The Siege of Rhodes saw the emergence of an actor who features prominently in Betterton’s early career as a dramatic and personal foil. The tenth shareholder, Henry Harris, was about the same age as Betterton, Underhill and the Nokes brothers; born in 1634, he was ‘of the Citty of London, painter’. That is all that is known about him before 1660; it is even harder to decide than in Betterton’s case whether he was ever apprenticed. If he was, the most likely date for his freedom – when he was twenty-one – coincides exactly with Davenant’s preparations for The First Day’s Entertainment in 1656. Whatever his talents as an actor, the Duke’s was a company built from trade skills, and it would be useful to have an experienced painter for the new scenes. Harris drove a hard bargain. When actors’ shares were allocated he was ‘to have a portion equal with the highest’, which encapsulates his approach to company life.

Since he was earmarked as a leading actor he may have performed as well as painted in 1656, although he did not take the romantic lead, Alphonso, as he would at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in June 1661. Apparently he did not act with Rhodes or anyone else in the months surrounding the Restoration. From the start he was an outsider, his talents vouched for by Davenant rather than proved in the risky, semi-legal theatre of 1659–60, and the situation was ripe for the sort of professional conflict which duly surfaced. Harris initiated it: having come in on a good deal, he pushed for more.