Iolaus (TV Series)

Iolaus, played by Michael Hurst, was Hercules' best friend and sidekick who was always there for him. Iolaus was a very likeable character who always managed to have a good time no matter what he was doing. He was also married around the same time as Hercules, to a woman named Anya who passed away before the series began. In "Maze of the Minotaur", he even mentioned how hard it was being a father and a mother, but the existence of his child, and even his wife, was never mentioned again after the movies. Iolaus found another love in Princess Niobe, when he had to pose as his identical cousin to save a kingdom. He loved Niobe very much but could not live the life of a king and so left her to travel again with Hercules. Iolaus had a strange habit of dying, but lucky for him, Hercules almost always found a way to make sure his best buddy didn't stay dead for long. Even when the show said he was dead for good they still brought him back again before the finale. Iolaus was a great character and was not one of those helpless sidekicks who always managed to get themselves kidnapped. He could defend himself well and even inspired Gabrielle to do the same for Xena.