Also Read: Monstrous Racists and Literal Monsters Come Out to Terrorize in HBO's 'Lovecraft Country' Trailer (Video)Smollett, who plays Letitia Dandridge, agreed that monsters of the fantasy realm are easier for the characters to defeat than humans who hold racist ideologies.“What we explore in the show is how [with] a monster, you know what you get, right? If you see a Shoggoth, you kind of know what you’re up against.