Outlander star was rejected for a third role on | TV Shows

Outlander fans adore Tobias Menzies for his dual role as Frank Randall and the villainous Captain ‘Black Jack’ Randall, but what they may not know is that he was nearly cast in a third role within the saga.

On the show‘s official podcast, executive producer Ronald D. Moore disclosed an intriguing possibility: “When they’re at Versailles, Jamie and Claire see Alex [Randall] across the way.”

Claire’s reaction to seeing Alex, who bears a striking resemblance to Black Jack, was intense: “Claire actually faints because she thinks it’s Jack because they’re almost identical.”

Moore elaborated on why they didn’t go down that route: “And I thought you couldn’t go there in the show because we were casting Tobias as both Jack and Frank.”

The idea of casting Menzies also as Alex crossed their minds: “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,” reports the Daily Record.

Given Frank was Claire Fraser’s (Caitríona Balfe) first husband and also helped to raise her daughter Brianna Mackenzie (Sophie Skelton), his memory will remain with them always.

The villainous Black Jack may have met his end, but the trauma he inflicted upon Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) endures.

Although Black Jack returned in Diana Gabaldon’s Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, his character wasn’t incorporated into the TV series.

The Crown and Game of Thrones actor Tobias Menzies, has ruled out reprising his role for Outlander‘s seventh or final seasons.

Speaking to TV Line in 2024, Menzies remarked: “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.”