Harriet Slater Says Ellen MacKenzie Is "The Most Vulnerable" Character She's Ever Played — And the Love Scenes Were the Hardest Part

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Harriet Slater Says Ellen MacKenzie Is "The Most Vulnerable" Character She's Ever Played — And the Love Scenes Were the Hardest Part

2026/07/21 Report

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Harriet Slater Says Ellen MacKenzie Is "The Most Vulnerable" Character She's Ever Played — And the Love Scenes Were the Hardest Part

"She's equipped in every aspect of it, but she's a woman, so she can't be." Slater on playing a woman who should have been in charge — and wasn't allowed to be.

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In a wide-ranging interview with Deadline published in November 2025, Harriet Slater gave the most detailed account yet of what it meant to her to play Ellen MacKenzie — Jamie Fraser's mother — and why the role challenged her in ways she hadn't anticipated.

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