Betterton played every great male part there was from 1660 into the 18th century. After watching "Hamlet" in 1661, Samuel Pepys reports in his diary that the young beginner Betterton "did the prince's part beyond imagination." Betterton's expressive performances seem to have attracted playgoers as magnetically as did the novelty of seeing women on the stage. He was soon established as the leading man of the Duke's Company, and played Dorimant, the seminal irresistible Restoration rake, at the première of George Etherege's "Man of Mode" (1676). Betterton's position remained unassailable through the 1680s, both as the leading man of the United Company and as its stage manager and "de facto" day-to-day leader. He remained loyal to Rich longer than many of his co-workers, but eventually it was he who headed the actors' walkout in 1695, and who became the acting manager of the new company.