Dave Payton has been acting since his elementary-school days in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from college with a BA in English, he toured with the professional Christian acting company Covenant Players, where he performed all over the country in churches, schools, prisons, and nursing homes. After his tour, he returned to Brooklyn where he was Pee Wee the Seagull, one of the mascots for the New York Mets single-A team, the Brooklyn Cyclones.