‘Outlander’ star Caitriona Balfe takes on ‘Monster’ role

‘Outlander’ star Caitriona Balfe takes on ‘Monster’ role

NEW YORK — As Outlander’s time-traveling heroine Claire Fraser, Caitriona Balfe is whisked between the emerald moors of 18th-century Scotland and lavish palaces of French royalty.

But the Irish actress’ dream destination is worlds away from the Starz drama’s picturesque locales. “Could I just time-travel to a beach somewhere, where nobody can get me on the phone so I’d never have to leave?” Balfe says with a grin. “I’d like to do that.”

She’s certainly earned some R&R, after being propelled into the spotlight in 2014 as the star of the pay-cable network’s hit Outlander (Saturdays, 9 p.m. ET/PT), which returned last month with more than double the ratings of its first-season premiere (nearly 1.5 million same-day viewers).

Combining high-stakes adventure and bodice-ripping romance, the series has inspired a legion of devoted fans that goes beyond readers of Diana Gabaldon’s best-selling novels — many of whom tune in for the frequently steamy sex scenes, which are viewed from the perspective of the show’s empowering, feminist main character.

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Balfe, 36, was drawn to Claire because there’s a “great range of what she goes through and what you get to play,” she says. I think anyone would’ve jumped at the chance to play her. She’s strong, she’s driven, she’s intelligent and irreverent and funny.”

Outlander is the first major acting coup for Balfe, whose first name is pronounced “ka-TREE-nah.” A Dublin native, she studied theater as a teenager before she caught the attention of a modeling scout and moved to Paris. For nearly a decade, she graced runways and ad campaigns for Chanel, Calvin Klein and Victoria’s Secret, but eventually felt the itch to act again.

“I just knew that I wasn’t happy doing that, and if I was ever to pursue my dream of acting, it was now or never,” Balfe says. So, she packed her bags and moved to Los Angeles, where she enrolled in an acting class, booked a manager, and landed minor roles in movies such as Escape Plan and Now You See Me.

Now Balfe is headed back to the big screen in the Jodie Foster-directed Money Monster, starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts (in theaters May 13). In the thriller, she plays Diane Lester, a spokeswoman for a company whose stock mysteriously plummets — leading an unhinged investor (Jack O’Connell) to hold a TV financial guru (Clooney) hostage, on-air.

For the actress, “my interest in the economic system far outweighs my knowledge,” she says. Playing Diane, who tries to uncover the reason behind the financial upheaval, “I had this notion of her being slightly naïve and getting involved in this company, and then at a certain point, she has an awakening of consciousness and fights for the truth. Claire is a truth-seeker as well, and I loved that.”

Working with Foster was “incredible. It was amazing how much of a shorthand we had so quickly.” On set with her co-stars, “I didn’t get to witness the infamous George Clooney pranking, which makes me think he was pranking me behind my back,” Balfe jokes. “No, he was actually really fun.”

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