Welcome to TOBIAS MENZIES ONLINE @ tobiasmenzies.org a website dedicated to Emmy Award Winning British actor Tobias Menzies. Perhaps best known for his roles as Edmure Tully in GAME OF THRONES and as Marcus Junius Brutus in HBO's ROME, Tobias came to the fore in a very notable way with his stunning portrayal of the dual characters of Frank Randall and his forefather the notorious Captain Jonathan Wolverton "Black Jack" Randall in the STARZ series OUTLANDER. Currently being seen as Prince Philip in THE CROWN, Tobias is making his mark on the world. Tobias' films include UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS, CASINO ROYALE, UNA, FORGET ME NOT, ATONEMENT, and FINDING NEVERLAND. Feel free to browse the site and to make this your premiere source for news on Tobias' career. This site as a strict NO CANDIDS policy.
Filed under Captain Black Jack Randall CHARACTERS Edmure Tully Game of Thrones Outlander TELEVISION TOBIAS MENZIES

“Outlander” – E1X16 To Ransom a Man’s Soul HD Screencaps

Like I did with WENTWORTH PRISON, I’ve included Sam Heughan’s work along with Tobias’. I really do feel it was both Tobias and Sam who made those two episodes what they are. Tobias was positively horrendous as Black Jack Randall, and Sam was heartbreaking as Black Jack brought Jamie down to zero with his torture and rape. This episode also marks a watershed moment in television where male on male rape was so graphically depicted. Full disclosure here: I am a rape victim. I was raped when I was 13 and always felt confused about why my body did what it did during the assault. It wasn’t until years later I heard the body’s response is autonomous of the brain and makes no sense in how it is reacting to rape or sexual gratification. The journey Jamie takes in trying to understand what happened to him was my journey. Trying to figure out was it rape or did I misunderstand what happened and why. Sam Heughan’s bravery in allowing himself to be dragged back to that place for as long as the shoot took is something I’ll always thank him for. His willingness to to it right, not take a cheap shot like Tobias’ other show GAME OF THRONES did so often when the question of rape came up. OUTLANDER has not shied away from the uncomfortable. It shines just as much a glaring eye on the darkness as well as the light with Jamie and Claire’s (Caitriona Balfe) romance and their love making. I want to thank Ron D. Moore and Ira Steven Behr for not pulling any punches with either Wentworth Prison or To Ransom A Man’s Soul. For those of us (I’m a woman by the way) who have gone through sexual assault, it was finally good to have it shown for what it is. I would mention the source material in the book written by Diana Gabaldon, but knowing in the book it’s told via first person in that Jamie only relays to Claire what happened it’s not like Jamie having his own agency and actually seeing what happened to Jamie. The only gripe I think I have with the creators is the lack of deleted scenes on the home video release or extended episodes. I’ve listened to the podcast and heard what Ron D. Moore said about what his limit was, however, given what both Tobias and in particular Sam gave to his performance, I think it would have been exceptional to see more of his work.

   
   
    
   
   

Filed under Captain James Fitzjames CHARACTERS Frank Randall Game of Thrones Outlander TELEVISION The Terror TOBIAS MENZIES

“The Terror”: Real Versus Reel

While I’m working on screencapping Tobias’ work on both OUTLANDER and THE TERROR I thought it would be interesting to find out the truth of what happened during the fated Franklin Expedition. Being a huge history buff much like Frank Randall, I really thought some information about the real expedition would be fascinating to post. There is a channel on Youtube called History Buffs. This channel deconstructs films and shows using history or historical facts to either debunk, demystify, or outright blow a hole in these reel versions of real history. I agree with the creator in there was no need to create a monster to haunt and stalk the crew members of The Erebus and The Terror. The conditions in which the men lived were horrific enough, and the depths of the depravity they had to stoop to in order to survive. Dan Simmons’ book was fantastic in its attention to detail, however, writing it more from a historical perspective rather than a fictional one would have been, at least I think, more practical to show what those of the Franklin Expedition went through in terms of those years trying to forge history. Yeah, I’m that much of a nerd. And just like OUTLANDER where I see some things truly lacking in Diana Gabaldon’s writing, I wish Simmons had just written the book and allowed the supernatural elements to rest on that tundra. If anyone is interested in an actual historical film based on fact with no ooga booga please check out the A&E film Shackleton starring Sir Kenneth Branagh and directed by Charles Sturridge. The mini-series is excellent and the production values pre-GAME OF THRONES are exceptional.