Othello has its source in the 1565 tale "Un Capitano Moro" from Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio.

Gabriel Chappuy had produced a French translation in 1584, but Shakespeare's version hews more closely to the original.

[citation needed] Cassio is a gentlemanly Florentine soldier, a man of high manners and theoretical learning, and one of Othello's chief lieutenants.

The Cypriot governor Montano tries to end the fight by stepping between the two men, and Cassio, now blind drunk, strikes out at him.

In productions of Othello, Cassio has been portrayed by actors such as Hayden Adams, Tom Hiddleston, Jonathan Bailey, and Derek Jacobi.

Omkara, which was a Bollywood adaptation of Othello, had a character named Kesu firangi, which was inspired by Cassio.