Laurence Fishburne
Fishburne was praised for his performance as Othello, and was the first African American actor to portray the Moor in an adaptation of this tragedy for a major production company or a major film distributor. For this performance he was nominated for an Image Award. Playing a Shakespearian character was a new career departure for Fishburne who is better known for his roles in action, or crime movies (although it could be argued that given Iago's manipulation and Othello's murder of his wife, this is almost a crime movie in some ways as well), such as The Matrix Trilogy and Apocalypse Now. He has recently become well known for television roles in long running television franchises, most notably Dr Raymond Langston in C.S. I. : Crime Scene Investigation.
Kenneth Branagh
At the time of the making of the movie, Branagh was the golden boy of the Royal Shakespeare Company and one half of the celebrity thespian couple that was Ken and Em - a reference to his marriage to fellow stage and screen star Emma Thompson. Branagh has performed in both stage and screen versions of Othello, and in 1989 was nominated for Best Actor and Best Director Academy Awards for the film adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry V. Many accuse Branagh of occasional over-acting, but in the case of his portrayal of the wildly manipulative Iago, any tendency to be over-dramatic only served to enhance his performance. He was nominated for a Screen Actors' Guild Best Actor Award for his performance in this film.
Nathaniel Parker
Parker is better known as a television actor in his native England, and is also well known for his appearance on many "Television's Handsomest Man" lists as well. His most notable role has been that of Inspector Lynley in The Inspector Lynley Mysteries which can be seen on PBS this side of the pond. Parker is married to Anna Patrick who played the role of Emilia in this film.
Irene Jacob
Jacob is a French-Swiss actress who has gained most acclaim for her work with Polish film director Krzysztof Kieslowski, winning the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress in 1991 for her performance in his film The Double Life of Veronique; it was on the strength of this performance, and her performance in Kieslowski's 1994 film The Colors Red that she was cast as the exotic but loyal Desdemona.
Anna Patrick
Patrick plays Emilia as a sweet young woman governed by her Machiavellian husband. Patrick's husband, Nathaniel Parker, played Cassio in the film.
