Izzy Meikle-Small and Joey Phillips on Joining ‘Outlander’ [Interview]

Izzy Meikle-Small and Joey Phillips join the cast of Outlander this season as Rachel and Denzell Hunter. The two characters are siblings and orphans who are also “best friends” who have ultimately helped raise each other, according to Meikle-Small.

I recently spoke with Meikle-Small and Phillips during a press junket about what it was like joining the cast for Outlander Season 7 and what we can expect from their characters this season. 

On their characters and working with Claire:

Phillips’ character, Denzell, or Denny, is a physician and a Quaker man who winds up working closely with Claire. His sister, Rachel, joins him and also works with both of them as the war wages on. 

Phillips said one of his favorite relationships on the show is the one that develops between his character and Claire. 

“I think immediately, she becomes a sort of ally to Denny, and vice versa,” Phillips said. “So often, we see Claire be dismissed in the medical field by men. They don’t appreciate how brilliant she is. And she has to time and time again fight, and fight, and fight against these men who are just shoving her to one side. So it’s really refreshing when she meets Denny. There’s none of that. There’s just an immediate connection and immediate respect between the two of them. And they become a little team.”

“She very much becomes a mentor to Denny, and she’s someone other than Rachel, that he can talk to in his life,” Phillips continued. “I think he feels like he has to have everything together all the time for Rachel. And I feel like he doesn’t want to burden anyone with his problems. The more he works with Claire, the more he feels comfortable sharing that with her and leaning on her a little bit, and I think it’s really lovely.”

Meanwhile, Meikle-Small said her character and Claire also form a special relationship.

“Claire and Rachel are very similar. I think we see a lot of the same in each other, and we have the same kind of mutual respect. I completely idolize her — I think she’s everything that a woman should be. She’s strong, she’s independent,” Meikle-Small said.

“Rachel is just like, ‘Wow, this woman is amazing.’ And she starts working more closely with her, kind of assisting as a nurse, and yeah they have a really lovely dynamic. Claire is such a mother figure. She kind of takes these two little orphans and is kind of the mentor to both of us.”

On joining the cast:

For both Phillips and Meikle-Small, joining the show was exciting, but they also felt some pressure considering the show’s popularity. 

“There’s already a sort of pressure in joining something that’s already so loved and wanting to do a good job, but then there’s the extra layer on top of that where these characters are already known to the book readers and are already so loved, and we’re now bringing those characters to the screen and wanting to do that justice,” Phillips said. “So I think there’s a sense of imposter syndrome sometimes when you’re starting a new job and you don’t know what you’re going into.”

“But it’s just been the most wonderful experience for both of us,” he continued. “Everyone has made us so welcome, the cast and the crew and all the fans. We very much feel a part of the family and it couldn’t have been better.”

“I think we also had to learn, both of us, interesting new skills, which provided a challenge for us both,” Meikle-Small added. “Like learning to horse ride or learning to be a surgeon! It’s very fun when you get to learn these new skills, but it’s also a little bit tricky and adds some intrigue.”

“I did almost kill me and Izzy in a horse and car,” Phillips laughed. “But we don’t talk about that!” 

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Outlander airs Fridays on Starz.

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