section_path: Notable fictional portrayals
section_name: Notable fictional portrayals
paragraph_text: Notable fictional portrayals
  
  In Dante 's 1320 poem the Divine Comedy, the author encounters Cicero, among other philosophers, in Limbo. Ben Jonson dramatised the conspiracy of Catiline in his play Catiline His Conspiracy, featuring Cicero as a character. Cicero also appears as a minor character in William Shakespeare 's play Julius Caesar.
  
  Cicero was portrayed on the motion picture screen by British actor Alan Napier in the 1953 film Julius Caesar, based on Shakespeare's play. He has also been played by such noted actors as Michael Hordern (in Cleopatra), and André Morell (in the 1970 Julius Caesar). Most recently, Cicero was portrayed by David Bamber in the HBO series Rome (2005–2007) and appeared in both seasons.
  
  In the historical novel series Masters of Rome, Colleen McCullough presents a not-so-flattering depiction of Cicero's career, showing him struggling with an inferiority complex and vanity, morally flexible and fatally indiscreet, while his rival Julius Caesar is shown in a more approving light. Cicero is portrayed as a hero in the novel A Pillar of Iron by Taylor Caldwell (1965). Robert Harris ' novels Imperium, Lustrum (published under the name Conspirata in the United States) and Dictator comprise a three-part series based on the life of Cicero. In these novels Cicero's character is depicted in a more favorable way than in those of McCullough, with his positive traits equaling or outweighing his weaknesses (while conversely Caesar is depicted as more sinister than in McCullough). Cicero is a major recurring character in the Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery novels by Steven Saylor. He also appears several times as a peripheral character in John Maddox Roberts ' SPQR series.
  
  Samuel Barnett portrays Cicero in a 2017 audio drama series pilot produced by Big Finish Productions. A full series was released the following year. All episodes are written by David Llewellyn and directed and produced by Scott Handcock.
  
  Giancarlo Esposito portrays Mayor Franklyn Cicero, a character from Francis Ford Coppola 's 2024 sci-fi epic film Megalopolis, which is a modern futuristic interpretation of the Catiline Conspiracy. In the film, Esposito stars opposite Adam Driver, who portrays a character named Cesar Catilina.