Emilia (Othello) Emilia (Othello) Emilia is a character in the tragedy "Othello" by William Shakespeare. The character's origin is traced to the 1565 tale, "Un capitano Moro" from Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio's "Gli Hecatommithi". There, the character is described as young and virtuous, is referred to simply as the ensign's wife, and becomes Desdemona's companion in Cyprus. In Shakespeare, she is named Emilia, is the wife of Othello's ensign, Iago, and is an attendant to Othello's wife, Desdemona. While considered a minor character in the drama, she has been portrayed by several notable actresses on film, with Joyce Redman receiving an Academy
Othello (1965 British film) contained more of the play than the film did). Derek Jacobi (Cassio) and Michael Gambon both made their film debuts in "Othello", while Edward Hardwicke would go on to work with the National for seven years. The film of "Othello" used enlarged duplicates of the original stage settings, rather than having elaborate new sets built. Olivier's former backers for his Shakespeare films were all deceased by 1965, and he was unable to raise the money to do a film version on location or on elaborate sets. Nearly a decade earlier, Olivier had been attempting to find financial backing for his