Caitriona Balfe on 'Outlander' Nudity: I'm Used to Stripping in a Room of 30 People

The Outlander star says her modeling career led her to acting

Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

If you’ve ever thought that Outlander star Caitriona Balfe brings a certain fearlessness to her performance as series heroine Claire, there’s a good reason: She’s very comfortable with her body.

As she explained in a New York Post interview this week, her previous career as a model forced her to shed any insecurities she had about being nude in front of people. And she’s nude in Outlander quite a lot.

“You’ll probably find most models are incredibly insecure about their bodies,” Balfe, 35, told the paper. “But maybe some of my background prepared me. I’m so used to stripping off in a room of 30 people and I think the fact that I’m out of my 20s helps. I’m just much more sure of who I am.”

During her modeling days, Balfe walked runways for Marc Jacobs and and Alexander McQueen, and she even modeled for Victoria’s Secret. However, she didn’t feel satisfied by modeling.

“I loved it most whenever I felt I had an opportunity to inhabit a character,” she said. “I guess I always leaned to the theatrical. Modeling wasn’t really my passion.”

Balfe also said she doesn’t put too much effort into maintaining her figure, explaining that though she does do yoga and pilates, it’s often a different activity that she prefers. “Sleep so often seems like a better option,” she said. “After I catch up on sleep, then I’ll worry about my butt.”

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