Meet The Real-Life Figures Depicted In The Black Western 'The Harder They Fall'

In the film, Majors plays Nat Love, the leader of a band of outlaws on a quest to hunt down his sworn enemy Rufus Buck—the man who murdered Love’s parents, and the one responsible for the cross embedded in his forehead. Stagecoach Mary is his on-again, off-again lover, and assists him in his journey for revenge.

The real Nat Love was born into slavery in 1854. After the Civil War, his family was freed and began working on plantations in and around Davidson County, Tennessee. Nat’s father passed away when he was about 15 years old. During his time in Tennessee, Nat became skilled at cattle punching and raised enough money to go out on his own at the age of 16.

By many historical accounts, Nat was a skilled cowboy. He earned the name “Deadwood Dick” in 1976 after winning $200 in a competition in the Dakota Territory that required contestants to rope, throw, tie bridles, and saddle a horse.

In 1889, Love married his wife Alice and retired from cowboy life. After spending time in Denver as a Pullman porter, he and his family settled in southern California.In 1907, Love published his autobiography, Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as ‘Deadwood Dick,’ by Himself, which added to his legacy as a cowboy. Love died in California at the age of 67 in 1921.

In The Harder They Fall, Elba plays the role of Rufus Buck, the man responsible for killing Nat Love’s parents, and carves a cross into Love’s forehead. He is also the leader of the Rufus Buck gang, which includes the mysterious Trudy Smith (Regina King), and Cherokee Bill, played by Lakeith Stanfield.

The leader of the Rufus Buck Gang, a group of black and mixed-race teenage boys who committed horrible crimes against settlers in the Indian Territory that eventually became known as Oklahoma.

Led by the 18-year-old Rufus Buck(center), the members of the gang included Maoma July, Lucky Davis, Sam Sampson, and Lewis Davis. In 1895, the gang robbed, raped, and murdered; eventually being captured in August of that year. On July 1, 1896, the gang was hanged.

In the film, Beetz portrays Nat’s on-again, off-again lover, the fearless Stagecoach Mary. Beetz’s character in “The Harder They Fall” is about 30 years younger than the actual Stagecoach Mary would have been in the late 1800s.

Born Mary Fields in about 1832, “Black Mary,” as she was sometimes referred to, was a slave at birth. In her early years, she worked as groundskeeper at the Ursuline Convent of the Sacred Heart in Toledo, Ohio. She was known for her volatile temper and gun-toting, which eventually led to her being kicked out of the convent.

In 1895, she earned a contract from the postal service as a route carrier. Her job was to protect the mail from thieves and deliver the mail, regardless of weather conditions. She was the second woman—and first African American woman—to have that occupation. Mary retired in 1904 and died 11 years later at the age of 82.

Delroy Lindo is an accomplished actor, with over 40 years of experience in film, television, and theater. In the Netflix film, Lindo plays Bass Reeves, the first Black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi River.

Born to slave parents in 1838 in Arkansas, Bass Reeves was a member of the Confederate Army during the Civil War. After being freed in 1863, he married a woman named Nellie Jennie and started a large family. By several accounts, Reeves served as a guide for U.S. marshals going into the Indian Territory.

He was appointed a U.S. deputy marshal in 1875, and arrested over 3,000 criminals, killing 14 outlaws in the process. He died in 1910 from nephritis.

In The Harder They Fall, Cyler plays Jim Beckworth, a member of Nat Love’s gang of bandits known for how fast he can draw a handgun.

Born into slavery in Virginia, James Beckwourth was freed by his white father and apprenticed as blacksmith in his early years. He was a skilled fighter and made a living as a fur trader in the old American West. His memoir, The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth: Mountaineer, Scout and Pioneer, and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians, was published in 1856 and he is celebrated as an early African American pioneer to this day.

The multitalented LaKeith Stanfield plays the infamous “Cherokee Bill” in the film. As a part of the film’s rendition of the Rufus Buck Gang that breaks their leader from prison, Bill is as sly as he is ruthless.

Born Crawford Goldsby in 1876, Bill and his group, the Cook Gang, ravaged the Indian territory in 1895 and 1896. He began his life as an outlaw at the age of 18, robbing stagecoaches, banks, and stores. Bill was said to have killed up to eight men before being hanged in 1896.

Bill Pickett is portrayed by Edi Gathegi. In the film, he is an outlaw, and another member of Love’s gang.

Pickett—born Willie M. Pickett in 1870—was a cowboy, performer and appeared in early films such as The Bull-Dogger and The Crimson Skull. His career as a performer at county fairs and rodeos led him to be posthumously inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 1989.

Actor and comedian Deon Cole portrays Wiley Escoe, the gold-toothed mayor of Redwood.

While there is not a large amount of information on Wiley Escoe in circulation, he was known as a lawman, and a Black deputy U.S. Marshal.