List of Rome characters

This list is intended as a guide to most characters for the HBO series Rome. More details can be found on the individual character articles linked within the tables, as well as the article Minor characters of Rome.

The historical figures upon which certain characters are based are noted where appropriate.

Additionally, episode-specific and very minor characters may be listed in each episode's article page.c

Primary characters

Character name	Portrayed by	Status	Historical basis
Notes
Lucius Vorenus	Kevin McKidd	Plebeian	Lucius Vorenus
Dedicated to his family and to traditional Roman values, he struggles to balance his personal beliefs, his duty to his superiors, and the needs of his family and friends. He is introduced as a veteran centurion of the 13th Legion to which he returns on promotion after commercial failures in civilian life. His rigid personality leads him to harsh treatment of his wife and children, which he subsequently regrets.
Titus Pullo	Ray Stevenson	Plebeian	Titus Pullo
Being the true definition of a rogue, Pullo is also humorous and faithful to his friends. He is introduced as a Roman soldier, serving under Vorenus
Gaius Julius Caesar	Ciarán Hinds	Patrician	Julius Caesar
A brilliant general, Caesar is also a subtle politician. Intelligent, charming and calculating, he accomplishes most of what he sets out to do, until reaching a sudden end.
Pompey Magnus	Kenneth Cranham	[1]	Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
An enemy of Caesar's who was once his ally and father of his deceased wife. Pompey is represented as a once successful general, who now past his prime falls into uneasy alliance with the conservative patrician element in the Senate.
Atia of the Julii	Polly Walker	Patrician	Atia Balba Caesonia
Manipulative and condescending, she is quite coitally adept. Atia is dedicated to promoting her own and her family's status and influence. She treats her daughter Octavia and son Octavian with a mixture of affection and insensitivity.
Mark Antony	James Purefoy	Plebeian[2]	Mark Antony
Anthony is presented as a crass, hedonistic and arrogant soldier, but also as an efficient and loyal follower of Caesar. After Caesar's death he proves less effective when thrust into leadership himself.
Marcus Junius Brutus	Tobias Menzies	Patrician	Marcus Junius Brutus
Son of Servilia and filled with inner conflict. On the one hand he looks upon Caesar as a father, but he is also a descendant of a founder of the Republic.
Servilia of the Junii	Lindsay Duncan	Patrician	Servilia Caepionis
Servilla is a polished and charming member of one of the old Republican families but also Caesar's lover. Her longstanding feud with Atia ends in violence and death.
Niobe	Indira Varma	Plebeian	Fictional
Heroine of the first series of Rome Niobe is the wife of Vorenus. A strong character, who is left for eight years to bring up her two children while Vorenus is away on military service, Niobe is seduced by her brother in law and bears his child. Much of the tension of the first series arises from her need to conceal this from an often inflexible husband who is not skilled in human relationships.
Gaius Octavian	Max Pirkis/Simon Woods	Patrician	Caesar Augustus
Presented as a cold but exceptionally intelligent youth, Octavian is the son of Atia who alternatively pampers and patronises him. He is taken prisoner in Gaul while travelling to join his uncle Julius Caesar, but saved by Vorenus and Pullo. As a thoughtful student of power and politics he shows early signs of his future as first citizen (Emperor) of Rome.
Octavia of the Julii	Kerry Condon	Patrician	Octavia Thurina Minor
Octavia is the daughter of Atia who dominates and manipulates her. Although showing some of her brother Octavian's intelligence, Octavia's role is essentially that of a victim.
Quintus Pompey	Rick Warden	Patrician	Sextus Pompeius and Gnaeus Pompeius?
Filled with vindictive malice, he is the son of Pompey. A fictional character, Quintus Pompey is a violent and sadistic figure who shows little of his father's qualities.
Porcius Cato	Karl Johnson	Plebeian	Cato the Younger
A fiercely conservative leader of the Senate, Cato is as tough as he is old. For unexplained reasons he is the only member of the Senate to wear a black toga. More importantly he is an acerbic spokesman of conservatism and traditional interests, and an enemy to Caesar's faction.
Marcus Tullius Cicero	David Bamber	Plebeian	Marcus Tullius Cicero
A gifted orator, Cicero is the leader of the moderates in the Senate. He purports to stand for that which is principled and virtuous but increasingly becomes an opportunistic intriguer.
Timon	Lee Boardman	Jew	Fictional
While a loyal servant of Atia's family, Timon is essentially a thuggish horse trader who will accept payment in a variety of ways.
Marcus Agrippa	Allen Leech	Plebeian	Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Longtime friend of Gaius Octavian and Gaius Maecenas, Agrippa is one of the adult Octavian's chief advisors.

Secondary characters

Character name	Portrayed by	Status	Historical basis
Notes
Cleopatra	Lyndsey Marshal	Greco-Egyptian	Cleopatra VII of Egypt
Married to her brother Ptolemy XIII, Cleopatra is not above using Pullo to build an alliance with Caesar. In "Rome" she appears as a more alien and exotic figure than in previous film and television recreations.
Ptolemy XIII	Scott Chisolm	Greco-Egyptian	Ptolemy XIII of Egypt
Younger brother and husband of Cleopatra, he is both immature and feckless.
Caesarion	Nicolò Brecci/Max Baldry	Greco-Egyptian	Ptolemy XV of Egypt/Caesarion
Son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. However, it is indicated he is actually the son of Cleopatra and Pullo.
Gaius Maecenas	Alex Wyndham	Patrician	Gaius Maecenas
Longtime friend of Gaius Octavian and Marcus Agrippa, the poet Maecenas becomes one of the adult Octavian's advisors towards the end of the series.
Livia	Alice Henley	Patrician	Livia Drusilla
Wife of Gaius Octavian.
Alfidia	Deborah Moore	Patrician	Aufidia
Mother of Livia.
Calpurnia	Haydn Gwynne	Patrician	Calpurnia Pisonis
Wife of Caesar.
Cassius	Guy Henry	Plebeian	Gaius Cassius Longinus
Is quite successful in his ability to persuade Brutus to consider Caesar's intentions.
Lepidus	Ronan Vibert	Patrician	Marcus Aemilius Lepidus
General under Mark Antony, one of the Second Triumvirate.
Charmian	Kathryn Hunter	Slave	Charmian
Slave and advisor to Cleopatra.
Scipio	Paul Jesson	Patrician	Metellus Scipio
Comrade and follower of the crusty Cato.
Herod	Rene Zagger	Jew	Herod the Great
Prince of Judea and Tetrarch of Galilee.
Newsreader	Ian McNeice	Fictional	Works of Quintilian[3]
He announces the latest news as well as a few advertisements.
Posca	Nicholas Woodeson	Slave	Fictional
Witty, intelligent, loyal and even sarcastic, he is not only Caesar's slave, but also his confidant.
Eirene	Chiara Mastalli	Slave/Freedman	Fictional
Claimed by Pullo as his slave, but housed by Vorenus, she is the object of Pullo's affection.
Erastes Fulmen	Lorcan Cranitch	Plebeian	Fictional
Crime leader of Rome.
Lyde	Esther Hall	Plebeian	Fictional
Tormented by her sister's betrayal, she longs for the love of her husband, Evander Pulchio.
Gaia	Zuleikha Robinson	Slave	Fictional
The former supervisor at a brothel who kept the customers in line, Gaia negotiates a similar job with better pay with Vorenus, now the leader of the Aventine.
Glabius	Roberto Purvis	Patrician	Fictional
First husband of Octavia of the Julii.
Evander Pulchio	Enzo Cilenti	Plebeian	Fictional
The unfaithful husband of Lyde.
Jocasta	Camilla Rutherford	Plebeian	Fictional
Daughter of a wealthy merchant, and friend to Octavia of the Julii.
Mascius	Michael Nardone	Plebeian	Fictional
An old comrade of Pullo and Vorenus, he comes to the Aventine seeking work under Vorenus.
Levi	Nigel Lindsay	Jew	Fictional
Outspoken brother of Timon. Religious and resentful of the Romans, he soon helps a troubled and conflicted Timon rediscover his Judaism.
Vorena the Elder	Coral Amiga	Plebeian	Fictional
Elder daughter of Lucius Vorenus and Niobe.
Vorena the Younger	Anna Fausta Primiano/Valery Usai	Plebeian	Fictional
Younger daughter of Lucius Vorenus and Niobe.
Lucius	Marco Pollack/Alessio Cuna/Stefan Brown	Plebeian	Fictional
Son of Niobe by Evander Pulchio.
Eleni	Suzanne Bertish	Slave	Fictional
A slave completely dedicated to Servilia of the Junii.
Merula	Lydia Biondi	Slave	Fictional
A slave completely dedicated to Atia of the Julii.
Memmio	Daniel Cerqueira	Plebeian	Fictional
Captain of one of the largest underworld gangs, the Caelians; keeps an uneasy alliance with Vorenus, leader of the Aventine.

References

1. ^ DVD: Rome: The Complete First Season (2005) (Released 2006). The DVD's All Roads Lead to Rome feature states that Pompey is part of a class called Arriviste, which means he was low-born but gained status through wealth.
2. ^ DVD:Rome: First Season. The DVD commentary states that Antony was "high born", but when Atia proposes marriage in the sixth episode , Antony states that he is not noble-born. In history, Antony was a Plebeian; his mother was a Julii and distant cousin of Julius Caesar and thus, a Patrician. But his father was Plebeian, albeit from a wealthy and politically important family (Antony's grandfather had been consul.) Since children took on the lineage of their fathers, Antony was considered a Plebeian regardless of his mother's rank.
3. ^ DVD:Rome: First Season. Both the commentary and All Roads Lead to Rome on the DVD say that the gestures used for the herald were based on The Elements for Orators, written by Quintilian during the time of Nero. Though this work was written much later than the time period of the series, the producers imagined that that these gestures were handed down for many years and that it was likely, in their opinion, that they were in use as early as the time of Julius Caesar.