Julius Carry as Lord Bowler: Carry saw great potential in the character of Bowler. He had researched black cowboys for a project in college and used that knowledge in his portrayal of Bowler. Carry said that Bowler was similar to the real-life black deputy U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves, in that "Reeves always got his man and would often pull off incredible tricks to bring people in." Carry knew Clemenson from the time they worked together on the Western television pilot "Independence". He had no knowledge of Campbell, but approved of the choice for the leading man after watching "Army of Darkness". He later told "Starlog", "I saw that he would be very good with the physical stuff and that he could deliver a one-liner. I knew the situation would be good." The original direction for Bowler was to have him constantly oppose Brisco, but as the series progressed the writers saw the good-natured chemistry between the actors and decided to make Brisco and Bowler a team. Bowler's race was never an issue in the show. According to Cary Darling, a television critic, this attitude is different from serious Westerns and "may hew more to the truth than one might think". He said historians have noted that black cowboys were common and that conflicts with white cowboys were rare.