'Black Beauty': Meet Kate Winslet, Mackenzie Foy, Iain Glen and rest of the cast of Anna Sewell novel adaptation
'Black Beauty' is a tale about a beautiful black horse from the wild west of America called Beauty, who loses everything that she knew — her home, her friends, and the land — over night. This loss almost breaks Beauty's spirit but before that could happen, she meets a man from New York. John Manly portrayed by Iain Glen is a horse whisperer who is interested in adopting a mustang, but when he sees Beauty he is impressed by her fighting spirit and decides to bring her home instead. Can he get Beauty to open up to him?
At this point, Manly's 17-year-old niece ends up at his doorstep and her situation is no different than that of Beauty's. She too has lost everything that had been familiar to her, including her family and home, and is at the edge of a very dangerous cliff. Can Manly and Beauty pull her back? From here to the many different human counterparts that Beauty meets through her life, we see how the horse was able to pull through thanks to a young girl and vice versa. Here's a look at the cast of the film slated to release on Friday, November 27, on Disney+.
Kate Winslet as Beauty
Kate Winslet voices Beauty, the horse in the film. She was writer Ashley Avis' first choice. In fact, Avis had said to the press, "You try not (to) write with anyone in mind because your heart gets broken quite quickly or something changes; but when I started writing the dialogue for 'Black Beauty', the only person I heard was Kate Winslet. As many people did, I grew up with her films." The producer of the film, Jeremy Bolt also revealed that he had sent Winslet's manager a letter, indicating why she should be a part of the project and how the message of this film was portrayed among other things to convince her to be a part of the film and that is how Winslet came onboard the film.
Mackenzie Foy as Jo Green
Mackenzie Foy, who became popular for her role in Christopher Nolan's 'Interstellar', will be playing the role of Jo Green, John Manly's 17-year-old niece in the film. Speaking about how she had become a part of this project, Foy revealed, “When I finished reading it, I was just sobbing and knew I had to be a part of it. Along with the script, Ashley sent a letter telling me what the original book truly meant and how she wanted to incorporate it into the film adaptation.” She added, “‘Black Beauty’ was one of my absolute favorites as a kid. I read it until it fell apart. Jo is a dream part for a young actress.”
“When Jo meets Beauty, who has also recently lost her family, they bond over the pain that they’re both feeling and realize their souls are mirrored,” said Foy. “Jo is up for anything, she doesn’t mind falling off a horse or mucking out stables with hay in her hair; but at the same time, she is a young woman and has all this love and emotion inside of her that she’s trying to figure out.”
Iain Glen as John Manly
Actor Iain Glen, who was last seen in 'Game of Thrones', has previously worked with producer Bolt and what convinced him to be a part of this project was the script that he had received from writer Avis along with a letter addressed to him. He said, "It was one of those lovely ones where an email came through with an accompanying letter from Ashley. It was such a lovely script, such a tender tale. Ashley writes in some ways like a novelist, so her stage directions are very beautifully put and so it was a very seductive read. I have to say that by the end of the script, I was hooked. The very kind, thoughtful and flattering letter accompanying the script was redundant because I was won over by the story.”
The film will also see Calam Lynch as George Winthorp, Claire Forlani as Mrs Winthorp and Fern Deacon as Georgina Winthorp.