Bruce Payne plays Echo in Wonderland 1988 Bruce Payne plays Echo, a silent, threatening presence that pursues Eddie and Michael throughout the film."The character has changed quite a lot since I first read the script. It's become very clean and pristine," says Bruce. "You can perceive it in two ways: as a real person, a murderer who is pursuing the two boys because they have witnessed his crime; or as a paranoid threat that only exists in their minds. Frank sees Echo as the Angel of Darkness which counter-balances the Angel of Mercy contained in the spirit of the dolphin. It's almost a surreal area, you're constantly treading a fine line between theatrical truth and reality truth. I've tried to make him as charming as possible, very European, very slick. He has an ethereal quality; he could come from anywhere." Before training at RADA, Bruce Payne was involved in a lot of amateur theatre and was a member of the National Youth Theatre. Extensive work on television has included "Tales Out of School" for Central, "West", "Operation Julie", "Smart Money", "Lost Belongings" and, most recently, "The Bell Run". His film credits include "Privates on Parade", "The Keep", "Oxford Blues", "Billy The Kid and the Green Baize Vampire", "Absolute Beginners" and "Solar Babies". As well as his role in "The Fruit Machine", he has just completed "For Queen and Country". In the theatre he has appeared in "Piaf" at the Theatre Royal, York, "The Rocky Horror Show" at the Palace Theatre, Westcliffe, "West" at the Donmar Warehouse, and "Alice" at the Playhouse Theatre, Leeds. Payne is currently appearing in "Greek" at the Wyndham Theatre.