Augustus

Augustus is the first emperor of Rome, an old man now, genial and booming, fond of his family and his dinner parties, and largely oblivious to the poisonous currents swirling around his own table. He wants a peaceful, orderly succession and trusts the wrong people to arrange it for him.

Brian Blessed plays him as a bluff, hearty soldier gone soft with age and affection, which makes him the one character in the household everyone else can safely underestimate. The performance is all warmth and volume, and that very warmth is what lets the audience feel, long before he does, how exposed he really is.