Outlander: Who Should Play Lord John?

The Harry Potter alum has already made the move to series television (Murder in the First, Full Circle). What better way to cement his post-Hogwarts career than with an emotionally complex, long-range role like Lord John? (Also in the plus column: He's already got the right hair color and accent.) UPDATE: Given

Tom Felton

The Harry Potter alum has already made the move to series television (Murder in the First, Full Circle). What better way to cement his post-Hogwarts career than with an emotionally complex, long-range role like Lord John? (Also in the plus column: He's already got the right hair color and accent.) UPDATE: Given his recent Flash casting, it's unlikely that Felton will be Scotland bound anytime soon.

Now that ITV's long-running Lewis is done, the man who played the secretive Detective Inspector James Hathaway is free to join Outlander. Fox's tenure as Hathaway has prepped him for playing a character with big secrets and strong, tightly reined-in emotions. Sounds like a certain blonde Brit we know...

Might Carrie Mathison's loss be Outlander's gain? The British Homeland actor could easily slip into Lord John's riding boots, given how he's played both period and blonde (Pride and Prejudice) in the past. And If Hitman: Agent 47 didn't prove that he can throw down when needed — as a soldier like the Outlander character must — nothing will.

After seven seasons as Sons of Anarchy's badass biker Jax, wouldn't it be nice to see how the British actor cleans up for a period piece? Plus: We know he's got the intensity to handle what's ahead for Lord John.

Having played Sleepy Hollow's doomed Abraham van Brunt, Jackson is no stranger to wigs and redcoat finery. And inhabiting the role of Jamie's complicated confidant — whose head, as far as we know, stays attached to his body — might be a nice change.

Let's just say the scheduling works out, and NBC's Emerald City — the dark reimagining of The Wizard of Oz in which Jackson-Cohen stars — doesn't interfere with adult Lord John's Outlander debut: Can't you just see the actor's smoldering intensity working well with the subject matter at hand?

The Australian actor is comfortable with out-there series concepts — see also: his seven seasons on HBO's vampire soap True Blood — and if the Starz series is looking to highlight Lord John's boyishness, Kwanten might be a good way to go.

Experience rocking old-timey garb/hair? Check. British accent? Check. Abilty to play both arch erudition and all-encompassing passion? Check. Yes, Mison currently is a series regular on Sleepy Hollow, making him more of a "Wouldn't it be cool?" pick instead of a real contender. But if anyone knows from time-transplanted characters...

If Outlander were to play up Lord John's sex appeal, they could do worse than casting the Smallville alum — provided he can turn in a respectable British accent. (Try to ignore the fact that you may recognize him from his guest stint as Jess', ahem, shortcoming-laden beau in an episode of New Girl.)

You loved him on Downton Abbey, he looks like a Lord John, and hey — as far as the latest book in Diana Gabaldon's series goes, the character is still alive and kicking (a nice change for the Artist Formerly Known as Matthew Crawley).