Thread by @NetflixGeeked

The Harder They Fall is Director Jeymes Samuel’s quest to showcase the black heroes of the Old West, backed by a star-studded cast. Learn about the real life people each character is based on below 🤠 👇

Zazie Beetz is Stagecoach Mary who, after she was freed from slavery, became a mail carrier known for “liking liquor and gunfights”.

Regina King brings Montana cowgirl Trudy Smith to life. She “amplified the pioneer spirit of the American West”, rounding up wild horses for domestication with her husband.

Nat Love, played by Jonathan Majors, earned the nickname Deadwood Dick after winning the rope, throw, tie, bridle, saddle, and bronco riding contests at a rodeo, according to his autobiography.

Edi Gathegi is Bill Pickett, one of the most famous Black cowboys of the Wild West. He is in two rodeo Halls of Fame with his signature bulldogging maneuver. There’s even a statue of him in Fort Worth, Texas!

RJ Cyler plays James Beckwourth, a former slave who became a fur trader and mountain man in the 1830s. He forged an alliance with Crow Native Americans and abandoned society to live with the tribe.

Delroy Lindo is Bass Reeves, the first Black deputy U.S. Marshall west of the Mississippi. Historians speculate that Reeves was the inspiration for the classic western The Lone Ranger and in any case, he definitely had an epic mustache.

Like Reeves, Wiley Escoe was also a lawman and deputy U.S. Marshall. He is played by Deon Cole.

Lakeith Stanfield becomes Cherokee Bill, whose real name was Crawford Goldsby, a famous outlaw who rode with the Cook Gang. The group started small with whiskey charges and stealing horses, but graduated to train robberies and bank theft. Bill was hung for murder at age 20.

don’t miss The Harder They Fall when it hits select theaters in October and Netflix on November 3!