Caitriona Balfe Golden Globe
Caitriona Balfe was nominated for a Golden Globe award Thursday. Pictured: Balfe attends Paleyfest on March 12, 2015 in Hollywood, California. Getty

Caitrona Balfe got quite a surprise when she heard that she’d been nominated for a Golden Globe award in the Best Actress in a Drama category Thursday. The “Outlander” star has gained much critical acclaim for her role as Claire in Starz’s time travel drama, but this is her first major award nomination. Balfe, 36, took to Twitter to thank her fans and indicated her shocked reaction.

The Best Actress in a Drama category has some serious competition. Emmy-winner Viola Davis from “How to Get Away With Murder," Eva Green from “Penny Dreadful,” Taraji P. Henson from “Empire” and Robin Wright from “House of Cards” are also nominated.

Of course, the Irish actress congratulated her co-star Tobias Menzies, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, TV Movie or Miniseries. The show itself was also nominated in the competitive Best Drama category, where they are up against “Game of Thrones,” “Mr. Robot” “Empire” and “Narcos.”

Much of “Outlander” Season 1 followed the first book in the series, written by Diana Gabaldon. The author tweeted that she was proud of the show's leading lady, and Balfe responded that Gabaldon is part of the reason she is nominated.

Gabaldon’s involvement will continue in Season 2. Though the new episodes will start to diverge from the books a little more, Gabaldon will be even more involved in the new season. The author announced in July that she’ll write the script for a Season 2 episode.

“Outlander” Season 2 will premiere on Starz in 2016.

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