Tobias Menzies is at the center of a new article picked up by The Associated Press and has now made it to many news outlets. Again, I am not a Frank or Black Jack Randall hater, and the only reason is that because they are both played by the phenomenal Tobias Menzies. Are there many actors who could pull off these two roles? They have a connection and subtly are similar, but are played so differently. Black Jack is back in Outlander episode 212, “The Hail Mary.” The article does mention that Tobias will be back for season three of Outlander. Below are excerpts, but please read the entire article. I was already keenly aware of Tobias’ talent prior to Outlander, but I can now say I am a fan forever of his work.
“The job playing him is not to become too extreme, too camp, too mustache-twirling,” says Menzies. “And never to let the audience off the hook and discount him as JUST a monster. There are moments where you see some heart and genuine humanity. To show that range pays dividends, I think.”
In this episode, Black Jack pays dividends aplenty with previously unseen flashes of humanity. Then he fiercely contradicts them with a salute to “the pure of heart choking on their own blood, helped there, perhaps, by the monsters that walk among them.”
“That’s what I like to watch,” he says. “I like to watch characters who don’t show their hand straightaway. Someone who doesn’t make you feel comfortable is an essential part of most stories.
“There are definitely elements of ‘Outlander’ — the more romantic side of it — that would not be my natural taste in TV,” he adds, “which is another reason I like the Jack character. It’s important to have that darkness. It’s why I liked how Ron and the writers were as bold as they were at the end of last season.”
Source: ABC
