| “ | Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you are a little TURD that can't hold your liquid out in public! | „ |
| ~ Major Payne to Tiger (near beginning of movie). |
Maj. Benson Winifred Payne is the titular main protagonist in the 1995 film of the same name.
He was portrayed by Damon Wayans.
Appearance[]
Personality[]
Benson seems to share the same personality traits as one would expect from a battle-hardened Marine, being stubborn and bullheaded, focusing purely on his military career. As such, rather than being fearful of the dangerous missions and assignments given to him, Benson is instead capable of remaining calm and looking forward to the potential carnage that he could cause on the battlfield. Rather pragmatic and uncaring, and downright impracticable. in the event that a fellow soldier is in pain, he could cause another wound to make them forget about the first one, while causing them to complain about the second one. It possible that his nonstandard and harsh personality traits caused him to even be passed up for promotion despite his military record.
Interacting with the Madison Preparatory School's JROTC members, Benson didn't change much compared to his time in the military, being harsh and critical of their peformance. Often resulting in him using methods in ensuring the group performed to their best, to the point of pulling a grenade to make them run a obstacle course. However, interacting with them and putting up with their antics, Benson showed much more of a childish side of himself, often responding to pranks in kind.
Compared to them, though rough, he has a much softer spot for Tiger, first attempting to interact with him in a friendlier manner. However, in response to being hugged, Benson's reaction to the genuine show of affection caused him to react irregularly, obviously not used to such a thing and reacting to it by putting him in a headlock, describing the hug as making him feel "funny".
History[]
Childhood[]
Not much is known about Benson's past, aside from the fact that at the age of 6, he had a full-time job, showing that he had a rather rough upbringing, which could have caused resulted in how he turned out as an adult. At some point, possibly, after turning 18, Benson ended up joining the military.
Adulthood[]
Payne is a major in the marines who transferred to an academy to teach a group of socially disabled and misfit kids JROTC. Near the beginning of the movie, he knocks out a guy in a play that "abused" his wife and almost killed the guy, as he was trying to become a police officer. His main intention was to beat other schools and doesnt really care about the fact that you dont need to win. When he saw the students, he immediately ruled the cadet with an iron fist. Due to his past, he is incredibly cold-hearted and has little sympathy. He is not much of a team player.
This causes him to need counseling from a female faculty member named Emily. He needed to be more sympathetic to the students, especially for 6-year-old Tiger. At one point, when Emily asks for him to be nice to him, he tells Tiger to go to bed and shows a knife to him. He then also murders the "bed monster". Though he means well in his tough methods, they are a bit extreme, but enduring towards the competition. A man, who was Alex Stone's father, tried to beat Major Payne up, but he beat him back and won very strong. However, Payne must learn how to receive the trophy fairly, and they win through that way. Though he becomes more sympathetic, he is still a dictatorial figure and becomes Tiger's best friend.