Allen Payne was born July 7, 1968 in Harlem, New York. He started going to acting and dancing classes as a youngster and credits acting with keeping him away from the pitfalls and perils of the streets. He has appeared in several popular television shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, A Different World and The Cosby Show. On the big screen, Payne has been in some high profile and critically acclaimed movies like Mario Van Peebles’ New Jack City with Wesley Snipes, Vampire in Brooklyn with Angela Bassett and Eddie Murphy, The Tuskegee Airmen with Laurence Fishburne and Cuba Gooding Jr. and The Perfect Storm with George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg.

CJ, played by Allen Payne on Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, is a husband and father, constantly on the throes of losing his sanity and humor. When tragedy strikes, he is forced to move his family into the home of his uncle who raised him. Although he loves his uncle, CJ finds it difficult to accept his uncle’s outrageous parental methods. His struggles continue at work, where his uncle is also his boss at the fire station.


(Photo courtesy of TBS)