Dungeons, Dragons and Back Trouble

Showbiz.com Interview with Bruce Payne

---

Feb 16th, 2001 By Maria Croce, Daily Record

As a teenager, British actor Bruce Payne was forced to lie flat on his back for six months following a back operation.

The trauma of that period made him determined to succeed in acting, and has also helped him deal with the few hard knocks he's been dealt in his career. But he certainly hasn't let his past back problem stop him from keeping active.

He's a keen sky diver, and for his latest movie Dungeons and Dragons out today, he gets to wield a pretty hefty sword.

Evil henchman

Bruce plays evil henchman Damodar, who serves arch-villain Jeremy Irons in the movie.

Bruce says: "Like all good fantasy villains, Jeremy Irons' character wants to take over the world. But he doesn't get his hands dirty - I do."

He also got to travel the length of the Czech Republic for filming, which took place in various castles.

He says: "My driver clocked up 17,000 km in the Czech Republic and after that, I was in Romania doing a similar distance. There were so many locations, and there was traveling to and from the set."

Bruce is best known for the villains he's played, including the hijacker Charles Rane in the Wesley Snipes movie Passenger 57. And he's clocked up more than 30 films in his career.

But he'll always be grateful to the doctors who made it possible for him to follow his dream of acting.

He was born with spina bifida and part of his spine was crumbling away.

The biggest vertebrae in his back was deteriorating, so he had to undergo an operation at the tender age of 14 to correct the shape with a bone graft from his hip, which was fixed with two screws.

Bruce says: "I was laid up for six months, but that probably wouldn't happen today because of the advances of science and the understanding of it. I couldn't bend the spine, so I couldn't move."

But although the condition had a profound effect on him, he still plays down its seriousness, saying: "It sounds unbelievably dramatic and, at that age, it was, but compared to some cases of spina bifida which are so heartbreaking, sometimes I almost feel like a wimp mentioning it.

"Mine was a very minor version of a type of spina bifida and, fortunately for me, it was dealt with amazingly.

"I will be aware of it for the rest of my life and I'm incredibly grateful. I'll never know what might have happened if the operation hadn't been a success. But the convalescence was very sobering. I left hospital in a full plaster from my hips to the shoulders. I had to learn balance and co-ordination again.

"I was behind in my studies and it made me more determined to succeed. I studied like anything to catch up.

"I'm glad it happened, in many ways. It's a bit like a wake-up call. It made me stronger. Most actors would admit you don't get every job you go for, but what happened to me certainly gave me strength."

And he hopes his experience will give hope to others: "Certainly in my life, when you see someone in a situation that has dealt them a challenge and they overcome it, it gives you hope. But I don't see my situation as that bad. It was so minor compared to the really acute cases."

Bruce is probably now fitter than most 40 year olds, despite his past back problem.

He can touch his toes with the palms of his hands and was taught to sky-dive by the late stuntman Tip Tipping.

He says: "I stretch every day and have made my back muscles around the surgery very strong.

"Staying fit has become a crucial part in my regime.

"I'm just shy of 6ft 1ins tall and I had to use a gigantic double-edged broad sword which stretched from the ground up to my chest. The weight of it was real."

Bruce has certainly been in regular acting work throughout his career.

After appearing in a school play, he was approached by a talent scout for stage school.

His parents persuaded him to focus on his education instead, but he was so mesmerized by storytelling that he was determined to become an actor once he left school and won a place at RADA.

Although he is now sometimes recognized in the street, he insists he didn't become an actor for the fame and fortune.

He laughs: "If I'd wanted to be rich and famous, I would have gone into the IT industry

"Like a singer, you're only as good as your last song. Actors are seen at premieres looking fantastic. But it's a shared art. It's not something you do singularly.

"It's a completely collaborative effort. It's also too good to be true - you get to go to work and you get paid for it, too."

At least in his next movie role, he gets to be a good guy after playing so many villains.

He's currently filming a spy spoof, Never Say Never Mind, in which he plays a character like M from the Bond flicks.

Bruce says: "Unfortunately, by the mere fact of psychological recall, most people remember villains, I think. But I have played good guys, too."