Portia (The Merchant of Venice) original Portia Shakespeare drew from was Porcia Catonis, the wife of the Roman statesman Brutus. She was also compared to the wife of Brutus within the play in Act 1 scene 1 when Bassanio talks to Antonio. The strength of the role of Portia has made it attractive to many notable actresses. Frances Abington, Sarah Siddons and Elizabeth Whitlock all played Portia in the 18th century when actresses first started appearing on stage in performances of the play. More recently, the role has been depicted in the cinema and on television by a number of notable actresses such as Maggie
Title role title character is the primary antagonist. The title role and the lead can be different genders; for example, in the 2003 revival of August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", Whoopi Goldberg had the title role, but the lead was Charles S. Dutton. The title character in narrative works is one who is named or referred to in the title, such as The Doctor in the TV series "Doctor Who", Harry Potter in the namesake series of novels and films, "Romeo and Juliet" in the Shakespeare play or Annie Oakley in the musical "Annie Get Your Gun". The "title character" need