Richard Burbage is probably Shakespeare's closest confidante. This actor came to prominence in 1587 when the juvenile lead of the "Queen's Men" ( William Knell) was accidently killed in a street fight. As Burbage was his understudy, he was next in line to be the juvenile lead and so was in the right place at the right time to benefit from the prodigious outpourings from Shakespeare's pen as that playwright became more used to writing plays than acting in them.
Both men became staunch friends from then on and Shakespeare would often spend a lot of time in Burbages house, becoming acquanted with Burbages family and friends.
It was Burbage who first brought to the theatre King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Pericles and other great tragedian roles written specifically for him by his good friend William Shakespeare.