Don Pedro (Much Ado About Nothing)
| Don Pedro | |
|---|---|
| Much Ado About Nothing character | |
| Created by | William Shakespeare |
| Portrayed by | Denzel Washington Ivar Kants Reed Diamond Michael Boatman Peter Guinness |
| In-universe information | |
| Family | Don John (illegitimate brother) |
Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon, is a fictional character from William Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. In the play, Don Pedro is a nobleman who visits his friend Leonato in Messina, Italy, after a successful military conquest. Don Pedro helps Claudio to woo Hero and helps set up Benedick and Beatrice who together form the two key couples in the play.
Don Pedro is considered a stable middleman in the story, providing counsel for Claudio and Benedick as well as conversing with Leonato. However, Don Pedro also experiences some dramatic irony: For example, he is deceived by his brother Don John's plot to frame Hero as unchaste.
Don Pedro has been portrayed by Denzel Washington in the Samuel Goldwyn Company 1993 film Much Ado About Nothing. He was played by Reed Diamond in Joss Whedon's interpretation of the play, which was released in 2012.