Last Man Standing: characters


Bruno Palmer (played by Travis McMahon)

Travis McMahon

Curiously charming in a too-much-information kind of way, Bruno doesn’t hate himself. He doesn’t mind himself, actually. He just can’t figure out why no-one else seems to feel the same way.

It could be because 29-year-old Bruno isn’t what you’d call traditionally attractive. He’s certainly far from ugly, but he’s what the ladies might refer to as ‘interesting’. He’s got ‘character’. It’s just that the combination of his slightly desperate air, sexual innuendo and inability to think before speaking tend to send women running. Adam and Cameron are constantly on his case about changes Bruno might wish to make should he desire interest from the opposite sex, but it seems no matter what Bruno does he can’t get lucky. Or if he does get lucky it’s always with some psycho hose beast with psoriasis who speaks in tongues. Not that he’s picky.

He had his heart broken a few years back by a woman whom Adam and Cameron snidely refer to as ‘Mad Margot’. The emotionally manipulative Margot well and truly did a job on Bruno and occasionally appears in his life to snap her fingers and have him jumping. Poor Bruno does his best to resist the charms of his poisonous ex but when you’re having a dry spell and love is being offered on tap it’s hard to say no, even though you know you’ll end up worse off than before.

Bruno’s got an incredible knack of saying the wrong thing at the right time and the right thing at the wrong time. Adam’s made him a black belt in the art of foot-in-mouth, and even Bruno concedes tact isn’t his strong point. But he’s a nurse, he’s supposed to call is straight. And don’t even start him on the homosexual jibes. Bruno’s defensive about his job and the sexual connotations that come with it. He’s there to save lives, dammit!...or at least, mop up after. He has a beautiful relationship with his female co-workers who dote on him like a hopeless younger brother. Bruno’s used to being teased by them and enjoys giving as good as he gets. And maybe one holds a torch for him, not that he would notice.

You can’t help but like him. He’s like your embarrassing cousin from Perth, only more frank about his shortcomings and peccadilloes. And even though he’ll readily bag out Adam and Cameron to their faces, he won’t hear a word against them in mixed company. Bruno’s been mates with the other two since high school. He has a strong moral code and doesn’t respect or appreciate cruelty. If Bruno’s able to tell it like it is, he doesn’t see why anyone else has to beat around the bush.

He’s not intimidated by Cameron’s looks, or Adam’s boyish charm—Bruno’s confident that he’s got his own attributes, including very good personal hygiene that a lady may find attractive and he’s prepared to exploit them at any given moment. Part of Bruno’s appeal is his defiance to throw in the towel, no matter how hopeless a situation. It is this defiance however that tends to give him a slightly obsessive nature—Bruno’s famous for not being able to just let something drop once it bothers him.

He’s more than aware of his failings, and happy to be the punching bag in any given verbal stoush. He’s got thick skin and has a deep love for the guitar. His favourite band is Dire Straits. He is an only child and very close to his middle-class parents.