Casting Cassio

Cassio is an important role in Othello as Othello believes that his wife has committed adultery with this man. Therefore without Cassio there would be no downfall.

In order for Othello to believe that Cassio and Desdemona had an affair, Iago plays on the Cassio's trait of friendliness. As Cassio is from Florence, appose to Venice, he is more affectionate than the Venetians are used to, such as kissing and  hugging the other characters. An example of Iago using Cassio's kindness as part of his plan is when he says 'I will gyve thee in thy own courtship' in Act 2, Scene 1. I think that Jamie Dornan could portray a friendly character because he looks like an approachable man.

Additionally, Cassio has to be attractive otherwise Othello wouldn't be able to understand why Desdemona slept with him. Therefore Cassio could be played by Jamie Dornan as he is attractive and was voted one of the most attractive men in the world following his most recent role as Christian Grey.

Finally, Cassio has to look very formal looking as he is from Florence. Evidence for this can be seen in Act1, Scene 1 when Iago is listing why Cassio shouldn't have been appointed as lieutenant saying 'a great arithmetician', rather than a soldier. This gives the impression that Cassio must be of a higher ranking than Iago and this must be clearly presented by the way the actor looks. Previously, I have casted David Tennant as Iago and I think that the two men contrast enough in how they look to represent the contrast in where they are in the social hierarchy. This also explains why I wanted to choose an actor who had light hair, in contrast to David Tennant's dark hair, to emphasise that David Tennant is the antagonist and that Jamie Dornan will play the role of the innocent character.

Othello and Iago

1. According to Adrian Lester, how long has Othello been fighting for?
Othello has been fighting since the age of seven years old.


2. According to Adrian Lester, Othello is not born into a 'sense of nobility', like those around him.    How does Adrian Lester say this impacts the character?
Because Othello is not born into a 'sense of nobility', he is very aware of how he looks to the other characters so he is very much focused on his appearance.


3. What increases Othello's status in Venice?
Othello's status is increased in Venice when he marries Desdemona, the daughter of the wealthiest senator in Venice. This means that Othello will inherit a lot of money, which makes him seen to be a very powerful character in a money based society, as your worth was based on how many possessions you obtained.


4. Why does Rory Kinnear say Iago is disgruntled with Othello?
 Iago is disgruntled with Othello because he gave the role of lieutenancy to Cassio, a more sophisticated character. Iago really wanted this job and it is argued that Iago was expecting to be given the job as him and Othello had battled together and been through a lot. It should be noted that Othello didn't give Iago the role of being Lieutenant because he didn't want to give the role away to someone who is equal to him.


5. What do Othello and Iago have in common, according to Rory Kinnear?
Othello and Iago became friends from when they both first joined the army. As they have been through the same battles together and both started at the bottom of the ranks, this could be deemed as something they have in common.


6. Around 4.20, Rory Kinnear lists some of the ways Iago aims to bring down Othello and Cassio. What are they?
Iago uses Othello's weaknesses in an attempt to ruin Othello's reputation and to bring him down to Iago's level. This is because Iago has been unable to get to the same level as Othello, despite their same attempts in the army from the beginning.

Vanessa Hudgens as Desdemona

Desdemona is very much a character in Othello who is controlled by the men around her (due to patriarchal ideologies at the time when it was written). This means that the actress who plays Desdemona has to have a certain powerlessness quality in the way she looks. In my opinion this quality would be portrayed by someone who looks very feminine and possibly weak, in other words the opposite to a strong man who would be Othello.

Additionally, Desdemona is portrayed as a very attractive woman because Othello believes that Cassio would want to sleep with her. 

It should also be noted that in certain scenes such as in Act 4, scene 1 Desdemona is very naive when Othello is clearly very angry and she asks 'what, is he angry?'. Her naivety is probably due to patriarchal Shakespearean setting and linked to how women never received an education like men did but either way Shakespeare presented Desdemona as not the most intelligent woman.

I think that Vanessa Hudgens fits well with Desdemona's criteria because she is feminine, attractive and looks like she could have a naive quality about her. Furthermore she is 27 years old so could easily be portrayed as younger than whoever plays the role of Othello.

The only problem with Vanessa Hudgens playing Desdemona would be that she does not have any experience acting characters previous to the 21st century so possibly the play could be set in modern day. Either way I think that Vanessa Hudgens has the looks and acting skills to be capable of playing Desdemona.