c. 120 B.C.E.–c. 62 B.C.E.

Actor

Rome's Most Famous Actor.

Quintus Roscius Gallus was one of the most famous actors in ancient Rome. In fact, his name continued to be used to describe a brilliant actor until the nineteenth century C.E.—as modern critics might use "an Olivier" to designate an especially gifted actor. His cognomen ("last name") Gallus usually denoted someone who was a freedman (the son of a former slave), but Roscius was born to a prosperous family in Latium, what is now the area south of Rome. Most of the biographical information about him comes from the great Roman statesman Cicero, who defended Roscius in court on a charge of business fraud in 69 B.C.E. or thereabouts. He was extremely handsome with a slight squint, and was especially renowned for his venustas ("grace of movement"). He...