the simplicity of it is incredibly touching.” Collier got a front row seat to all the singing lying in her rainy coffin. But after watching the scene, “I thought that scene worked rather beautifully.”

Collier and Ross both couldn’t say enough kind things about the Outlander cast and working with Heughan and Balfe. “From the word go, it was an extraordinarily welcoming cast. It’s a lovely, lovely cast. They’re great team leaders, Sam and Caitríona, really, really exceptional,” Hugh raves. Collier goes on to say that they all get the work done but there’s a great amount of humor and fun. Except not in the funeral scene, mainly because they were fighting the weather to get it done.

Ross reveals that Outlander is actually the second time he’s working with Heughan. “I had worked with Sam before in the theater, I did a play with him when he was very, very young. “He was a delight then. He was very nice, eager… so it was very nice to be reunited with him with his new status, which he does not abuse.” Ross continued, “Both he and Cait, are just well who they are, very ordinary, and straightforward, and lovely.” Collier quickly agreed, “As we say, there’s no sides to them…. It’s wonderful in the workplace, quietly getting on with the job, with a sense of humor. And you know that if you need help in any way that they will listen, and that’s really paramount in show like this.”

Collier credits Balfe with being a calming influence on set. “Caitríona is a very intelligent actress. What I’m impressed by is her calmness, she carries that series beautifully on screen and is a calm presence off-screen… As actors, we are in the business of bringing our childhood with us, bringing our emotions close to the surface at the same time, calm is very important. I think she does that quite especially well.”

Although Mrs. Bug’s time is up on the show, will we ever see revenge-seeking Arch Bug again? Ross gives an evil, but joyful laugh, “Now what do you think?” Watch the exclusive video chat to get their full break down of this time-altering Outlander episode. Catch up on Season 7’s episodes with our recaps: Episode 1, Episode 2 and Episode 3.

Before you go, check out the all-time best ‘Outlander’ episodes you need to watch.