Roderigo is a fictional character in Shakespeare's 1604 play Othello. Roderigo, a wealthy Venetian, is manipulated into funding the antagonist Iago's machinations in the belief that Iago will aid him in courting Othello's wife Desdemona. In the later stages of the play, Iago recruits Roderigo in hopes of assassinating Othello's former lieutenant Michael Cassio, though when he fails and is injured in this attempt, he is murdered by Iago in retaliation.
Despite Shakespeare heavily basing Othello on Cinthio's Italian language tale Un Capitano Moro, Roderigo has no counterpart in the original text, unlike other characters, suggesting that Shakespeare created the character himself.
