This past weekend, Stevenson Hall at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) buzzed with excitement as graduates lined the halls, ready to receive their diplomas. One of the recipients in attendance at the ceremony was none other than Outlander’s Sam Heughan. Heughan, an alum who graduated from the BA Acting programme in 2003, returned this weekend to accept the award of an honorary doctorate for his achievements on and off-screen.
Courtesy of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland/Martin-Shields
Known for his lead role as Jamie Fraser in Outlander, Sam is an actor, producer, author, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He is the executive producer for Men in Kilts: A Roadtrip with Sam and Graham with his Outlander co-star Graham McTavish. Heughan and McTavish co-wrote a New York Times bestselling nonfiction book Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other as well as the Clanlands Almanac. In 2020, he launched his whisky brand, The Sassenach, through a company he co-founded, Great Glen Company, and has earned several gold medals truly making a name for himself in the spirits industry. Always expanding, Heughan recently collaborated with El Tequileño and released a limited edition double wood reposado, called The Sassenach Select. Both of them are available to order through Reserve Bar or by clicking here.
Heughan created an annual award for RCS, the Write Start: The Sam Heughan Creative Commission, intending to encourage students to develop new work; he is also personally funding three annual scholarships for undergraduate students in the School of Drama, Dance, Production, and Film. He is the founder of My Peak Challenge, a holistic wellness program that helps to raise funds for various charities while inspiring members to challenge themselves and improve their physical fitness, emotional well-being, and mental health. Since its creation in 2015, it has grown to a community of over 14,000 members in 83 countries, and has raised over $6 million for several organizations, including Bloodwise, Marie Curie, Feeding America, and One Tree Planted.
Courtesy of Prof. Jeffrey Sharkey
The honorary doctorate from RCS is Heughan’s third, following honorary doctorates from the University of Stirling and the University of Glasgow which he received in 2019. In his address to the RCS Class of 2022, he said he was honored to receive the degree and told the students there is so much more ahead, “You have had many wonderful new, first experiences here, and will have many to come. This place has given you the greatest start and I’m incredibly excited for you…It is here, where my first dream became a reality. It’s here, where I have been shooting a major US TV show, and have been able to rely on the experience and lessons I learnt in this building,” Heughan continued “I’m willing you on, I want you all to succeed and I know you will. Dream big and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I cannot wait to see what you all achieve.”
The principal of RCS, Professor Jeffrey Sharkey, said Heughan “is a wonderful ambassador for the arts and Scotland” and ” an artist of international acclaim with an entrepreneurial spirit, who passionately believes in giving back and helping others to fulfil their potential.”
Heughan has a memoir he wrote while solo hiking called Waypoints, which is set to release on October 25 and is currently filming season seven of Outlander in Scotland which expects to wrap in early spring 2023.
An Atlanta-based actress, model, writer, and screenwriter, Miranda started her career on stage in high school. She figured out that acting and writing were two passions of hers that allowed her to constructively express her emotions through character and narrative. In 2022, she packed up her cat and everything she owned to move across the US to Atlanta to further pursue opportunities in the entertainment industry. She is currently working on a novel and the screenplay adaptation for the novel, and enjoys designing graphics.
