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As a writer/producer for "The Single Guy" and "Mad About You," Steve Paymer is used to putting funny words in other people's mouths while the audience applauds, which makes his new gig in front of the cameras even more exhilarating. He plays Leonard Prince, a depressed neighbor and college archivist whose low energy contrasts with the manic energy of everyone else around him.
"Leonard is based on a certain aspect of my own personality," says Paymer, whose acting had largely been confined to two brief roles on "Mad About You" as Dutch, a talkative video-store clerk. "Leonard is kind of a sweet, lonely guy who is too negative and probably overly self-indulgent," says Paymer, affectionately. "He's described in the script as a 'depressive schlump,' and I guess that's me to a certain extent."
Paymer was born in Manhattan and raised in Oceanside (on Long Island). Before his parents' divorce, his father, a professor of musicology, and his mother, a travel agent, instilled in their two sons an appreciation for theater and film. After graduating from Emerson College in Boston with a B.S. in mass communications, Paymer directed radio newscasts and edited news film for three years at NBC News in New York. In the early 1980s, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in screenwriting. In 1984, he teamed with his younger brother, David (who recently co-starred in "Quiz Show" and was an Oscar nominee for "Mr. Saturday Night"), to write and produce "Best Man," an equity waiver play.
In 1988, Paymer enrolled in an improvisational comedy workshop, which he credits for developing his writing skills and teaching him to relax as a performer. At about the same time, he became a staff writer on the series "The New Leave It to Beaver," and the next year, he sold two scripts to "Roseanne," which led to a series staff position in the 1989-90 season. The next year, he joined the comedy series "Davis Rules" as story editor.
In 1992-93, Paymer was named co-producer and writer at NBC's "Mad About You." Working with Danny Jacobson, the series' co-creator and executive producer, he remained with the series for two years before leaving to be co-producer on "Madman of the People." In 1995, Paymer became co-producer on "The Single Guy" (where he also briefly played a chain-smoking doctor in one episode) before recently leaving to assume his role on "Boston Common." His other writing/producing credits include the comedy-action feature "Detonator" and two comedy pilots.
The character of Leonard was created by fellow "Single Guy" writers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan with Paymer in mind -- but Paymer still had to undergo the nerve-wracking audition process before winning the role (after getting some helpful advice from David, whom he describes as "the greatest acting teacher in the world").
Paymer's reverence for the film medium as art extends to an encyclopedic knowledge of movies. "There's always more to learn," he says. "Hopefully, this is just the beginning." Paymer resides in Los Angeles. His birthday is September 28.
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