Why Sam Heughan says filming 'Outlander' finale hit hard

Sam Heughan, who stars as Jamie Fraser on \

Actors have eulogized characters they leave behind; fans have held vigils for beloved shows that are ending. So it's no surprise that as “Outlander” — the Starz hit that has spanned nearly 12 years, 8 seasons and even more jumps through time — takes its final bow, star Sam Heughan feels the anticipation of it all. 

“I felt exhausted by the end of the last season, really drained,” admits the Scottish actor, 45, who plays Highlander Jamie Fraser. “Even though you go day by day and you were fine, you realized that there was always this weight to it because you knew you were gonna say goodbye and it felt like we were ending something.” 

The weight wasn’t just the show coming to a close, but how that would change him—he’s spent a quarter of his life playing this character. “I knew this would be a big moment, [but] still didn't realize the enormity of it until it happened,” he says. 

"Outlander,” based on the books by Diana Gabaldon, leans heavily into themes of fate, destiny and history. And the end of filming seemed to have a touch of that, too. Normally after a day of shooting, Heughan would sit with his makeup artist and carefully remove Jamie’s wig, that fiery red ponytail that was always firmly glued on. But on the last day, “the wig came off itself,” he tells USA TODAY. “So maybe it was Jamie Fraser also kind of being done.” 

Even if Heughan will no longer be traipsing the Scottish countryside for filming, Jamie won’t be too far out of reach. “I managed to get a full Jamie Fraser outfit,” he says, “The costume department gave me a sort of a mix of Jamie from over the years.”