Tobias Menzies, famed for his dual role as historian Frank Randall and the villainous Captain ‘Black Jack’ Randall on the acclaimed Starz series Outlander, nearly had a third character to portray in the show, reports the .
Discussing the casting decisions on the official podcast, executive producer Ronald D. Moore previously revealed: “When they’re at Versailles, Jamie and Claire see Alex [Randall] across the way.”
He then shared a significant moment from the plot in the Outlander book Dragonfly in Amber: “Claire actually faints because she thinks it’s Jack because they’re almost identical.”
Moore admitted that replicating this scene from the book was challenging due to their choice of using Menzies for both Jack and Frank.
He stated, “And I thought you couldn’t go there in the show because we were casting Tobias as both Jack and Frank.”
Claire Fraser and Black Jack hated each other (Image: STARZ)
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Moore also commented on suggestions to further extend Menzies’ roles: “Somebody asked at one point, ‘Will you cast Tobias as Alex as well?’ That’s a bridge too far. You’re not going to get away with it.”
Writer Anne Kenney, appearing alongside Moore on the podcast, remarked on Laurence Dobiesz’s resemblance to Menzies: “It’s amazing how much he looks like him.”
Elaborating on why they didn’t cast Menzies as Alex, Moore continued, “Yeah, you can’t go three times. That’s too much, so we just opted to not play that card.”
Tobias Menzies as kindly historian Frank Randall (Image: STARZ)
He maintains, “I think it’s believable. I look at [Dobiesz] and think absolutely that could be Tobias’ brother.”
The character Alex played a pivotal role in Outlander’s second season, contrasting greatly with Black Jack’s cruel persona. Despite Menzies not taking on the role of Alex, the characters of Frank and Black Jack remained integral to the narrative of Outlander.
As Claire Fraser’s (Caitríona Balfe) first husband and a parental figure to her daughter Brianna Mackenzie (Sophie Skelton), Frank will forever occupy a special place in their lives.
Although Black Jack has met his demise, the physical and emotional wounds he inflicted on Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) continue to leave a lasting impact.
Laurence Dobiesz as Alex Randall (Image: STARZ)
Despite Black Jack’s appearance in Diana Gabaldon’s book series Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, he did not feature in the television adaptation.
In 2024, Menzies, known for his roles in The Crown and Game of Thrones, revealed that he would not be reprising his role in Outlander for the seventh and final seasons. In an interview with TV Line, he stated: “What am I allowed to say? It would be great. “[But] no, you will not see me.
“They’re going to bring it home magnificently, I’m sure.”
Outlander season 7 is available to buy now on Digital and is streaming on MGM+ via Prime Video now