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Sunday Magazine
Interview
This magazine was included in a British Newspaper and was published between Jan. - April 1990. "I Thought I Would Never Walk
Again" Yellowthread cop, Eden, tells of his brave battle against spine disease. TV's newest tough guy cop Bruce Payne has told of his heroic fight to beat a crippling disease that could have wrecked his life. For the Yellowthread St star was struck down by Spina Bifida when he was 16 and feared he might never walk again. Only a vital spine operation save him from life in a wheelchair. But now hunky Payne - rugged Eden in the Hong Kong based police show - is being named as Britain's answer to Miami Vice heart-throb Don Johnson. Eden - the cop with no first name or rank - has become an instant star in Yellowthread Street. The Saturday night blockbuster series has more than its fair share of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. But 29 year old Payne slams any comparisons with American superstar Johnson or his worldwide hit programme. "I've only seen one episode of Miami Vice, but I know Yellowthread St is nothing like it. Our guys sweat. They don't get out of Ferraris with uncreased trousers like the Miami cops. You can't chase someone for 3 hours and still look like you've been modeling. Roger Moore might be able to get away with that super-cool image in the Bond films, but no-one else can." There's no chance that his new found stardom will go to Bruce's head. His traumatic ordeal as a teenager will see to that. Forced to lay on his back for 5 months, not knowing whether he would walk again makes him appreciate how lucky he is now. "I could have been paralyzed and at one time thought I might not walk again." he says, "I never gave up hope and I always believed I could beat the illness. But the whole awful experience certainly affected my whole outlook on life." Bruce reveals how a patient in the next bed helped him to overcome his fear as he lay helpless in hospital. "He was a motorbike fanatic whose left leg had been crushed in a crash. I used to look at him and realize that, by comparison, I didn't have too much to worry about. "He probably didn't know it, but that chap gave me a great feeling of relief. There were very few hospitals that could deal with my problem and without a vital operation I could well have been paralyzed." In fact, Bruce battled his despair and depression so successfully that he was able to pass his O'level exams. Now his future is assured thanks to Yellowthread Street. Yorkshire TV bosses were determined to produce an English version of Miami Vice and, to their cost, chose crime-infested Hong Kong as their ideal location. For notorious Triad gangsters - Hong Kong's equivalent to the Mafia - demanded "protection money" to allow filming on their patch. "The cash handed over was a drop in the ocean was a drop in the ocean compared to the total cost of the capital production,"explains Bruce. "But it meant we didn't have any 'interruptions'. " And Hong Kong's reputation as the crime capital of the world was demonstrated by the fact that world-weary locals would watch scenes being shot and simply assume that it was real crime taking place. "It was eerie at first but eventually we got used to it," laughs Bruce. "And we always seemed to end up with more extras on the set than we started off with!" Payne nearly became a star simply because of his surname. Warner Bros bosses were very impressed by his work and considered casting him as Batman because the comic book hero's name was Bruce WAYNE! "Warner were fascinated by the similarity in the name," he says. "They drew up a very short shortlist and there I was on it. Obviously, I lost out in the end to Michael Keaton." Payne proved a big hit with the Hong Kong people. Not for his character Eden, but simply by being himself. Out of the whole Yellowthread Street Cast he was the only one who attempted to learn something of the local language. And he did well at it. Yellowthread director Ian Stuttard explains: "Bruce was probably the only non-Chinese member of the team that cracked it locally. He went out of his way to try and learn the lingo and they loved him for it." says Bruce "I just wanted to make some effort to fit in. And if the locals saw you were doing your best, then they would go out of their way to help you." Yellowthread Street is accused by some critics of stirring up racism because writers have slipped some strange words into the dialogue. Bruce denies there is anything offensive explaining, "The worst word is "gweilo" which means 'white ghost'. But its the most common name they have for westerners and simply means fair-skinned people who have traveled a lot. I don't think that's going to get up anyone's nose. The other controversial word is "chizing" and that just means 'crazy'. " Bruce is perfectly well aware that Yellowthread Street could thrust him into the TV big-time just as The Sweeney did for Dennis Waterman, who went on to even greater fame as Arthur Daley's sidekick in Minder. "All actors love to be recognized when they walk down the street," he says"And if it happens, of course I'll be pleased. I've been very lucky so far to combine high quality television work like Yellowthread Street and challenging theatre roles. I just hope it lasts." Payne is a stickler for researching roles down to the last detail. But his hard work has paid off. He played an undercover cop tracking down LSD factories in "Operation Julie" and to swot up on the role he spent hours reading about the deadly drug in libraries. His other screen credits include the Britsh-made film Absolute Beginners, in which he was praised by the critics for his portrayal of a spivvy racist. He's also been seen in Michael Blakemore's Privates On Parade.
Copyright Sunday Magazine, 1990.
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