tragedian

noun

1. An actor who specializes in tragic roles.

   “Euen thoſe you were wont to take such delight in the Tragedians of the City.”

   “And as for the separation scene from the child, while Becky was reciting it, Emmy retired altogether behind her pocket-handkerchief, so that the consummate little tragedian must have been charmed to see the effect which her performance produced on her audience.”

   “Greene died of a debauch; and Marlowe, the gracer of tragedians, perished in an ignominious brawl.”

2. A playwright who writes tragedies.