Quintus Roscius

Quintus Roscius , c.126 BC-62 BC, Roman actor. Born a slave at Solonium, he became the greatest comic actor of his time. From the dictator Sulla, Roscius received the honor of the gold ring signifying equestrian rank. In a lawsuit, Cicero, whom he had taught elocution, defended him by an extant oration, Pro Q. Roscio Comoedo. The title "the young Roscius" or "the new Roscius" has been bestowed on several English actors as a mark of supreme distinction.

Roscius Gallus, Quintus (c.120–62 BC), Roman actor, the most famous of his day. He was a friend of Cicero, who delivered on his behalf during a lawsuit the speech Pro Roscio Comoedo, and though of middle-class origins was raised to equestrian rank by the dictator Sulla. He appeared in the plays of Plautus—one of his best parts being Pseudolus—and Terence, as well as of lesser dramatists, and by his example did much to raise the status of actors in the Roman world. Much of his success was due to careful study of his parts; he thought out and rehearsed every gesture before using it on stage, and his name became synonymous with all that was best in acting. Shakespeare referred to him in Hamlet, and many outstanding actors were called after him.

(For the Dublin, or Hibernian, Roscius, see BROOKE; Young Roscius, see BETTY.)