Several of the stars of Outlander have come together for a new project. Old Ian Murray star Steven Cree, Murtagh Fitzgibbons actor Duncan Lacroix and Claire Sermonne – better known as Louise de Rohan – have all made an appearance in the new music video for fellow Outlander cast member Andrew Gower’s band Gustaffson.
The Outlander alumni, along with a whole host of stars including Line of Duty’s Leanne Best, David Gyasi from The Diplomat and Arty Froushan of Carnival Row fame, have all shared their never-before-seen audition self-tapes, which are featured in the music video for the band’s new single Closer from their debut album Black & White Movie. In a blink-and-you’ll miss it moment, snippets from the various stars have been interspersed with Gustaffson performing Closer on stage at the Albert Hall Manchester.
Express.co.uk, spoke exclusively to Gustaffson lead and Outlander’s Bonnie Prince Charlie star Gower, who revealed how the exciting collaboration came about.
“The nice thing is some of those Outlander actors haven’t been in scenes together, so they can say they’ve been in scenes together now. It’s been wonderful. Again, another job Outlander – that community, that cast, regardless of being in scenes or episodes together, we managed to stay in touch. Duncan and Steven were two of the first people to send their stuff over. It was so wonderful to have them in it and so nice to see them out of their Outlander costumes as well,” he said.
Gower, who counts credits in Black Mirror, Carnival Row and Channel 5’s detective drama Ellis, has also kept in touch with many of his fellow Outlander cast mates thanks to the fan convention circuit.
“There’s a lovely demand for us to talk about past seasons and obviously with the show coming to an end, the demand, and looking back at the past seasons is becoming more poignant.”
The star said he was “blessed” to have worked with the cast of Outlander and was keen to collaborate with them again in the future. As to whether fans could one day see Sam Heughan or Caitríona Balfe in a Gustaffson music video, Gower said the “door would always be open” to them.
Although Heughan doesn’t appear in the video, Gower revealed the Jamie Fraser star’s Sassenach Spirits drinks line is sponsoring the band’s upcoming sold out concert at Bush Hall, with everyone attending receiving a cocktail inspired by the Black & White Movie album.
“Sam has been so amazing, just the type of person he is,” Gower said. The star said it was “really special” and had “come via Sam”, adding: “It really again shows the power of Sam and Cait and the cast supporting other people’s art. Such a special night and makes the Black & White Movie theme even more poignant for us when we go to Bush Hall.”
But the Outlander connections don’t end there, the show’s composer Bear McCreary even collaborated on the single Flowers which came out last year.
The single Closer came about from Gower and fellow bandmate James ‘Webbo’ Webster’s video calls about Gustaffson, with the actor feeling the “need for face-to-face collaboration to make art”.
The advent of the COVID pandemic led to a rise in self-tape auditions, whereby lockdown restrictions led to actors filming scenes for potential jobs in their homes, removing in-person casting and making the process even more isolating.
He got in touch with “everybody I’ve admired for years” from the acting industry, some of whom he’d worked with before, and asked if they would share some of their self-tapes that they believed were “never seen” or “something they were proud of”.
Gower said even though these videos may have “fallen between the cracks in the acting industry”, they would “live on” in the music video.
Closer also features an appearance from national treasure Sir Ben Kingsley, who delivers a rousing speech about artists finding their own “tribe” and the power of self-belief.
“That got me through drama school,” he said, adding: “I’ve admired Sir Ben for years, his work obviously from Sexy Beast to everything else.”
Black & White is billed as a “cinematic experience” with each track serving as its own film. Meanwhile, the music videos are a meld of media featuring some familiar faces, including The Crown and The Gentleman’s Daniel Ings, Gower’s Ellis co-star Sharon D. Clarke, Deadwater Fell star Matthew McNulty, and Kiran Sonia Sawar from Black Mirror.
Gustaffson was formed during the pandemic with the band releasing its first EP The Jacaranda in 2022. The band’s name comes from Gower’s Swedish-born great Grandmother, Louisa Gustaffson, whom Gower sings about on the track Some Kind of Sweden and describes her as epitomising kindness.
Gower is continuously busy writing and already has plans for a follow-up. However, he’s also booked and busy with acting projects with short film Blessed Are They That Fear the Lord in the works, according to IMDb. Reflecting on the balance, Gower said: “I like to think the music and the acting will continue to complement each other.”
As to where he wants to take both of his artistic endeavours, Gower said: “One of my big aims and one of Gustaffson’s big aims is to write for TV and to definitely create a drama or a film that combines both of them. That’s where I want to end up.”