Outlander's leading man Sam Heughan was advised to tone down his native Highland accent for the hit series, show producers have revealed.

The 44 year old actor, hailing from Balmaclellan and later Edinburgh, typically speaks with a milder Scottish brogue. However, his portrayal of Jamie Fraser demanded much bolder Scottish nuances, reports the Scottish Daily Express.

On a recent Outlander podcast episode, producer Elicia Bessette reflected on the necessity for Heughan and other Scottish actors to engage in extensive additional dialogue recording (ADR) during post-production to modify their accents for international audiences.

While discussing ADR sessions, Bessette noted that Caitríona Balfe, who plays Claire Fraser, only revisited "about six lines" after filming, in stark contrast to her co-star's workload.

"Poor Sam - only because we have those requests to Americanise his accent sometimes," she lamented.

It's clear from Bessette's remarks that Heughan's ADR efforts were more substantial than those of Balfe, the 45 year old Irish actress who uses crisp Received Pronunciation for her role as Claire.

Weighing in on the conversation, executive producer Ronald D. Moore sympathised: "Yeah, that's really tough."

Bessette justified the adjustments: "Just to understand what they're really saying."

Moore expanded on the barrier faced by American audiences: "A lot of times we get so used to hearing them in the Scottish accent and other people in America in the studio go, 'What? What did he say?'."

He concluded with a remark about his adaptation to the accent: "It's weird, I can hear them now perfectly but in the beginning I would write the ADR note constantly on the screen, now I never do."

Bessette remarked: "And that goes for Colum [MacKenzie] and Dougal [MacKenzie], Angus [Mhor], Rupert [MacKenzie]. We sometimes just have to ask them to lay low on Scottish."

Sam Heughan, who stars as Jamie Fraser, previously shared with Entertainment Weekly: "My accent is an Edinburgh sort of soft southwest Scottish accent.

"It could almost be English. So we try to do a bit of a Highland lilt to it."

The unique Scottish accent in Outlander has been a talking point among the cast, as it demands all Highland characters to adopt a specific dialect reflective of the 18th-century region.

Lauren Lyle, portraying Marsali Fraser and originally from Glasgow, expressed her initial surprise at having to alter her natural accent for the show, revealing she had to practice with a dialect coach.

On the Outlander podcast, she disclosed: "When I first joined the show I had to have a session with the dialect coach. I was quite confused because I'm very Scottish.

"It was mainly to do with getting rid of the Glaswegian accent, and also letting me know that the way Diana [Gabaldon] wanted my name to be pronounced was 'Marsali' like 'parsley'."

Steven Cree, known for his role as Old Ian Murray, also confessed that he had to amplify his Scottish accent upon returning for season seven.

Speaking to the Express in 2023, he said: "In a way, it felt like going and putting on a wig and some clothes with my mates and putting on a Scottish accent. I feel like we're all putting on Scottish accents in it."

He quipped: "It does, honestly. I feel like I hear myself back on it, I feel like I'm putting on a bad Scottish accent."

Outlander season 7 is available to buy now on Digital and is streaming on MGM+ via Prime Video now