play-actor vs actor

play-actor and actor both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
play-actor	Yes	No	No	No
actor	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, actor is a hypernym of play-actor; that is, actor is a word with a broader meaning than play-actor:

Other hypernyms of play-actor include histrion, player, role player, thespian.

play-actor (noun)	actor (noun)
an actor who travels around the country presenting plays	a theatrical performer
	a person who acts and gets things done