What famous actors were in Shakespeare's companies?

Answer 1

Shakespeare only belonged to one acting company, and he stayed with it for almost twenty years, which is most of his working life. The star actor of that company was Richard Burbage, who took the leading roles in all of Shakespeare's plays. Other members of the company included the famous clowns Will Kempe and Robert Armin. Kempe left the company over (we assume) artistic differences, and Armin replaced him.

We know the names of most of the actors who were at one time or other members of the company, because they are conveniently set out in the First Folio. We know rather less about what kinds of actors they were or what kinds of parts they played.