Porthos is a fictional character in the novels The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas. He and the other two musketeers Athos and Aramis are friends of the novel's protagonist, D'Artagnan (see D'Artagnan Romances).

As with the other musketeers, Dumas nevers reveals Porthos' given name. In The Three Musketeers his family name is du Valon. In Twenty Years After, after a successful wedding, he is first known as du Valon de Bracieux de Pierrefonds, then he earns the title of baron.

Porthos is the extrovert of the group, enjoying wine, women and song. His eating abilities even impress King Louis XIV during a banquet at Versailles. As the story advances, he looks more and more of a giant, and his death is that of a titan.

The fictional Porthos is very loosely based on the historical musketeer Isaac de Portau.

Film and Television

Actors who have played Porthos on screen include:

• Charles Martinelli , in Les trois mousquetaires (1921)
• Moroni Olsen , in The Three Musketeers (1935)
• John Colicos, in The Three Musketeers (TV movie) (1960)
• Frank Finlay, in The Three Musketeers (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974), and The Return of the Musketeers (1989)
• Alan Hale Jr., in The Fifth Musketeer (1979)
• Oliver Platt, in The Three Musketeers (1993)
• Gérard Depardieu, in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
• John Rhys-Davies, in La Femme Musketeer (TV miniseries) (2003)