Sophie Skelton Interview

Sophie Skelton is making a name for herself, starting strong by portraying women who carry worlds on their shoulders, from a daughter navigating grief and identity to a mother holding her family together in quiet struggles. Her characters are shaped by love, loss, and resilience. She’s saying goodbye to Brianna Fraser in the final season of Outlander, a character she’s grown alongside for years, feeling blessed to be able to watch her evolve from a hurt but fiery teenager into a grounded woman and mother in her own right. In I Can Only Imagine 2, she steps into the role of Shannon, a woman whose strength lives in quiet sacrifice while dealing with the emotional labor of keeping her family together.

For Principle, Sophie and I were able to sit down and talk about the incredible and collaborative set that turned into family, and the women who inspire her both on and off screen, discussing what it takes to portray characters who endure immense emotional weight without losing themselves. From favourite colours and group chats to the realities of filming in the Scottish Highlands, she reflects on the roles that have shaped her and the people who’ve felt like family along the way.

PHOTOGRAPHY
Jack Alexander

FASHION
Kirsty Stewart
at The Only Agency

HAIR
Jordan Robertson
at Premier Hair and Make-Up

MAKE-UP
Faye Bluff
at Of Substance

FASHION ASSISTANT
Elisa Pearson and Halle Shenton

Dress Realisation / Shoes vintage Gucci / Jewellery Heaven Mayhem

Hi, how are you doing?

I’m good!

Your upcoming film, I Can Only Imagine 2, “20 Questions,” is a big turning point of the movie and a way to get to know someone. I won’t ask 20 questions, but I’ll ask two. The Easy question: What’s your favourite colour?

Ooo, you know what, this is actually not that easy, because I always… I don’t know. I love black because it goes with everything, but that makes me sound very dark. It really depends on my mood. I love a kind of baby blue, but lately I’ve been into sage green. Green, I guess, lately.

Dress Mocko / Shoes vintage Gucci / Jewellery Anna Rossi

Green’s a good colour! Now the hard-ish one: What is the biggest takeaway you had from filming I Can Only Imagine 2?

This was such a special film to film, and it was the first job I did after completely finishing Outlander. I have never experienced such a genuine family on set, and, you know, any job you do, you get really close to people, and you stay close, and every job looks different. But this one, we all have a group chat, and there’s just so much banter; we chat all the time. It was one of the most collaborative sets I’ve ever been on, and it was just like this kismet group of people: Arielle, Milo, John Michael Finley, and Sammy, who plays my son. We would all come to set when we weren’t in, just because it was such a joy to be there. And the kids of the people I played came to set, too. Yeah, it was just such a magical atmosphere, and I will never forget it. It was really, really special. When you’re going to work on your day off, you know that something’s done right.

Your character Shannon holds so much emotional weight, keeping her family together while carrying the burden of her husband’s struggles. As an actress, where do you find the strength to tap into a character like that?

There’s such a great movement now for women being able to do it all and have it all. But I do think that we are at risk of forgetting the kind of unsung heroes women are. There’s this beautiful sculpture I love, La Mujer de la Carga (The Burden). It’s a woman carrying the weight of the home, and she’s got, like, a washing machine on her back; she’s holding kids, she’s got paperwork. There’s so much going on. I think, even moving to America, the amount of logistics that the world demands, just like for my dog and things for him, and then visas for me, and daily things to set up a life, it’s no joke. For a family somewhere, it’s no joke.

Top Intimissimi / Shorts Arakii / Tights Calzedonia / Shoes vintage Gucci / Earrings Heaven Mayhem

I also had a lot of conversations with the real Shannon, and she said something, because this is about her family, and originally there was another storyline in there about her brother who died as well. She said, “Why would anybody want to tell my story? I’m just a stay-at-home mum.” And I was like, “You’re not JUST anything.” So I think some of my strength comes from pulling on my own experiences.

Then some of my strength came from my mum, who founded a toy company in the ‘80s with three other men. She was the only working woman with two kids, trying to juggle it, so I’m lucky I’ve had that example my whole life. Then just talking to Shannon and hearing her stories about how hard it was when Bart’s away on tour, and her son is having fits because he has Type 1 Diabetes, and just having to deal with that fear all by herself—it was really inspiring. Being able to hear the day-to-day loneliness she endured while going through her own pain was inspirational. She’s an incredibly strong woman; her patience is something I aim to achieve.

Was the real family on set quite often?

Yeah! I’m so close to them. We just had our premiere in Nashville, so I stayed at theirs. Then I went and stayed at their house for a little movie slumber night! They were so sweet! They remembered I love these dark chocolate pistachios from Trader Joe’s and got me those, and some roses and Valentine’s cards. They’re just so precious, a really, really great family. They’ve kind of adopted me, which is lovely. So I have many families in Nashville now, which is really special.

Dress Arakii / Shoes vintage Gucci / Jewellery Anna Rossi

Now on to Outlander: it has come to its final season. What are you going to miss most about filming Outlander?

I miss being in the Scottish Highlands. As much as I can say, when we’re there, and it’s cold and tricky, we’re definitely fighting the elements a lot. It really does have its own character in the story. There’s something that happens when you’re up a mountain with people you’ve known for a long time, and the weather is doing everything it can to bring you down. There’s this wonderful camaraderie that happens that’s irreplaceable. And just digging deep to get the scene, you’re all in it together. I don’t know, it’s a very unique experience. I think I’ll miss just dredging through the mud with those people you’ve known for such a long time. It really creates resilience and camaraderie. I think the fans have been the backbone and heartbeat of the show. Sometimes, when you’re up a mountain and having a quite horrible time freezing, body shaking, you remember how much it means to the fans and how much they’ve supported us for all this time. Getting to Season 8 of a show, and not only holding the same fans but having new ones coming in, it really gets you through those days.

What’s something fans might be surprised to learn about life on set?

I think people think Hollywood is very glamorous. I’d say, catering. You’d be surprised that the food-poisoning rate is quite high. If you don’t have a bug in your food, then you’ve succeeded for the day. It’s not L.A. food in Scotland.

Suit The Frankie Shop / Shoes vintage Gucci / Earrings Heaven Mayhem

How has your understanding of Brianna changed from your first season to now?

I feel like I always had a pretty good grasp of who she was going to become. Obviously, we had the books to lean on, and I’d done research to map her out, so I knew her journey and change. When we first meet her, she’s a little confused teenager, dealing with normal female emotions, but also with the death of her father and the guilt of that. We see a flashback of her in the car with Frank, played by Tobias, and Brianna blames herself. Then, with this new information, her 18th-century Highlander father and a time-travelling mum, she’s battling a lot of demons while figuring out her teenage years. She’s a little firecracker. So it’s less of a surprise because I’d mapped her out. I just love the growth she’s had, the woman she’s become, and the mother she becomes. This season especially, she’s such a grounded, secure version of herself, taking everything more calmly and in stride. I’m really proud of everything she’s overcome.

As you mentioned, Brianna goes through immense emotional and physical trauma. How do you take care of yourself when portraying such heavy material?

I’m usually good at knowing where the character ends and I begin. But obviously, when you play a character for so long, she and I have had some similar experiences. Sometimes I’d already had them; sometimes it happened after. It’s been quite hard at times to untether those links. But honestly, just by doing my own work on myself, it’s kind of funny, when you play a character, especially if you’ve done your own work, you can almost, not that I’m Brianna’s therapist, but I’m enough in her head and enough separated to guide her through stuff. Hopefully, fans, especially younger female fans, seeing Brianna come out the other side of trauma, it heals you watching. When you see a character emerge and see the light at the end of the tunnel, it definitely heals something in you. I think carrying her through those darkest moments and seeing her healed is healing for anyone.

Mini Dress Elaine Field / Tights Calzedonia / Heels vintage Gucci / Jewellery Anna Rossi

Brianna’s relationship with Claire is complex and layered. What was most important to you in portraying that mother-daughter bond?

The most important thing was realism. Initially, I missed some of the banter in the books, which comes in Season 8. For the show, they wanted a bit more animosity between them. The mother-daughter relationship isn’t often talked about, and many mums and daughters we’ve had or met shared how seeing Claire and Brianna helped them reconcile differences. Keeping realism in the relationship was key: it’s okay that mothers and daughters fight, sometimes because they’re so similar. My favourite part has been seeing how they’ve oscillated in that dynamic. Sometimes Brianna is the mother to Claire and vice versa. As they’ve aged and gained life experience, they see more eye to eye and have become friends. In Season 8, they’re equals, and it’s beautiful. The older I get, the more sympathy I have for parents, especially with social media and phones. I admire anyone navigating parenthood nowadays; it must be a minefield.

You’ve played both a daughter and a mother. Were you able to draw on your experience in each role to gain insight into the perspectives and emotions each character brings?

Yes, definitely! Shannon was a really great beacon of how to be a mother, even protecting her children from everything else going on. I’ve learned how to have two faces in the house: the one the kids see, where everything looks put together, while internally, you’re kind of crumbling. The conversation with your partner happens later. Yeah, just protecting your children from what’s going on around them.