Many actors mature into character roles, while others -- like David Paymer -- were born to play them. A New York native, Paymer was born Aug. 30, 1954, on Long Island and studied theater at the University of Michigan before being cast as Sonny Latieri in the touring company of "Grease" (a part he reprised on Broadway).Paymer made his film bow three years later in The In-Laws (1979) and from there took on a long string of supporting roles on TV shows such as "Cagney & Lacey" and "The Commish." In 1991, Paymer played an ice cream magnate in City Slickers, which led co-star Billy Crystal to cast him as Stan Yankelman in Mr. Saturday Night. Aging from 20 to 75 for the part, Paymer garnered an Oscar nod for his work.
Other important films for Paymer include 1994's Quiz Show (playing real-life TV producer Dan Enright), Get Shorty (1995), State and Main (2000) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007).
Payback: Straight Up: The Director's CutPayback is bad guy Porter's (Mel Gibson) MO after his wife (Deborah Kara Unger) and partner (Gregg Henry) steal his heist money and leave him for dead -- or so they think. Director Brian Helgeland was cut from the project upon negative reactions to his dark, violent action thriller. Seven years... Read More
School of LifeStodgy educator Matt Warner (David Paymer) -- who's determined to carry on his late father's legacy of winning the Teacher of the Year award -- suddenly finds himself competing with charismatic new history teacher Michael D'Angelo (Ryan Reynolds) in this made-for-TV family tale. In an effort to... Read More
CarpoolEndearing Franklin Laszlo (Tom Arnold) is an unlikely bank robber, but that's what he does. During one bungled robbery attempt, he's forced to take some unusual hostages: a bus filled with kids and Daniel (David Paymer), a wound-up advertising workaholic. Leave it to Franklin to win over the kids... Read More
Mr. Saturday NightActor-director Billy Crystal gives a searing portrayal of fictional comic Buddy Young Jr., a classic borscht belt stand-up comedian whose skills can't sustain a career undermined by his acidic self-loathing. A character study with bite, Mr. Saturday Night features the underrated David Paymer as... Read More
Enemies of LaughterNerdy-looking Paul (David Paymer) is a neurotic, failed sitcom writer with a lackluster love life. But his best pal (Judge Reinhold) has an idea that might turn things around when he decides to film Paul's life and turn his romantic disasters into a comedic documentary. When a beautiful young... Read More
The Five-Year Engagement (2012) | NR | |
Drag Me to Hell (2009) | PG-13 | |
Ocean's Thirteen (2007) | PG-13 | |
Resurrecting the Champ (2007) | PG-13 | |
UR | ||
School of Life (2005) | PG | |
PG-13 | ||
Checking Out (2005) | PG-13 | |
Warm Springs (2005) | TV-PG | |
Balto 3: Wings of Change (2004) | G | |
In Good Company (2004) | PG-13 | |
Alex and Emma (2003) | PG-13 | |
Joe and Max (2002) | PG-13 | |
Bartleby (2002) | PG-13 | |
The Burial Society (2002) | R | |
RFK (2002) | NR | |
For Love or Country (2001) | PG-13 | |
Focus (2001) | PG-13 | |
PG-13 | ||
State and Main (2000) | R | |
Bait (2000) | R | |
Enemies of Laughter (2000) | NR | |
Payback (1999) | R | |
Partners (1999) | R | |
Mighty Joe Young (1998) | PG | |
Gang Related (1997) | R | |
Amistad (1997) | R | |
The 6th Man (1997) | PG-13 | |
The Long Way Home (1997) | NR | |
Unforgettable (1996) | R | |
Carpool (1996) | PG | |
TV-14 | ||
The American President (1995) | PG-13 | |
R | ||
Get Shorty (1995) | R | |
Cagney & Lacey: The Return (1994) | NR | |
Quiz Show (1994) | PG-13 | |
In Search of Dr. Seuss (1994) | NR | |
PG | ||
Heart and Souls (1993) | PG-13 | |
Mr. Saturday Night (1992) | R | |
NR | ||
City Slickers (1991) | PG-13 | |
Irreconcilable Differences (1984) | PG | |
The In-Laws (1979) | PG | |
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