From the 19th century to the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate, famous actors such as Utaemon NAKAMURA III, who was called "kaneru (to serve concurrently)" and an all-round excellent actor, Nizaemon KATAOKA (nanadaime), Nizaemon KATAOKA VIII (hachidaime), Kichizaburo ARASHI II (later, Rikan ARASHI I (shodai), Tamizo ONOE II, who was famous for keren performances and Gakujuro JITSUKAWA II, who was good at wagoto performances, all played an active role.
19世紀から幕末期にかけて、「兼ねる」役者と呼ばれた万能選手の名人三代目中村歌右衛門や片岡仁左衛門(7代目)・八代目の片岡仁左衛門(8代目)、二代目嵐吉三郎（のちの初代嵐璃寛(初代)）、ケレン芸で売り出した二代目尾上多見蔵、和事芸の名人二代目実川額十郎などの名優が活躍した。