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Max Payne
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Max Payne · Characters
Max Payne Characters: Mona Sax, the Punchinellos and Horne
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The main characters of Max Payne (2001) are Max Payne, voiced by James McCaffrey, an NYPD detective and undercover DEA agent whose wife and daughter were murdered; Mona Sax, the contract killer (Julia Murney); the Punchinello crime family, from underboss Jack Lupino to Don Angelo Punchinello; Russian mobster Vladimir Lem; and the real villain, Nicole Horne, head of the Aesir corporation (Jane Gennaro).
Character Profiles
Max Payne
Protagonist
Voiced by James McCaffrey
Full profile →Nicole Horne
Main villain
Voiced by Jane Gennaro
Profile below ↓Alfred Woden
Inner Circle senator
Voiced by John Randolph Jones
Profile below ↓Mona Sax
Contract killer
Profile under Max Payne 2
Full profile →Vladimir Lem
Russian mob boss
Profile under Max Payne 2
Full profile →Every Main Character and Voice Actor
| Character | Who they are | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
Max Payne | NYPD detective and undercover DEA agent | James McCaffrey |
Michelle Payne | Max's wife, murdered in 1998 | Haviland Morris |
Mona Sax | Contract killer, twin sister of Punchinello's wife | Julia Murney |
Alex Balder | Max's DEA colleague and friend | Chris Phillips |
B.B. | DEA colleague secretly working for Horne | Adam Grupper |
Jack Lupino | Punchinello underboss | Jeff Gurner |
Vinnie Gognitti | Lupino's right-hand man | Joe Dallo |
Vladimir Lem | Russian mobster at war with Punchinello | Dominic Hawksley |
Angelo Punchinello | Don of the Punchinello crime family | Joe Ragno |
Nicole Horne | Head of the pharmaceutical company Aesir | Jane Gennaro |
Alfred Woden | Leader of the Inner Circle | John Randolph Jones |
Max's face in this game is modelled on Sam Lake. His full story across the series is on the Max Payne character page.
The Punchinello Family and the Valkyr Drug
The Punchinello family controls the trade of Valkyr, the designer drug behind the murder of Max's family. Max goes after them in order: Jack Lupino, then Vinnie Gognitti, then the Don himself, before learning that Punchinello is only a puppet of Nicole Horne. The story is told on our Max Payne story page.
More Max Payne on GTAside
The rest of the series: Max Payne 2, Max Payne 3. Max himself, across all three games, on the Max Payne character page.
Alfred Woden: The Senator Who Pulls the Strings
Alfred Woden is a senator and a leader of the Inner Circle, a secret society, in Max Payne (2001) and Max Payne 2 (2003). He helps Max Payne against Nicole Horne, then employs Mona Sax in his war against Vladimir Lem, who kills him. John Randolph Jones voices him in Max Payne and John Braden in Max Payne 2; his face in the first game is modelled on Sam Lake's father.
JobSenator
SocietyThe Inner Circle
Voiced byJohn Randolph Jones (MP1)
Killed byVladimir Lem
Woden in Max Payne
| Chapter | What happens |
|---|---|
Let the Gun Do the Talking | A mysterious caller warns Max by phone |
Angel of Death | He calls Max again at Punchinello's manor |
In the Land of the Blind | Woden meets Max with the Inner Circle, names Horne and asks Max to kill her in exchange for clearing his name; Horne's men attack, and Woden survives |
The ending | Woden smiles from the crowd as Max is arrested, a sign he will protect him |
Woden's Secret
Woden sent the Project Valhalla file to the District Attorney's office, where Michelle Payne found it, which led to her death. Horne blackmailed the Inner Circle. More on Nicole Horne.
Woden in Max Payne 2 and His Death
In Max Payne 2, Max owes his return to the police to Woden's Inner Circle connections. Woden tells Max that Vlad is behind the Cleaners, and employs Mona Sax in the Inner Circle's war against Vlad. Vladimir Lem kills Woden at his manor. More on Vladimir Lem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Alfred Woden?
A senator and leader of the Inner Circle who helps Max against Horne, then employs Mona in Max Payne 2.
Is Woden responsible for the death of Max's family?
Indirectly: he sent the Project Valhalla file that Michelle found.
Who kills Alfred Woden?
Vladimir Lem.
Who voices Alfred Woden?
John Randolph Jones in Max Payne and John Braden in Max Payne 2.
Does Woden survive the Inner Circle attack in Max Payne?
Yes.
Nicole Horne: The Woman Behind Valkyr
Nicole Horne is the main antagonist of Max Payne (2001): the head of Aesir, the company behind the drug Valkyr, and a former member of the Inner Circle. She ordered the murder of Max Payne's family. Max kills her at the end of the game. Jane Gennaro voices her, and her face is modelled on the mother of writer Sam Lake.
Voiced byJane Gennaro
CompanyAesir
DrugValkyr
Dies inPain and Suffering
Nicole Horne and Project Valhalla
Project Valhalla was a military program to boost soldiers' stamina, cancelled and then secretly restarted by Horne to make Valkyr. When Michelle Payne found out, Horne had Michelle and her family killed. Horne supplies Valkyr to the Punchinello family, whose don is only her puppet, and her private army is known as the Killer Suits. More on Max Payne.
Horne's Role in the Story
| Chapter | What happens |
|---|---|
Angel of Death | At Punchinello's manor, Horne's men kill Punchinello and Max is injected with a Valkyr overdose and left for dead |
The Deep Six | Horne sets off the self-destruct of the Aesir bunker to erase the evidence |
In the Land of the Blind | Alfred Woden names Horne, and her men attack the Inner Circle meeting |
Nothing to Lose | Horne orders Mona Sax to kill Max |
How Does Nicole Horne Die?
In Pain and Suffering, the final chapter, Max shoots the guy wires of the broadcast antenna on the Aesir tower, which falls onto Horne's helicopter and kills her. More on Alfred Woden.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who killed Max Payne's wife?
Junkies high on Valkyr, on Nicole Horne's orders, because Michelle had found the Project Valhalla file.
How does Nicole Horne die?
Max brings the rooftop antenna down on her helicopter in Pain and Suffering.
Who voices Nicole Horne?
Jane Gennaro.
Whose face is Nicole Horne's?
Sam Lake's mother's.
What is Aesir in Max Payne?
Nicole Horne's company, behind Valkyr.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who voices Max Payne?
James McCaffrey, in all three Max Payne games.
Who is the villain in Max Payne?
Nicole Horne, head of the Aesir corporation, who ordered the murder of Max's family.
Who is Mona Sax?
A contract killer, voiced by Julia Murney in the first game, who wants revenge on Don Punchinello.
Whose face is Max Payne in the first game?
Sam Lake's.
Who killed Alex Balder?
An unseen assassin in the subway station. B.B., who was working for Horne, framed Max for it.
Who is Vladimir Lem?
A Russian mobster at war with the Punchinello family, who helps Max in the first game.