AceShowbiz -

"Outlander" has found the right actors to fill two pivotal roles in season 3. John Bell ("The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies") and Wil Johnson ("Waking the Dead") are added to the cast to play new characters in the upcoming third season.

Bell will portray young Ian Murray, Jamie's nephew. A tall, gangly Scottish lad with a heart of gold, he is a stubborn streak and a penchant for getting into trouble. Bursting with charm, he's more like his adventurous, fierce uncle Jamie than his farmer father Ian - but when we meet him, he is still a very gawky boy. However, he keeps trying to prove that he is a man and we will see him grow into quite a formidable one as the series evolves.

Johnson, meanwhile, will appear in scenes set in the 20th century as Joe Abernathy, a fellow doctor-in-training whom Claire (Caitriona Balfe) befriends in medical school. He is described as "intelligent, charismatic, with a wry and irreverent sense of humor." He is "a loyal confidant with great affection for Claire." He puts on a good face, but he is all too aware of his place in the Civil Rights era. Joe and Claire both feel out of place in the mostly all-white, all-male medical field, which bonds them together in a lifelong friendship.

"Outlander" season 3 will also feature David Berry as Lord John Grey, a former British soldier-turned-Ardsmuir Prison governor, who strikes up a dubious friendship with the incarcerated Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan).

No premiere date is set for the new season yet.