Crossword Genius

Performer given gold by a court (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

actor

'performer' is the definition.
(actor is a kind of performer)

'gold by a court' is the wordplay.
'gold' becomes 'or' ('or' is the heraldic name for gold).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'court' becomes 'ct'.
'a'+'ct'='act'
'or' put after 'act' is 'ACTOR'.

'given' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for actor that I've seen before include "Gielgud, say" , "Film star" , "eg Anthony Hopkins" , "Theatrical performer" , "Cruise, e.g." .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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