Which actor played the villain Bruno Antony in 'Strangers on a Train'?

Robert Walker played the villain Bruno Antony in Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951). Walker portrays Bruno as charming, wealthy, and outwardly controlled, but beneath that polished surface is a manipulative killer who proposes exchanging murders with tennis player Guy Haines.

Bruno meets Guy on a train and suggests that each man kill someone the other wants removed. Bruno offers to murder Guy’s troublesome wife, Miriam, in exchange for Guy killing Bruno’s father. Guy treats the idea as a joke, but Bruno takes the conversation seriously and murders Miriam, forcing Guy into the dangerous arrangement.

Walker’s performance is central to the film’s psychological tension. Bruno is not presented as a conventional threatening brute; his confidence, wit, and social ease make him more disturbing. The story explores doubles, crossed identities, and the fear that an innocent person can become trapped by another person’s obsession.

A frequent mix-up is confusing Walker’s role with the film’s protagonist. Farley Granger played Guy Haines, while Robert Walker played Bruno. Cary Grant and James Stewart were major Hitchcock stars in other films, but neither played Bruno. The movie was adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s 1950 novel, though the film changes important character and plot details.