Sam Heughan remembers the moment he became 'obsessed with the magic' of acting

Sam Heughan may have been destined to act. Just ask any of the fans among his massive social media following. Heughan said in a recent appearance on "Popcorn with Peter Travers" he remembers the time when he knew acting was what he wanted to do.

"It happened when I moved to Edinburgh when I was a teenager," Heughan said. "I'd always been interested but didn't think I could. Then I joined a youth theater in my local theater. I worked as an usher there and then was put in some of their shows as like a spear carrier, the guy in the background. And I just spent every show sort of standing in the wings watching the other actors. And I was kind of obsessed by the magic of it."

Heughan said he was moved by the atmosphere in the theater.

"The sound of an audience listening is addictive," he said. "TV and film was never really on my radar. It was all about theater and being able to play different characters and (to) be respected as a good actor. So it's definitely somewhere where I'd like to go back to. But this kind of side business of TV and film wasn't what I was planning."

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But those plans haven't stopped Heughan from landing a leading role on the buzzed-about TV series "Outlander," now kicking off its fifth season.

"It's been a great learning curve on the show," Heughan, 39, told Travers. "As an actor, I'm always challenged by each episode, the different nuances or the different skills that I have to learn. If it was another show, it would be different. But on this show, I still feel challenged today.

"Outlander" can be seen on the Starz network.

Be sure to watch the full interview with Peter Travers and Sam Heughan in the video above.