Bartender, waiter, delivery driver: Outlander star Sam Heughan’s busy CV before big break

Sam Heughan and co-star Caitriona Balfe as Jamie and Claire Fraser in the hit series

He might be one of the most adored actors in television thanks to Outlander, but Sam Heughan has admitted he was about to quit acting to become a full-time barman when he landed the life-changing role.

The normally private star reveals details of his personal life in the new book, and explains how he had become debt-ridden as he chased his acting dream.

Writing in the book, he explained: “Despite three months of auditioning for TV and film roles in LA, I returned to the UK penniless. I was 34 and forced to sign on to pay my rent. Two weeks later, I couldn’t face the process – the Job Centre not seeing acting as a legitimate profession – so I gave up and tried to find full-time work as a barman.

“I had done a variety of jobs to support myself over the years – delivered sandwiches by bicycle, sold perfume in Harrods, drawn up contracts for mental health doctors in the NHS and various other bar and restaurant jobs around London.

“Moving there after drama school, I had been working as a ‘jobbing actor’ for almost 12 years and it had been a real rollercoaster, some years with great success and others with only a couple of credits to add to my CV.” He continued: “Once again I found myself penniless, depressed and back in the UK. I was really beginning to question if I could keep going with no real long-term opportunities in sight.

“In the past I had trouble with the Inland Revenue and even seen bailiffs at my front door. Several loans and credit cards were drowning me and I couldn’t see a way out. I thought I’d give it another year to see if anything changed and, if not, I knew I was going to have to make drastic changes to my life.

“And then, out of the blue, I was offered a screen test for Outlander – and you know the rest.”