In 1992, Payne was cast in his best-known role, opposite Wesley Snipes, as a "notorious terrorist and hijacker", with a steely, demonic nerve, named Charles Rane, in Passenger 57. Marcus Trower of Empire stated that Payne was "a brilliantly disconcerting MadMan. With his flowing blond Jesus locks, armour-piercing stare and Casual sadism, he makes Hannibal Lecter look like a social worker – and like Anthony Hopkins' serial killer, part of the man's menace is in the apparent contradiction between his articulate, well-spoken English and his off-hand brutality." The Radio Times stated that Payne and Snipes both gave "charismatic turns" in the film. The New York Times stated that Payne brought a 'tongue-in-cheek humor to the psychopathic fiend'. A reviewer for People magazine stated that "Bruce Payne steals the plane—and the movie". In an article for the Waterloo Region Record, Jamie Portman described Payne as a "suave and cultivated English actor" playing "a suave and cultivated killer named Charles Rane" and suggested that a "key reason Director Kevin Hooks chose him for the role was that he wanted a villain with as much magnetism as the hero". Payne was described as "icily perfect as the villainous Rane" in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Julius Marshall stated that Payne was "ideal for his role: charming, dangerous – the kind of evil genius you love to hate". The Star Tribune stated that 'Bruce Payne makes a splendid psychopath, consistently stealing scenes from the likes of Wesley Snipes and Elizabeth Hurley throughout Passenger 57'.