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To American TV fans, Tom Payne is best known for playing Paul “Jesus” Rovia in the post-apocalyptic horror series The Walking Dead. The British actor, who rose to fame in the UK for his role in the school drama Waterloo Road, played Paul from 2016 until 2019.
When Payne made his tragic exit from The Walking Dead, many fans were heartbroken. However, Tom Payne’s acting career continued after he was no longer “Jesus
.
8 Why Did Tom Payne Leave The Walking Dead?
Tom Payne’s character Paul “Jesus” Munroe was killed off in season nine after he and Aaron (Ross Marquand) tried to help a wounded Eugene Porter (Josh McDermitt).
Their plan backfired as they were ambushed by the Whisperers in a graveyard with poor Jesus losing his life. His death attached criticism as it fulfilled the “bury your gays” trope, which refers to LBGTQ+ characters getting killed off due to their sexuality.
The Walking Dead’s showrunner Angela Kang explained that his death was because the show needed to have some jeopardy which meant well-loved characters had to meet tragic ends. “You know, every season we lose beloved characters, and it’s just part of the story,” she told Deadline in 2018.
Tom Payne also addressed his exit, telling Entertainment Weekly in 2018, “I was talking to the showrunners about this last year, and they were aware I was a little bit kind of bored and unhappy, and ‘Let’s do something, kill some people, kill me, I don’t care. Let’s do some shocking stuff!’”
7 Tom Payne Admits Disappointment With The Walking Dead
It appears Tom Payne was not the happiest with his character’s development on The Walking Dead. He was frustrated that the show failed to adapt the comic books’ “cooler” moments.
“By the time I got killed, I was disappointed,” Payne told fans during a panel at Fandemic Tour Atlanta last year. “I had told [producers], ‘Look, if we’re not going to do any of this cool stuff, like fighting Negan’ — there’s a lot of cool stuff he does in the comic books, and that was really the only thing that I had to go off. You don’t get the scripts in advance, so I read the comic books, and that’s how I did my preparation. I was like, ‘This is so cool, he gets to do all this stuff during All Out War.'”
“I was bummed that he never fought Negan and that he and Aaron weren’t the ones who took down Beta. That bummed me out. It’s such a big part of the comic books, and I know the show is different to the comic books, but Jesus did also live until the end. It would have been fun to see him with the Whisperers and all that stuff.”
6 Tom Payne Appeared In Prodigal Son
After appearing in The Walking Dead, Tom Payne played the lead in Fox’s crime drama Prodigal Son. The role was originally cast with Finn Jones, but during read-throughs, they decided he wasn’t right for the role.
Payne starred as Malcolm Bright, son of Dr. Martin Whitley aka “The Surgeon” (played by Michael Sheen), who as a child was responsible for enabling the police to arrest his father.
As son of serial killer Martin Whitley, Malcolm can view crimes from the killer’s perspective. This is something that causes him to live in constant fear of becoming like his father. He frequently visits his father in prison to help get insights into the criminal mind and to help finish the missing puzzle pieces of his father’s crimes.
5 Shock Cancelation Of Prodigal Son
Prodigal Son was shockingly canceled after just two seasons by Fox. It was canceled due to low rates for the slow, although it had earned a low fanbase.
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“What a trip. Playing Malcolm has been a joy and a privilege. The best cast on network TV and the most unique show around,” wrote lead Tom Payne upon hearing the news of the show’s cancelation. “We did it in style. Love to everyone who enjoyed it all along with us. And check out the last to eps! THEY ARE AMAZING.”
4 Tom Payne Recently Joined New Kevin Costner Western
Last year, Tom Payne teased that he would be joining fellow Walking Dead alum Michael Rooker in the new Kevin Costner-directed movie.
Co-written by Jon Baird, Horizon will chronicle 15 years of pre- and post-American Civil War during the westward expansion. The film’s narrative will be told through the eyes of several people and show their arduous journey west.
We expect to see the star-studded cast, which includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jamie Campbell Bower, Luke Wilson, Thomas Haden Church, Jena Malone and Isabelle Fuhrman battling the elements to build a home in the wild west.
3 Tom Panye Offered Cameos As The Walking Dead’s Jesus
Tom Payne became known for his long hair when he played Jesus in The Walking Dead. Just before cutting his hair for a project, the actor offered Cameos in character. Cameo is an app used by celebrities to record personalized messages to fans.
“Walking Dead is ending and I am also about to cut off my hair and beard again. Probably for the last time! So I wanted to give people the chance to get a video from “Jesus” before he’s never seen again,” Tom tweeted last summer.
Tom loves interacting with his fans as regularly attends fan events and conventions.
2 Tom Payne Married His Long Term Partner Twice
Tom Payne married his longtime love Jennifer Akerman in an elaborate Queens, New York wedding in November 2022. The pair began dating in 2013 and became engaged in 2018.
The ceremony was officiated by his Prodigal Son co-star Lou Diamond Phillips and stars like Bellamy Young, Jamie Chung, and Tyson Ritter were in attendance.
The couple originally married in December 2020 but the global pandemic stopped them from having the wedding of their dreams. “After having to cancel our wedding back in April and not knowing how long the world will be under lockdown, we felt like we still wanted to end this year as husband and wife, so we did,” Jennifer, a Swedish singer-songwriter wrote in December 2020.
“We were gonna do it in New York, we’ve kept all the bookings and everything, but we have a lot of people travelling from Europe, including our parents, who aren’t massively old but they’re getting on in age (I don’t want to do them a disservice!) so we don’t really want them gallivanting around the world,” Tom told BT in 2020.
1 Does Tom Payne Have Kids?
Tom Payne and Åkerman welcomed their first child, son Harrison Magnus Austin Payne, in January 2022.
The couple announced the happy news in the music video for her song South of the Border, in which Payne played the priest.
“Harrison Magnus Austin Payne, born January 5th. I can’t believe you’re here. We love you immeasurably and will always be there for you. The next big life adventure starts here!” He wrote on Instagram.
