The cast of Hamlet
The people who make Hamlet move — what they want, who they love, who they hate, and how each one fits the story. Tap any name to read more.
Prince Hamlet
Tragic protagonist; a Danish prince paralyzed by thought and conscience, driven to feigned madness by the ghost's demand for revenge · thirty
King Claudius
Murderous usurper and reigning King of Denmark · Middle-aged
Horatio
Hamlet's loyal friend and the play's witness to truth
Polonius
Chief counselor to the King; meddling father whose spying leads to his death · old
Gertrude
Queen of Denmark, mother to Hamlet, now wife to his uncle · middle-aged
Ophelia
Tragic pawn caught between her father's control, her brother's protection, and Hamlet's feigned madness · young, almost fourteen
Laertes
Vengeful son of Polonius; the foil to Hamlet's hesitation · Young man (early twenties, implied)
Rosencrantz
Childhood friend of Hamlet, court spy, and unwitting pawn in Claudius's schemes
First Clown
Comic gravedigger, philosopher of mortality
Marcellus
Sentinel on the battlements; witness to the ghost's appearance
Guildenstern
Childhood friend of Hamlet, unwitting spy for the King
Osric
Affected courtier and royal messenger; a fop who serves the King's purposes
Barnardo
Sentinel on the battlements; first witness to the ghost
The Ghost of King Hamlet
The restless spirit of the murdered king; harbinger of revenge and moral obligation · Dead; appears as in life
Reynaldo
Polonius's servant and spy; messenger tasked with surveillance
Second Clown
Comic gravedigger's assistant; voice of ordinary wit
Francisco
Sentinel on the battlements of Elsinore
Captain
Norwegian military officer bearing Fortinbras's message
Fortinbras, Prince of Norway
Ambitious young warrior; catalyst for Hamlet's final reckoning · young
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Childhood friends of Hamlet, turned spies for the King
Hear every line of Hamlet, narrated.
