Samuel Morgan Smith was the second African American actor to have a successful career abroad. He set out in 1866 for London, having had no previous professional experience on stage in America, and for the next sixteen years he was able to find opportunities to perform in theatres throughout the British Isles in a variety of roles. He favoured appearing as Shakespearean characters - not only Othello, but also Shylock, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Richard III, whiting up to do so. He was also drawn to playing major black and white roles in some of the most popular melodramas of his day.
