Did Tobias Menzies play two characters in Outlander? The actor's characters in Starz's historical show, explored

Starz's breakthrough historical fantasy show Outlander owes much of its success to the main cast, led by Sam Heughan and Caitriona Balfe.

However, the show also pulled off a pretty unusual thing for a series, where two of its characters are played by the same actor.

This is not an oversight on the show's part, but English actor Tobias Menzies plays two characters in the Starz show: Claire's husband Frank Randall (in 1945) and Jonathan Randall, Frank's ancestor (in 1745).

Menzies is an accomplished actor, also known for playing Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in Netflix's The Crown, which even won him a Primetime Emmy Award. His other acting credits include Game of Thrones, Rome, Modern Love, and Manhunt.

While both of Menzies' characters are related to each other, they are drastically apart in personality. While Frank Randall is a modern historian who loves and respects his wife, Black Jack Randall is the show's biggest antagonist and suffers from extreme sadism, predatory bisexuality, and brutality.

More on Tobias Menzies' characters in Outlander in our story.

Outlander: Tobias Menzies first appeared as Claire's husband in the present timeline

Menzies debuted in Starz's Outlander as Frank Randall, Claire's husband in the 20th century. Season 1 followed the aftermath of WWII, where Frank and Claire remained separated for the majority of the war, occasionally communicating through letters.

However, this caused problems in their marriage, and they were on their second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands in the series Pilot. The seeds for Menzies' second character were sown in the initial episodes, when Frank discovers his ancestry and connection with Jonathan Randall and his wife Mary Hawkins.

Little did Claire know at that point that she would travel back in time, and her husband's ancestor would cause such misery in her life.

In Outlander, after Claire returns from the past, Frank accepts her and Jamie's baby as his own. While they decided to live in a platonic relationship for "their" daughter Brianna, their marriage was never the same.

In Season 3, Frank revealed his love for another woman and asked for a divorce. However, Frank's car crashed the same night, and he died. While Claire had many differences with Frank after her return, he remained a supportive husband and even accepted Jamie's child.

Outlander: Tobias Menzies also played the show's biggest villain, Black Jack Randall

While fans could not believe it, Menzies also played Outlander's biggest antagonist, Black Jack Randall. When Claire accidentally travels through the stones, Jack Randall is the very first person she meets there.

Mistaking him for Frank, she moves towards him in a confused state, but soon realises that the man standing in front of her is not her husband, but his ancestor from 200 years ago.

Randall was a decorated military officer and the Captain of the British Army during the Jacobite Rising of 1745, who subjected the Scottish Highlanders (including Jamie) to physical and s*xual violence.

Randall remained Outlander's overarching antagonist for the initial three seasons, until Jamie killed him in the Battle of Culloden. However, Randall has done some very harsh and unimaginable things throughout the three seasons, including flogging and s*xually assaulting Jamie.

While Menzies' characters both die in Season 3, he remains an important addition to the cast, who played two drastically different characters.

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