Black in Period Films

Because of how few black characters there were in the past 3 episodes of Outlander Season 4, I have decided to put my quick recaps for these episodes into one post.  I knew that this quick recap series would be short and sweet; as IMDb had the actors for Ulysses, Phaedre, and Gayle (Colin McFarlane, Natalie Simpson, and Simona Brown respectively)   listed in less than half of the thirteen episodes for season four.   It was expected and I’m not disappointed because I like what I’ve seen from the characters so far. Outlander S4E3: “The False Bride” In episode three we only get a glimpse of Ulysses telling Mistress Jocasta that Jaime was bidding her farewell. Besides that, we see a few well-dressed people of color in the airport back in the 1970s with Brianna and Roger. Source: Outlander Wikia Page Outlander S4E4: “Common Ground” The beautiful Simona Brown made her first Outlander appearance in this episode. Gayle is Brianna’s roommate and friend. We first see t...

According to Entertainment Weekly , we have two new Outlander castings to look forward to! The Starz series recently announced their casting of the show’s fourth season; which debuts in November.  Among the new additions are Natalie Simpson as Phaedre and Simona Brown as Gayle. Phaedra is Jocasta Innes's enslaved maid and seamstress   at River Run. I won’t talk much about her backstory as I’m not sure what will be considered a spoiler. However beyond noting that the character is soft-spoken and kind, I will also list her physical description from the novels (Phaedra first appears in Drums of Autumn and subsequently appears in The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, and An Echo in the Bone). Phaedra is described as having thick, long, dark hair which is often covered with a headscarf, dark brown eyes, and cinnamon-brown skin. Based on Simpson’s looks I’d say they casted the role perfectly. We know and love Simona Brown from Roots (2016), where she played J...