Honestly, reimagining a classic like Anna Sewell’s 1877 novel is a massive gamble. You’ve got the 1994 version with Sean Bean and Alan Cumming’s voice acting looming large in everyone's memory, so when Disney+ announced the cast of Black Beauty 2020, people were skeptical. It wasn't just another horse movie. It was a gender-swapped, modern-day retelling that moved the setting from Victorian England to the sweeping landscapes of the American West.
The film lives or dies on the bond between a horse and a human. If that chemistry misses, the whole thing falls apart. Fortunately, director Ashley Avis leaned into a cast that brought a surprising amount of grit to what could have been a purely sentimental story.
The Voice That Defined the Film: Kate Winslet as Beauty
You can’t talk about the cast of Black Beauty 2020 without starting with the horse’s internal monologue. In a departure from the book's stallion, this Beauty is a mare, and she’s voiced by Oscar winner Kate Winslet. Winslet didn't just read lines; she recorded them in her own home during the height of the pandemic, often under a duvet to get the acoustics right.
It’s weirdly effective.
Her voice has this weathered, soulful quality that grounds the movie. Instead of sounding like a "talking animal" movie, it feels like a memoir. Winslet brings a sense of stoicism to Beauty’s journey from a wild mustang in the Corolla wilderness of North Carolina to a broken-down carriage horse in New York City. She captures the exhaustion of a creature that has seen the best and absolute worst of humanity.
Mackenzie Foy as Jo Green
Mackenzie Foy takes on the role of Jo Green, the human heart of the story. You might recognize her as the young Murph from Interstellar or from The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. In this version, Jo is an orphan sent to live with her uncle after her parents die in a car accident.
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Foy has this specific brand of "quiet intensity" that works well here. She isn’t playing a manic pixie dream girl who loves ponies; she’s playing a grieving teenager who finds a mirror in a traumatized animal. The production actually required Foy to spend significant time with the horses before filming even started. It shows. There’s a scene where she’s just sitting in the dirt of the corral, not speaking, just existing in the same space as the horse, and it feels authentic.
The horse that played Beauty, a Mustang named Spirit, and Foy reportedly formed a genuine bond on set. That’s not just PR fluff—Avis has mentioned in interviews that some of the best shots in the film were unscripted moments where Spirit followed Foy around like a dog.
The Supporting Cast of Black Beauty 2020: Uncle John and Beyond
Iain Glen plays John Manly. If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, seeing Ser Jorah Mormont as a rugged, horse-whispering uncle feels like a very natural transition. He brings a much-needed gravity to the film. John Manly is the trainer at Birtwick Stables, and Glen plays him with a mix of kindness and "I've seen too much," which balances out the more emotional beats of Jo’s arc.
Then there’s the "villain" side of things.
The cast of Black Beauty 2020 includes Claire Forlani as Mrs. Winthrop and Fern Deacon as Georgina. These characters represent the upper-crust, "horses as status symbols" world. Georgina Winthrop is the spoiled daughter who treats Beauty like an expensive toy rather than a living being. It’s a classic trope, but Forlani and Deacon play it with enough bite that you genuinely feel the stakes for the horse. It’s infuriating to watch, which means they did their jobs well.
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Key Cast Members and Their Roles
- Kate Winslet: The voice of Beauty (the narrator).
- Mackenzie Foy: Jo Green, the protagonist who bonds with Beauty.
- Iain Glen: John Manly, Jo’s uncle and a horse trainer.
- Calam Lynch: George Winthrop, a kinder soul within the wealthy Winthrop family.
- Claire Forlani: Mrs. Winthrop, the cold matriarch.
- Hakeem Kae-Kazim: Terry, a kind-hearted man who cares for Beauty during a later chapter of her life.
Why This Cast Worked Differently Than Previous Versions
The 2020 version isn't a beat-for-beat remake of the 1994 film or the original text. Because the setting shifted to the US, the cast had to reflect a different kind of "horse culture."
In the original book, the focus was largely on the cruelty of the "bearing rein" and the harsh life of London cab horses. In the 2020 film, the cast navigates a landscape defined by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) mustang roundups. This adds a layer of modern political relevance. When you see the cast of Black Beauty 2020 interacting with these wild animals, it’s framed through the lens of conservation and the loss of the American West.
Hakeem Kae-Kazim, as Terry, provides one of the most emotional segments of the film. He represents the "working class" of the horse world—people who love their animals but are often squeezed by economic reality. His performance is brief but leaves a mark because it shifts the perspective away from the central Jo/Beauty romance and highlights the broader world of animal welfare.
Behind the Scenes: The Four-Legged Stars
We can't ignore the fact that the most important members of the cast of Black Beauty 2020 weren't human. While Spirit was the primary "Beauty," the production used four different horses to portray the mare at various stages of her life and for different stunts.
- Spirit: The "hero" horse used for most close-ups and emotional scenes.
- Jenny: Used for some of the more technical movements.
- Kayla: A veteran stunt horse.
- Rosie: Primarily used for the younger sequences.
Director Ashley Avis is a massive horse advocate in real life, which changed how the cast worked. They didn't use many "movie horse" tricks. Instead, they relied on "natural horsemanship." This meant the actors had to learn how to communicate with the horses using body language rather than just pulling on reins.
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The Impact of the Casting Choices
Choosing a female lead and a female voice for the horse changed the "feel" of the story. It became less about a horse's service to man and more about a shared sisterhood of sorts—two beings who were "wild" and had to find a way to survive in a world that wanted to pen them in.
Some critics felt the voiceover was a bit much. I get that. Voiceovers are a polarizing tool in cinema. But for a movie aimed at families and horse lovers, Kate Winslet’s performance bridged the gap between a silent animal and the complex internal world Anna Sewell wrote over a century ago.
Moving Forward With This Version
If you're planning to watch or re-watch, keep an eye on the background actors. The film was shot in South Africa, despite being set in the US, and the local cast and crew did a phenomenal job making the Western Cape look like the Blue Ridge Mountains and the streets of New York.
To get the most out of the cast of Black Beauty 2020, pay attention to:
- The unspoken cues: Watch Mackenzie Foy’s hands. She spent weeks learning how to properly groom and tack up a horse so she wouldn't look like an amateur on screen.
- The vocal nuances: Listen to how Winslet’s tone shifts when Beauty is in the city versus when she is in the wild. The "breathiness" in her voice changes based on the horse's perceived physical state.
- The contrast: Compare Iain Glen’s ruggedness with the polished, almost sterile performances of the Winthrop family. It visually defines the "two worlds" of the horse industry.
For anyone looking to dive deeper into the world of equine cinema or animal welfare, researching the work of The Wild Beauty Foundation (founded by director Ashley Avis) is a logical next step. It provides context on why the movie was cast the way it was and the real-life mustang issues that the film tries to highlight through its storytelling. Identifying the specific breeds and training methods used by the cast can also give you a much deeper appreciation for the technical skill involved in "acting" alongside a thousand-pound animal.