‘Outlander’ Q&A: Lotte Verbeek On Those Big Twists In ‘The Devil’s Mark’

When their lives were on the line in “The Devil’s Mark” episode of “Outlander,” both Claire (Caitriona Balfe) and Geillis (Lotte Verbeek) stood up for each other.

(Spoiler alert! This story contains reaction to Saturday’s “Outlander.” If you haven’t watched yet, bookmark this link to come back to later.)

In front of an angry mob calling for them to be burned at the stake (most especially Laoghaire MacKenzie), Claire (Caitriona Balfe) refused to take Ned Gowan’s suggestion and turn on Geillis to save herself. And when Geillis saw that Claire was willing to die, rather than turn on her, Geillis turned on herself.

WATCH: ‘Outlander’s’ Lotte Verbeek On ‘The Devil’s Mark’

The end of the witch trial was gripping, heart-racing television as the mob grew more angry and unruly, the stakes raised even higher when Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) stormed in ready to take on every man in the room to save his wife. And were it not for Geillis’ shocking confession, followed by her theatrical and purposefully distracting (so The Frasers could escape) Satan-pregnancy claim, it might have been curtains for both Claire and Jamie.

Lotte spoke with Access Hollywood about her initial reaction to reading “The Devil’s Mark” script, filming those huge moments and why it makes complete sense that Geillis is – spoiler alert! – from another time.

PHOTOS: ‘Outlander’ Season 1, Episode 11: ‘The Devil’s Mark’

AccessHollywood.com: When you got the script, did you have a freak out moment because it’s amazing for you, that script?
Lotte Verbeek:
Yeah. I read the script and I was just like eating it up. It was just so awesome. I mean, this is what you want to do as an actor, like have scenes in which you can give a lot and a lot happens and it’s very dynamic and then it’s physical, and it’s emotionally intense, and there [are] actual long scenes with a lot of dialogue. It’s such a present to be given.

Access: One of the moments I loved is when Geillis realizes that Claire is not going to throw her under the bus. What do you think that does for her? How does that affect her?
Lotte:
I think that’s something that’s probably not really happened to her a lot, you know? I think there’s a sense of loneliness to Geillis that’s really quite — it makes her kind of more vulnerable and obviously that really touches her and she might not show that immediately, but it will make her make certain choices after that that are pretty altruistic and surprising. You wouldn’t expect that from Geillis at first.

Access: We find [out Geillis is] from 1968 in that episode. When did you actually find out, because I remember you told us you went to Google and some of the fan sites when you first got the role? Did you always know that she was a ’60s gal?
Lotte:
Yes, I knew that Geillis was from the ’60s, obviously, which I thought was so much fun, because I would immediately — I picture myself in… the miniskirts and the high boots, and all the fancy stuff of the ’60s. And it’s great to know that a character has lived in a certain time, and that explains why she knows more, because you get a sense of Geillis always knowing more…

Access: Tell me about filming the scene where you basically get to take credit for being a witch and corrupting Claire, but [Geillis is] sacrificing herself. That’s a huge, huge thing.
Lotte: 
Lotte: Yeah. And that’s [what] I think [is] so fascinating, I think about Geillis’ character because, I mean, I’ve been told that fans love to hate her, which is–

WATCH: ‘Outlander’: Lotte Verbeek & Caitriona Balfe On Geillis Dance In The Woods

Access: Not as much as Laoghaire (laughs). … [Geillis] is more loved that Laoghaire.
Lotte:
Yeah… I think it kind of explains, because [Geillis is] a very passionate woman. She fights for a cause. She really believes in a cause and that, in itself, is altruistic. It’s selfless, right? It’s not about her even though you might think that when you first meet her because she’s kind of –she’s cocky, in a way, she’s playing around with Claire a bit, like asking her all these questions and being so cheeky really, but then she turns out to actually be very sincere and very passionate about the cause she really does believe in and any kind of believing is ultimately loving, right? So she is a very loving person, but in the process, she does make certain choices that not everybody would necessarily make.

Access: How crazy was it to film the scene where they’re carrying you out on top of them and trying to clothe you at the same time? It’s a huge moment for the show. I think people are going to be talking about that whole sequence for a long time.
Lotte:
So, I was being carried out. So after I kind of ripped open my dress, which in itself is kind of — I was doing that in front of 150 extras and with a pregnant belly and there’s a lot of elements to it. Then, the guys who were carrying me out, they were just so darling because there were six of them and they were just so careful to not drop me, and they didn’t. … And then, after a couple of takes, they were kind of being secretive and they pulled me to the side and I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ They were like, ‘We want to give you this.’ … They actually bought me a T-shirt with like the name of a band in Gaelic and I’m still wearing that as PJs actually (laughs), so it’s just so lovely.

Access: Have you ever done a scene like that before? Did it feel liberating — like you [could like] go take on a marathon or a triathlon or something like that [afterward]?
Lotte:
It was really liberating to play a scene that’s both physically kind of naked and emotionally, because Geillis really — she gives it her all, and she sacrifices herself and she’s emotionally vulnerable and yeah, how often do you get to play a scene like that? I haven’t really, no. And it’s not in a quiet sort of like delicate way, it’s like loud and it’s like present and she takes the space. She takes the stage in fact, at that point. So yeah, that was quite unique.

“Outlander” continues Saturdays at 9 PM ET/PT on Starz.

Jolie Lash

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