Bruce Martyn Payne (born 22 November 1958) is an English actor and producer. Though better known for his villainous roles, Bruce Payne has played characters across the spectrum. His notable villainous roles include Charles Rane in Passenger 57, Jacob Kell in Endgame and Damodar in Dungeons & Dragons and Wrath of the Dragon God. His notable heroic roles include Frankie in Kounterfeit, Dr. Burton in Silence Like Glass and Major Baker in Britannic. His notable comic roles include Yellow in Keen Eddie, Dogger in Solarbabies, and the Devil in Switch. Payne has received many plaudits for his acting. A reviewer in Cosmopolitan once asserted that "saying that Payne is a good actor is like saying Fred Astaire is a good dancer."
Early life
Payne was born in London, England and grew up in New Haw, Surrey. He developed an interest for acting at an early age. In an interview with Impact magazine in 2001, Payne revealed that 'I know that my immediate family tell me that when I was very young I saw a play that my brother was in – probably a Peter Pan pantomime because it involved a crocodile – and I apparently shouted out 'That crocodile is going to eat my brother' and ran up on the stage. I don't remember that myself, but if it really happened, I think it shows that from an early age I loved that suspension of disbelief'. At the age of 14 he was... Read More