14 Facts About Little John

Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men.

Little John is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alongside Much the Miller's Son.

Little John appears in the earliest recorded Robin Hood ballads and stories, and in one of the earliest references to Robin Hood by Andrew of Wyntoun in 1420 and by Walter Bower in 1440.

Later depictions of Little John portray him as less cunning.

In some modern film versions, Little John loses the duel to Robin.

In other versions of the legends, his name is given as John Little, losing the irony of his nickname.

In Dublin, a local legend suggests that Little John visited the city in the 12th century and was hanged there.

Little John first played Little John as a young squire in 1922's Robin Hood starring Douglas Fairbanks.

Little John reprised the role opposite Errol Flynn's Robin in 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Little John meets Robin when his band of outlaws steals from Robin's band.

Little John has a wife, Alice, and a son, both of whom believe he is dead until late in the first series.

Little John is the oldest of the outlaws and fights with a quarterstaff.

Little John was portrayed by Jason Burkart in the TV series Once Upon a Time and its spin-off Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

Little John has been argued to play a crucial role in illustrating the ties between the servant and the master, and his actions can be seen as challenging the power hierarchy of the depicted society.