In his play "Cyrano de Bergerac", Rostand borrows the character of the
Musketeer, D'Artagnan, the hero of
Alexandre Dumas' novels
"The Three Musketeers", "Twenty Years Later" and "The Viscount of
Bragelonne". This has led to even more cross-referencing in film
adaptations. In fact, all four Musketeers have at various times been played by a veteran Cyrano.
José Ferrer made a career out of playing
Cyrano, including in
Cyrano et d'Artagnan (1964), in which
D'Artagnan is played by
Jean-Pierre Cassel. Cassel later played
Cyrano in
The Return of the Musketeers (1989), which was based
on "Twenty Years Later". Ferrer would later play Athos in
The Fifth Musketeer (1979), based on "The Viscount of Bragelonne".
Gérard Depardieu, who also played Cyrano, went on to play the
Musketeer Porthos in
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), also based on
The "Vicomte of Bragelonne".
Richard Chamberlain, who played Aramis in
The Three Musketeers (1973),
The Four Musketeers: Milady's Revenge (1974) and
The Return of the Musketeers (1989), played Cyrano on stage in 1973.