Claim: Richard Burbage portrayed parts.

Richard Burbage -LRB- 6 January 1567 -- 12 March 1619 -RRB- is considered the first great actor of English theatre . He is one of the most famous actors of the Globe Theatre of his time . In addition to being a stage actor he was also a theatre owner , entrepreneur and painter . He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage . They were both actors in drama . Burbage was a business associate and friend to William Shakespeare .   The son of James Burbage , a joiner who became a theatrical impresario , and also founded the first theatre and was a famous theatrical entrepreneur . Burbage was a popular actor by his early 20s . He excelled in plays with the theme of tragedies . His early acting career is poorly documented . As many young actors of his time , he may have played the part of women in productions before taking any of the roles he is known for . It has been suggested that he spent time working with the Earl of Leicester 's company , but there is no good evidence for this . He was probably acting with the Admiral 's Men in 1590 , with Lord Strange 's Men in 1592 , and with the Earl of Pembroke 's Men in 1593 ; but most famously he was the star of William Shakespeare 's theatre company , the Lord Chamberlain 's Men which became the King 's Men on the ascension of James I in 1603 . He played the title role in the first performances of many of Shakespeare 's plays , including Hamlet , Othello , Richard III , and King Lear . But he was in great demand and also appeared in the plays of many of the great contemporary writers , such as Ben Jonson -LRB- the title role in Volpone , and Subtle in The Alchemist -RRB- , John Marston -LRB- The Malcontent -RRB- , John Webster -LRB- The Duchess of Malfi -RRB- and Beaumont and Fletcher -LRB- The Maid 's Tragedy -RRB- .   Burbage 's power and scope as an actor is revealed in the sheer size of the roles he played . He was a great box office draw . Of the hundreds of plays and thousands of roles for actors that date from the 1580 -- 1610 era , there are only twenty or so roles that are longer than 800 lines . Edward Alleyn was the first English actor to manage such roles , in Marlowe 's Tamburlaine and The Jew of Malta ; but the majority of these star roles , thirteen of the twenty , were acted by Burbage.He was said to be quite rich because he was earning income from being the primary housekeeping of two playhouses , a sharer in the King 's Men , a lead actor and a painter .   His acting style is closely compared with the method that actors use today called method acting ; it would be another four centuries before this came into popularity . He was described as being short and stout , but said to be an impressive figure , with numerous praises written of him in contemporary accounts .