In the play, Don Pedro is a nobleman who visits his friend Leonato in Messina, Italy, after a successful military conquest.
Don Pedro is considered a stable middleman in the story, providing counsel for Claudio and Benedick as well as conversing with Leonato.
After Claudio's misunderstanding is resolved and he and Hero are engaged, Don Pedro offers marriage to Beatrice who quickly turns him down.
[21] In 1986 in Shanghai, China, Much Ado About Nothing was adapted into Huangmei opera and featured Wang Shaofang as Don Pedro.
[22] In 1996, Ivar Kants played Don Pedro in the Bell Shakespeare Company’s production, which toured Australia.
[24] In 2006, Nicholas Ofczarek played Don Pedro in the German language production, Viel Lärm um nichts, at the Burgtheater in Austria.
[28] At the National Theatre Company, Don Pedro has been performed by Derek Jacobi (1967) in a production that was also filmed for television.
[29] Julian Wadham portrayed Don Pedro also at the National in 2007 in Nicholas Hytner's production set in 19th century Italy.
[30] At the Royal Shakespeare Company, Don Pedro has been portrayed by Norman Rodway (1968),[31] Jeffery Dench (1971),[32] Robin Ellis (1976),[33] Derek Godfrey (1982),[34] David Lyon (1988),[35] John Carlisle (1990),[36] Clive Wood (2002),[37] Patrick Robinson (2006),[38] Shiv Grewal (2012),[39] and John Hodgkinson (2014), though the show was referred to as Love’s Labour’s Won.
[43] At Shakespeare's Globe in London, the role of Don Pedro has been performed by Ewan Stewart (2011)[44] and Steve John Shepherd (2017).
[45] In 2005, Charles Edwards played Don Pedro in Peter Hall's production at the Theater Royal in Bath.
[51] Don Pedro has also been portrayed by Peter Guinness in 2018’s production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Rose Theatre in Kingston, directed by Simon Dormandy.
[65] At Bard on the Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia, Don Pedro has been played by Dean Paul Gibson in 1996,[66] Gerry Mackay in 2004,[67] and Ian Butcher in 2017.
[85] With the Marin Shakespeare Company in California, Don Pedro has been portrayed by Mark Hurty in 1995[86] and Michael Wiles in 2002.
[88] At the American Shakespeare Centre in Staunton, Virginia, Don Pedro has been played by Gregory Jon Phelps in 2012[89] and Josh Innerst in 2015.
[92] In 2019, Billy Eugene Jones played Don Pedro in an all-black production of Much Ado About Nothing directed by Kenny Leon at Shakespeare in the Park in New York City.
A recording of the 1967 National Theatre production was directed for television by Alan Cooke and featured Derek Jacobi as Don Pedro.
[103] 1973's televised recording of the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of Much Ado featured Douglass Watson as Don Pedro.
[106] In 2005, as part of the ShakespeaRe-Told series, Michael Smiley portrayed a modernized version of Don Pedro called Peter.