perform vs play the part of

perform

verb
  • To fulfill contractually agreed-to terms. 

  • To exhibit an expected pattern of behavior; to function; to work. 

  • To act in accordance with (a contract); to fulfill one’s terms of (a contract). 

  • To do (something); to execute. 

  • To do (something) in front of an audience, such as acting or music, often in order to entertain. 

  • To behave theatrically so as to give the impression of (a quality, character trait, etc.); to feign. 

  • To behave in accordance with, and thereby in turn shape, (a social notion or role). 

  • To behave in ways that carry meaning in social contexts. 

play the part of

How often have the words perform and play the part of occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )