The cast of Antony and Cleopatra
The people who make Antony and Cleopatra move — what they want, who they love, who they hate, and how each one fits the story. Tap any name to read more.
Mark Antony
Tragic protagonist; once-great Roman general torn between empire and love · Around forty
Cleopatra
Queen of Egypt; tragic protagonist whose infinite variety and erotic power unmake the greatest soldier in the world · 30 (per messenger's report)
Domitius Enobarbus
Antony's loyal soldier and conscience; astute observer whose honesty becomes unbearable
Octavius Caesar
Young triumvir of Rome; cold architect of political order · Early 30s
Charmian
Cleopatra's principal attendant and closest confidante
Messenger
News-bearer whose reports of war and domestic crisis drive the play's action
Pompey
Ambitious pirate general and rival to the triumvirate
Menas
Pirate captain and trusted lieutenant of Pompey; the voice of naked ambition
Lepidus
The third triumvir; a weak mediator caught between Caesar and Antony
Agrippa
Caesar's trusted general and strategist; voice of political reason
Eros
Antony's devoted servant and instrument of his final will
Dolabella
Caesar's officer; witness to Cleopatra's final transformation
Iras
Cleopatra's attendant and confidante
Alexas
Cleopatra's attendant and messenger; go-between in her correspondence with Antony
First Soldier
Sentinel and witness to Antony's divine abandonment
Mecaenas
Roman officer and counselor to Octavius Caesar
The Soothsayer
Egyptian fortune-teller and herald of Antony's doom
A Soldier
Voice of military experience and honest counsel
Octavia
Roman peacemaker caught between warring brothers; tragic instrument of a doomed political alliance · Around thirty
Proculeius
Caesar's trusted emissary and instrument of mercy toward Cleopatra
Scarus
Antony's loyal officer and wounded soldier; voice of military clarity amid defeat
Thyreus
Caesar's cunning diplomat and seducer, sent to divide Antony from Cleopatra
First Guard
Soldier in Mark Antony's household; witness to his final moments
Second Soldier
Egyptian sentinel who hears the mysterious music of Hercules departing
Canidius
Antony's military commander; voice of military reason against folly
Third Soldier
Watchman and witness to supernatural omens before the final battle
All
Collective voice of soldiers, attendants, and court members; chorus of reaction and witness
Clown
Comic rustic bearing the asp; messenger of death
Diomedes
Cleopatra's loyal messenger and servant
Mardian
Eunuch attendant to Cleopatra; a figure of longing and absence
Hear every line of Antony and Cleopatra, narrated.
