Bad actor turning down available role of the elephant man? (6)
I believe the answer is:
mahout
'the elephant man?' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'bad actor turning down' is the wordplay.
'bad actor' becomes 'ham' (a ham is someone who overacts).
'turning' shows that the letters should be reversed in order.
'down' becomes 'out' (similar in meaning).
'ham' in reverse letter order is 'mah'.
'mah'+'out'='MAHOUT'
'available role of' is the link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mahout that I've seen before include "Indian elephant driver" , "Elephant keeper and driver" , "Keeper and driver of elephants" , "Jumbo rider" , "19 ac's rider" .)