<P> Thespis ( / ˈθɛspɪs / ; Greek : Θέσπις ; fl . 6th century BC ) of Icaria ( present - day Dionysos , Greece ) , according to certain Ancient Greek sources and especially Aristotle , was the first person ever to appear on stage as an actor playing a character in a play ( instead of speaking as him or herself ) . In other sources , he is said to have introduced the first principal actor in addition to the chorus . </P>
who stepped out of the dithyrambic chorus to become the first actor
Thespis