Jamie Bamber
Jamie Bamber | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Jamie Bamber at the 2007 Scream Awards. | |
| Born | Jamie St John Bamber Griffith |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1998-present |
| Spouse | Kerry Norton |
Jamie Bamber (born 3 April 1973) is a British actor, known most widely for his role as Lee Adama on Battlestar Galactica.
Early life
Bamber was born Jamie St John Bamber Griffith in Hammersmith, London, to Northern Irish mother Elizabeth and an American father Ralph. He holds derivative American citizenship through his father though he retains his British nationality. Bamber has five brothers and a sister, actress Anastasia Griffith.[1]
Bamber was educated at St Paul's School in Barnes, London, and received a first class honours degree in Modern Languages (Italian and French) from St John's College, Cambridge, before attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[2]
Battlestar Galactica
From 2003-2009, Bamber starred as Lee 'Apollo' Adama, a Captain in the Colonial Fleet, in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica on the US SciFi (now SyFy) Channel. Since its release, the show received critical acclaim from the American media and was honored with a number of awards and award nominations in its four-season run.; Bamber was nominated, but did not win,a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for Battlestar Galactica in 2004.[3]. Despite the show's loyal fanbase, it suffered from low ratings and was canceled following its fourth season.
In the role of Lee Adama, Londoner Bamber speaks with an American accent. He also has darkened hair, in an effort to more closely resemble Edward James Olmos, who plays his character's father. Reciprocally, Olmos wears contact lenses with blue irises to match Bamber's eyes.[4]
Bamber wrote the foreword for Titan Books' Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season Three by David Bassom. Of the show's dramatic resonance, he said:
"...that's what good drama lets us do. It allows us to see and to feel things we otherwise would not. And great drama allows us to do that on every level: the psychological, the personal and the political. I am proud to say that in the paired down world of Battlestar Galactica there is no plot, no character and no relationship that does not breathe the oxygen of all three levels at once."
[5].
When asked about the possibility of participating in a film re-creation of Battlestar Galactica, Bamber said he was open to the possibility but felt that that chapter was now closed.
Other work
Bamber has also had roles in the theatre. In 2005 he received good reviews for his performance as Mephistopheles in Dr Faustus[6]; he also portrayed Prince Hal in Henry IV at the Bristol Old Vic[7]. As well as this, he has acted on the radio, playing major roles such as Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited and Philip in Where Angels Fear to Tread for BBC Radio 4.[8] He also played the starring role in 2008's film Pulse 2: Afterlife.[9], a direct-to-DVD movie that received very poor reviews and that was felt to do him little credit.
He currently stars in the new ITV series Law & Order: UK as Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin.[10][11]
He guest starred in the second season premiere of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse where his character is wed to Echo, played by Eliza Dushku, during one of her missions.[12]
Personal life
Bamber is married to British actress Kerry Norton; the couple have three daughters. [13]
Bamber has appeared naked in an ad for PETA opposing the killing of Canadian black bears for the purpose of making ceremonial headgear for the Household Cavalry. In a February 2, 2010 interview with Francesca Babb of the News of the World, Bamber said that he was not naked but merely 'naked from the waist up' [14]
Filmography
Starring roles
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
| 1998 | Hornblower: The Even Chance | Midshipman Archie Kennedy | TV |
| 1999 | Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil | Midshipman Archie Kennedy | TV |
| 1999 | Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters | Acting Lt Archie Kennedy | TV |
| 1999 | The Scarlet Pimpernel | Lord Tony Dewhurst | Mini Series |
| 2000 | Lady Audley's Secret | George Talboys | TV |
| 2000 | The Murder of Roger Ackroyd | Ralph Paton | TV |
| 2001 | Peak Practice | Dr Matt Kendal | (2001-2002) TV Series |
| 2001 | Band of Brothers | 2nd Lt Jack Foley | Mini Series |
| 2001 | Hornblower: Retribution | 4th Lt Archie Kennedy | TV |
| 2001 | Hornblower: Mutiny | 4th Lt Archie Kennedy | TV |
| 2001 | The Devil's Tattoo (UK) Ghost Rig (US) | Tom | Film |
| 2002 | Ultimate Force | Lt Dotsy Doheny | (2002-2003) TV Series |
| 2002 | Daniel Deronda | Hans Meyrick | TV |
| 2003 | Battlestar Galactica | Captain Lee 'Apollo' Adama | Mini Series |
| 2004 | Battlestar Galactica | Lee 'Apollo' Adama | (2004-2009) TV Series |
| 2008 | Pulse 2: Afterlife | Stephen | Film |
| 2009 | Law & Order: UK | Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin | (2009-present) TV Series |
Bamber also appeared in the 1994 student film Shifting Sands.[15]
Guest-starring roles
| Year | Title | Role | Episode |
| 2000 | Poirot | Ralph Paton | 8.1 "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" |
| 2001 | Bob Martin | James | 2.2 "Big break" |
| 2004 | This Morning | Himself | |
| 2006 | The Last Detective | Luke | |
| 2007 | Ghost Whisperer | Bryan Curtis | 2.17 "The Walk In" |
| 2007 | Cold Case | Jack Kimball | 4.15 "Blood on the Tracks" |
| 2009 | Dollhouse | Martin Klar | 2.1 "Vows" |
References
- ^ April MacIntyre (15 August 2007). "A chat with FX 'Damages' Anastasia Griffith". Monsters and Critics. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
- ^ "TCM.com Biography: Jamie Bamber". TCM.com.
- ^ "Jamie Bamber: Awards @ IMDB". Internet Movie Database.
- ^ "Edward James Olmos faking eye color". Battlestar Blog. March 27, 2005.
- ^ Bassom, David (2007). Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season Three. Titan Books. p. 9. ISBN 84576-478-1.
{{cite book}}: Check|isbn=value: length (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Review of Dr Faustus from thestage.co.uk
- ^ "SciFi Channel Bio: Jamie Bamber".
- ^ Jamie's page on RadioListings.com
- ^ Pulse 2: Afterlife (2008)(V) from Internet Movie Database
- ^ Dos Santos, Kristin (2008-07-20). "Exclusive: Holy Frak! Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber to Star in Law & Order: UK". Watch with Kristin. E! Online. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Law & Order gets UK makeover from BBC News
- ^ Jevon Phillips (September 25, 2009). "'Dollhouse': Jamie Bamber talks about his marriage to Eliza Dushku's Echo". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "'The Internet's Sexiest Guys'". People Magazine. 2006-11-15.
- ^ Francesca Babb (2010-02-10). "'Cop Idol Jamie Bamber Speaks Out!". News of the World.
- ^ Shifting Sands official website, with video clips of Bamber
External links
- Jamie Bamber at TV Guide
- Jamie Bamber at IMDb