Man takes lead in play (6)
I believe the answer is:
daniel
'man' is the definition.
'lead in play' is the wordplay.
'play' indicates an anagram.
'lead'+'in'='leadin'
'leadin' is an anagram of 'DANIEL'.
'takes' is the link.
(Other definitions for daniel that I've seen before include "-- Deronda (Eliot)" , "A wise Biblical judge" , "-- Boone, US frontiersman and folk hero" , "-- Defoe; -- Barenboim" , "- Defoe, English writer" .)