‘Outlander’ Star Sam Heughan Plays Paul Newman in Biopic about Roald Dahl, Patricia Neal

Outlander

Sam Heughan, the star of “Outlander,” recently finished filming his scenes in a new biopic about the famous author Roald Dahl and his wife, actress Patricia Neal. Heughan played the Oscar-nominated legend Paul Newman in the still-untitled movie.

The Roald Dahl biopic stars Keeley Haws (“Bodyguard”) as Neal and Hugh Bonneville (“Downton Abbey”) as the celebrated children’s book author. Heughan’s scenes involved Newman’s work with Neal when they both did the 1963 movie “Hud,” which reaped many awards at the Oscar.

Originally titled as “An Unquiet Life,” the biopic takes place in the 1960s, where Dahl and his wife moved to the English countryside to raise a family. This tested the relationship of the sought-after and famous Hollywood actress with her husband, a flourishing author, especially after experiencing family tragedies.

Dahl, who wrote the books “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Matilda,” and Neal had five children in their 30 years of marriage. At four months old, their son suffered brain damage as a result of a car crash. Their daughter, Olivia, died at seven-years-old due to measles. Neal, however, said in one interview that their time during Theo’s recovery in the English countryside was one of the best years of her life.

Meanwhile, the biopic was directed by John Hay and produced by Atticus Films. In between working on “Outlander,” Heughan also did the 2018 comedy movie “The Spy Who Dumped Me.”

“We are delighted that Sam has joined us, he is the perfect actor to play Paul Newman and a terrific addition to our already wonderful cast,” Producer Donall McCusker said.

The movie has no announced release date, as of press time.

The next season of “Outlander” will begin airing in February 2020 on Starz. The actor has been working on this show for five seasons opposite actress Caitriona Gray. “Outlander” is a period series with a time travel element.