# Julius Caesar: every role by lines, words, and stage time > William Shakespeare. 47 speaking roles, 19,083 words, about 136 minutes of speech. - URL: https://www.offbook.com/plays/julius-caesar - Last updated: 2026-10-08 **Brutus** has the most to say in Julius Caesar: about 724 lines and 5,399 words, 28.3% of the play. Julius Caesar follows the conspiracy to kill Caesar and the civil war that follows. Brutus is the largest part, with more than a quarter of the words, and speaks in 12 of 18 sections. Caesar himself has only about 6% and speaks in just three sections, ending in Act 3, Scene 1, while Cassius and Antony carry much of the rest. - Speaking roles: 47 - Scenes: 18 - Words: 19,083 - Speech time: 136 min ## Every role, largest first | Role | Lines | Words | Share | Minutes | Scenes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Brutus](https://www.offbook.com/plays/julius-caesar/brutus) | 724 | 5,399 | 28.3% | 38.6 | 12 | | [Cassius](https://www.offbook.com/plays/julius-caesar/cassius) | 509 | 3,721 | 19.5% | 26.6 | 8 | | [Antony](https://www.offbook.com/plays/julius-caesar/antony) | 329 | 2,537 | 13.3% | 18.1 | 8 | | Caesar | 151 | 1,124 | 5.9% | 8.0 | 3 | | Casca | 134 | 1,055 | 5.5% | 7.5 | 4 | | Portia | 92 | 720 | 3.8% | 5.1 | 2 | | Octavius | 47 | 328 | 1.7% | 2.3 | 3 | | Decius | 44 | 322 | 1.7% | 2.3 | 3 | | Messala | 38 | 250 | 1.3% | 1.8 | 4 | | Marullus | 32 | 238 | 1.2% | 1.7 | 1 | | Cinna | 32 | 233 | 1.2% | 1.7 | 4 | | Titinius | 31 | 233 | 1.2% | 1.7 | 1 | | Servant | 30 | 212 | 1.1% | 1.5 | 3 | | Lucius | 33 | 205 | 1.1% | 1.5 | 3 | | Calpurnia | 27 | 202 | 1.1% | 1.4 | 2 | | Flavius | 26 | 198 | 1% | 1.4 | 1 | | Lucilius | 26 | 182 | 1% | 1.3 | 5 | | Second Commoner | 17 | 146 | 0.8% | 1.0 | 1 | | Artemidorus | 17 | 145 | 0.8% | 1.0 | 2 | | Fourth Citizen | 21 | 134 | 0.7% | 1.0 | 2 | | Second Citizen | 22 | 133 | 0.7% | 1.0 | 2 | | Soothsayer | 18 | 131 | 0.7% | 0.9 | 3 | | Third Citizen | 22 | 131 | 0.7% | 0.9 | 2 | | First Citizen | 22 | 128 | 0.7% | 0.9 | 2 | | Metellus | 17 | 121 | 0.6% | 0.9 | 2 | | Pindarus | 16 | 120 | 0.6% | 0.9 | 2 | | Ligarius | 15 | 111 | 0.6% | 0.8 | 1 | | Clitus | 10 | 70 | 0.4% | 0.5 | 1 | | Cicero | 9 | 62 | 0.3% | 0.4 | 1 | | Trebonius | 8 | 60 | 0.3% | 0.4 | 3 | | Strato | 7 | 59 | 0.3% | 0.4 | 1 | | Cato | 8 | 54 | 0.3% | 0.4 | 2 | | Poet | 7 | 54 | 0.3% | 0.4 | 1 | | First Soldier | 5 | 27 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 2 | | Messenger | 4 | 24 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 | | Lepidus | 4 | 22 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 | | Varro | 4 | 21 | 0.1% | 0.2 | 1 | | Volumnius | 3 | 17 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 | | Ghost | 3 | 16 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 | | Dardanius | 3 | 15 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 | | Popilius | 2 | 10 | 0.1% | 0.1 | 1 | | Second Soldier | 2 | 8 | 0% | 0.1 | 2 | | Several Citizens | 2 | 7 | 0% | 0.1 | 1 | | Claudius | 2 | 6 | 0% | 0.0 | 1 | | Publius | 2 | 6 | 0% | 0.0 | 2 | | First Commoner | 1 | 4 | 0% | 0.0 | 1 | | Third Soldier | 1 | 1 | 0% | 0.0 | 1 | ## Who speaks in which scene Words each role speaks in each scene (scene: words). Scenes: 1.1 = Act 1, Scene 1; 1.2 = Act 1, Scene 2; 1.3 = Act 1, Scene 3; 2.1 = Act 2, Scene 1; 2.2 = Act 2, Scene 2; 2.3 = Act 2, Scene 3; 2.4 = Act 2, Scene 4; 3.1 = Act 3, Scene 1; 3.2 = Act 3, Scene 2; 3.3 = Act 3, Scene 3; 4.1 = Act 4, Scene 1; 4.2 = Act 4, Scene 2; 4.3 = Act 4, Scene 3; 5.1 = Act 5, Scene 1; 5.2 = Act 5, Scene 2; 5.3 = Act 5, Scene 3; 5.4 = Act 5, Scene 4; 5.5 = Act 5, Scene 5. - **Brutus**: 1.2 (561), 2.1 (1,356), 2.2 (21), 3.1 (574), 3.2 (447), 4.2 (240), 4.3 (1,446), 5.1 (251), 5.2 (45), 5.3 (136), 5.4 (23), 5.5 (299) - **Cassius**: 1.2 (1,132), 1.3 (729), 2.1 (259), 3.1 (327), 4.2 (36), 4.3 (649), 5.1 (341), 5.3 (248) - **Antony**: 1.2 (30), 2.2 (5), 3.1 (764), 3.2 (1,165), 4.1 (292), 5.1 (159), 5.4 (57), 5.5 (65) - **Caesar**: 1.2 (288), 2.2 (552), 3.1 (284) - **Casca**: 1.2 (551), 1.3 (426), 2.1 (69), 3.1 (9) - **Portia**: 2.1 (488), 2.4 (232) ## The longest speeches | Speech | Scene | Words | Lines | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Cassius: “I know that virtue to be in you, Brutus,” | Act 1, Scene 2 | 350 | 42 | | Antony: “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;” | Act 3, Scene 2 | 268 | 35 | | Brutus: “Be patient till the last. Romans, countrymen, and lovers! hear me for my cause, and be silent, that you may hear: believe me for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour, that you may believe: censure me in your wisdom, and awake your senses, that you may the better judge. If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar’s, to him I say, that Brutus’ love to Caesar was no less than his. If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer:—Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him; as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honour him: but, as he was ambitious, I slew him. There is tears for his love; joy for his fortune; honour for his valour; and death for his ambition. Who is here so base that would be a bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so vile that will not love his country? If any, speak; for him have I offended. I pause for a reply.” | Act 3, Scene 2 | 234 | 24 | | Cassius: “Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world” | Act 1, Scene 2 | 231 | 27 | | Antony: “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now.” | Act 3, Scene 2 | 229 | 29 | | Antony: “I doubt not of your wisdom.” | Act 3, Scene 1 | 222 | 28 | | Brutus: “No, not an oath: if not the face of men,” | Act 2, Scene 1 | 210 | 27 | | Brutus: “It must be by his death: and for my part,” | Act 2, Scene 1 | 206 | 25 | | Antony: “Good friends, sweet friends, let me not stir you up” | Act 3, Scene 2 | 183 | 21 | | Antony: “O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,” | Act 3, Scene 1 | 180 | 23 | ## Small roles that can be doubled These pairs of small roles never speak in the same scene, so one actor could play both. Check entrances and silent appearances in your script before you cast it this way. - Portia and Octavius - Portia and Messala - Portia and Marullus - Portia and Titinius - Portia and Servant - Portia and Calpurnia - Portia and Flavius - Portia and Lucilius - Portia and Second Commoner - Portia and Artemidorus - Portia and Fourth Citizen - Portia and Second Citizen ## Roles and monologues in depth - [How many lines does Brutus have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/julius-caesar/brutus) - [How many lines does Cassius have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/julius-caesar/cassius) - [How many lines does Antony have?](https://www.offbook.com/plays/julius-caesar/antony) ## Questions actors ask ### Who has the most lines in Julius Caesar? Brutus, with about 724 lines and 5,399 words, 28.3% of everything spoken in the play. Cassius is next, with about 509 lines (19.5%). ### How long is Julius Caesar? The full text has 19,083 spoken words, about 136 minutes at 140 words a minute before pauses, scene changes, and cuts. Most productions cut the text, so running times vary. ### How many speaking roles are in Julius Caesar? 47 named roles speak in this edition, across 18 scenes. 41 of them have less than 2% of the words, which is why small parts are often doubled. ## How we count Counts are computed from the full text of the [Standard Ebooks edition](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/william-shakespeare/julius-caesar) (public domain; retrieved 2026-10-08). Words are every spoken word, with stage directions removed. Lines are verse lines as printed, plus prose at 10 words a line, because prose has no fixed line breaks; editions differ, so other sources give slightly different line counts. Time is words at 140 words a minute, before pauses and stage business. A role is counted in a scene when it speaks there. To count a script that is not in the library, paste it into the [script line counter](https://www.offbook.com/tools/script-line-counter).