Captain Shakespeare

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Captain Shakespeare is a fictional character from the movie Stardust.^[1] He was loosely based on Captain Johannes Alberic (a character in the original novel), and played by Robert De Niro. He named himself after the bard, noting the double entendre: he himself recognizes that he is named after the playwright, while his crew and enemies think of a "spear-shaking" savage.

Contents 1 Role in the film 2 Personality 3 Relationship with the crew 4 See also 5 Notes 6 External Links

[edit] Role in the film

Captain Shakespeare is in many ways both the foil of Tristran Thorn and a mentor character. He has always dreamed of visiting England, even though it is considered folklore by the people of Stormhold, just as the people of England consider Stormhold to be non-existent. He also tries to measure up to others' expectations, and during the course of the film, like Tristan, finds his place. He teaches Tristan to fence and waltz, and actually transforms him into a more mature image.

[edit] Personality

Despite his "fearsome reputation", Captain Shakespeare is an amiable and somewhat effeminate man. He is a crossdresser who has a can-can girl tattoo on his right arm, and whose favorite pastime is dancing while dressed in drag. However, he tends to behave in a stern and masculine manner in front of his crew. He actually avoids killing anyone because cleaning bloodstains from a silk shirt is a nightmare, according to him.

[edit] Relationship with the crew

Although they are seemingly pretty oblivious, the crew actually know about their captain's habit; however, they don't mind. Captain Shakespeare's first-mate reminds Shakespeare subtly, if he forgets to act like a true buccaneer.

[edit] See also

Stardust (novella)
Stardust (2007 film)

[edit] Notes

[edit] External Links

Official Stardust Movie website.