‘I HAVE MOMENTS — I WAS SITTING IN MY HOUSE IN L.A. LAST WEEK JUST SMILING, LIKE, THIS IS IT’

Since the concept was created in the 1950s, the American dream has always contained some degree of false hope. Though that hasn’t prevented many millions feeling the warmth of its glow. Sixty years later, it’s fair to say Tom Payne has created his own luck, and accordingly he has made it on U.S. soil. Born in Chelmsford, in the English county of Essex, the actor uprooted to Los Angeles eight years ago to pursue a life he’d been told was unrealistic. He was labelled cocky on his home turf, and his positivity was derided. But his outlook was embraced on the other side of the Atlantic. Payne landed a role in HBO’s (ironically named) series Luck in 2010, and with that he moved to the sunny pastures of California. It appeared to be an effortless move, but there have been hurdles. Luck was cancelled after one season, and Tom’s next ‘big break’, the historical drama The Physician, turned out to be big only in Germany. What followed was a difficult time professionally, and Payne’s living arrangements were hardly luxurious. He says: “I had one person in my spare room, one person on my couch, and another person on my living-room