Interviews Fans of Project: Torchwood - Scott James Kyle

If you've binge watched Outlander on the streaming channels, or caught up with the series on the television, or you have the DVDs and maybe read the books, you may already know who Scott James Kyle is, and the character that he played in the first series.

Outlander is a time travelling story, involving the leading lady stepping through a stone circle and travelling back to the Highlands in the 1700s and meets and falls in love with Jamie, the leading character in the story. Scott Kyle plays Ross, one of the Highlanders.

One of the things that has interested me about Kyle is that he follows us on Twitter, without having really watched anything of either Doctor Who since childhood or Torchwood, but it warms our hearts that he clearly enjoys what we do on our website, enough to want to keep following us, and for that, we thank him very much.

So as part of our new project, we decided to catch up with Kyle to find out what he’s been up to prior and during Lockdown. Enjoy!

Hi Kyle, how have you been spending your time in Lockdown?

Kyle: My wife (Karen) and I are really making the most of the lockdown, we have been doing a lot of work in the garden, going for walks and cycling around our local area. Over the past few months, we have visited parks and other areas that we have driven past but never explored. The lockdown has meant that we have had the time to go and walk/cycle around these places.

It's one of the things I realised about Lockdown, was the amount of freedom we all had, which got a lot of people out of their homes who would normally stay in and never leave - did you also notice this?

Kyle: I think we all have been guilty of living to work rather than working to live. The lockdown has stopped a lot of people from working and it has allowed everyone to appreciate the important things in life.

Do you still live in Scotland?

Kyle: I was born in Scotland and I still stay here with my wife Karen and Jess the neighbour’s cat who is a frequent visitor at our house.

I know a lot of actors who have gone to America and/or London to pursue their acting careers. I am happy in Scotland as I believe that the right roles will find me, they have so far anyway ha ha!

Is Outlander still filming? Is there no chance that your character would return in a later season?

Kyle: Nothing is filming at the moment in Scotland, and I’m not sure when things will change on that front. No one knows what the writers have in store for the fans, so never say never regarding seeing my character again.

What inspired you to become an actor, and were you a stage actor first?

Kyle: I’ve always enjoyed storytelling and I did drama at primary school and high school, but it was Karen (my wife) who suggested I go to college to study acting. I went to college to improve my quality of life and to try and create a better future for Karen and myself. It was a theatre course predominantly and that’s where I started. The films and television work came as a result of my success on the stage!

Does your wife, Karen also act? If you have children, are they interested in an acting career?

Kyle: Karen doesn’t act, but she is very supportive and is always by my side at the opening nights/premiers etc.

If we are fortunate enough to have kids at some point in the future, they will get all the support they need, if they choose to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

I have to ask the Whoniverse question, as I'm still curious. You said you haven't watched either Doctor Who or Torchwood, but you must have heard of both or at least one of these. Did you ever watch Doctor Who at all when you were growing up?

Kyle: Growing up I was always out playing so watching television wasn’t a big part of my life, as I got older, I always thought, I’d rather be on the tv than watching it ha ha! My wife Karen is a big fan of watching television so she has twisted my arm over the years to watch a bit more.

I remember Doctor Who being on the tv when I was younger, but I think I was probably too scared (didn’t want to get exterminated) ha ha! I met Fraser Hines at a comic con recently and I know he was in Doctor Who so I really should go back and binge watch it!

We've been promised a thunderstorm tonight so I'm keeping the window open. It was definitely too hot to work in a stuffy warehouse with thick cotton trousers on.

What's the hottest temperature that you've worked in during filming on any film that you've been on in the past?

Kyle: Filming in Scotland most of the time means it’s more a case of trying to keep warm, but I filmed the movie Kajaki in Jordan during the summer months and the heat was unbearable. 

We had real paratroopers on set though and they were quick to remind us that they never had a 5-star hotel to go back to after a long hard day and they never had access to ice cold bottled water, so we didn’t complain too much after that!

Before you became an actor, what other career roles did you have to keep you going? Or what job did you have to fall back on, if regular work wasn't available as an actor. The plan B???

Kyle: I left school at 16 and worked in a supermarket until I was 21, that’s when I went to college and started a 3-year acting course. During my second year at college I realised lots of students were graduating and not getting work, so I set up my own theatre company to ensure that I was never out of work. As a result of the successes I had as a producer, I went on to run numerous venues and events.

Since lockdown and the closure of the arts and entertainment industry, I have been working a few nights a week with a charity that supports thousands of people across the country who need help to live as independently as possible in their own homes. It has been a fantastic experience seeing the difference such an organisation can make to people’s lives.

It is a difficult time for those in the Arts at the moment - pretty much everything is on hold and even with some businesses returning to work, it may be some time before actors are back to relative normality.

Financially, are you able to continue living in Lockdown or have you had to resort to looking at other ways you can perform as an actor, or in some way within the industry?

Kyle: I am fortunate enough that I’ve always had a full-time job through my adult life, even when I was at college, I worked full time night shift and went to college during the day, surviving on very little sleep. My studying and acting work is always as well as, not instead of my other work. So, to be honest my wife and I are busy with other passion projects that aren’t affected by the lockdown.

Growing up, did you have many posters on your walls of character actors from films or television or were you a sporty kind of fan? Also, going on from that, as an actor, have you ever been star struck while working with an actor you've probably always been a fan of? Or is it different when you're an actor, that you don't go all like jelly, and struggle to ask that question 'could I get your autograph please' :D

Kyle: It was more sports idols on my walls, lots of different players from all over the world. My favourite player was Scotland International Ally McCoist who I was fortunate enough to meet and get his autograph when I was 14 years old at a shop in Glasgow. The funny thing was 20 years later I was playing in a charity football match and Ally approached me to ask for my autograph ha ha it’s a funny old world.

Ha! That is epic. Did you mention to him that you'd met him for his autograph all those years back?

Kyle: Yes we re-created the pic, the photographer was Graeme Souness

In all the roles that you've played be it on screen or in theatre, which have been the most challenging?

Kyle: They are all challenging in different ways, and each brings different pressures. Outlander has the pressure of a huge audience watching so you don’t want to make a fool of yourself or the work.

Kajaki was a true story so it is imperative that you get it right every time you film a scene.

If you could meet your 12-year-old self, what would you tell him?

Kyle: Everyone you meet is a teacher, don’t mistake them for anything else, some will come for a short time and some for a long time, learn as much as you can.

Thank you so much for chatting to us and sharing your photos. Please stay safe!

Photos courtesy Scott James Kyle