Jamie Bamber

Jamie St John Bamber Griffith (born 3 April 1973) is an English/American actor, known for his roles as Lee Adama in Battlestar Galactica and Detective Sergeant Matt Devlin in the ITV series Law & Order: UK. He also had a supporting role in the Hornblower series and was a regular on the British series Ultimate Force and Peak Practice. In 2013, Bamber starred in the TNT medical drama Monday Mornings, and in 2014, in the Sky 1 drama The Smoke.

Jamie Bamber
Bamber at the Phoenix Comicon in May 2012
Born
Jamie St John Bamber Griffith

(1973-04-03) 3 April 1973
Hammersmith, London, England, U.K.
OccupationActor
Years active1998–present
Spouse(s)Kerry Norton
Children3

Early life

Jamie Bamber holds citizenship in Britain and the United States through his American father and Northern Irish mother.

Bamber has five brothers and one sister, actress Anastasia Griffith.[1]

Bamber was educated at St Paul's School in London, and graduated with a first in Modern Languages (Italian and French) from St John's College, Cambridge, before attending and graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He is fluent in both languages, having spent part of his childhood in Paris.[2] Bamber appeared in the 1994 student film Shifting Sands.[3]

Acting career

Battlestar Galactica

Beginning in 2003, Bamber starred as Lee 'Apollo' Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica that started as a miniseries and served as a backdoor pilot for the 2004 television series on the US Sci Fi Channel (now Syfy). The show received critical acclaim and received a Peabody Award[4] plus a number of nominations in its four-season run; Bamber was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television for Battlestar Galactica in 2004.

In the role of Lee Adama, Londoner Bamber speaks with an American accent which is frequently cited for its accuracy;[5][6] he credits being exposed to his father's American accent from childhood. He also darkened his hair, in an effort to more closely resemble Edward James Olmos, who plays his character's father. Reciprocally, Olmos wore contact lenses with blue irises to match Bamber's eyes.[7]

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 pared 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.[8]

Other television roles
Bamber at Japan Expo in Paris in July 2009

Bamber is also well known for his role as DS Matt Devlin, the impulsive younger partner of veteran detective DS Ronnie Brooks (Bradley Walsh) on Law & Order: UK for the show's first five series, from 2009 to 2011.[9][10]

He played Lieutenant Archibald "Archie" Kennedy in the popular ITV series Hornblower, appearing in five of the eight television films in which Kennedy (rising in ranks from midshipman to lieutenant) has a much expanded role from that essayed in C.S. Forester's novels. Bamber also appeared as a trainee doctor in the final series of long running ITV soap Peak Practice, and portrayed an SAS officer in Ultimate Force; it was on a break from the latter, which he subsequently revealed as a job that he was not entirely happy with,[11] that he traveled to Los Angeles and read for Battlestar Galactica.

Bamber 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] In the BBC's Outcasts, Bamber portrayed a hot-tempered expeditionary leader amongst colonists of a distant planet in the late 21st century; though he had been offered a larger part in the series, he elected to take the supporting role in part because he was wary of following up Battlestar Galactica with another sci-fi series that bore a few similarities.[13] Other TV series in which he has made guest appearances include CSI: Miami, NCIS, House, Cold Case, Ghost Whisperer, The Last Detective, Body of Proof, Perception, Rizzoli & Isles and the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.

He played the role of detective Caolán Longstreet in 17th Precinct,[14] a pilot by Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore described as a police drama which takes place in a world governed by magic. The pilot was not picked up by NBC for the fall 2011 season; it would have also re-united him with his Galactica co-stars James Callis[15] and Tricia Helfer.[16]

Bamber at the 2007 Scream Awards

Bamber starred as neurosurgeon Dr. Tyler Wilson in Monday Mornings, the David E. Kelley-produced series for TNT, co-executive-produced by Sanjay Gupta and based on his novel of the same name.[17] The series debuted in February 2013; it was cancelled after one season.[18] In 2014 he played the lead role of Kev Allison, a London firefighter struggling to keep his personal and professional relationships together after a life-altering accident on the job, in The Smoke, a Kudos Television drama for Sky1 in the UK.[19]

He currently has supporting roles in two UK series: Marcella, returning for a second series in 2018; and Fearless. He also plays a recurring role in the 2018 STARZ series Counterpart and starred as Colonel Alexander Coltrane in the Cinemax series Strike Back

Film

Bamber played the starring role in the 2008 film Pulse 2: Afterlife, a direct-to-DVD sequel to 2006's Pulse.[20] Earlier he starred in The Devil's Tattoo (known as Ghost Rig in the US) along with Kerry Norton, who was later to become his wife.

He made his French-language acting debut in 2012 in Martin Valente's Un jour mon père viendra,[21] portraying the American fiancé of the female lead played by French pop star Olivia Ruiz. According to Bamber, his character is loosely based on Andre Agassi.[22] Most recently, he co-starred in the 2017 French romantic comedy L'Embarras du Choix alongside Alexandra Lamy and Arnaud Ducret.

In May 2011, Bamber completed filming John Doe: Vigilante, an Australian production directed by Kelly Dolen. The film was released in the United States on 21 March 2014.[23]

On 9 June 2015, Variety announced that Jamie Bamber, Kellan Lutz, Jesse Williams, and Jess Weixler had joined the cast of a thriller film titled Money, directed by Martin Rosete and produced by Atit Shah.[24]

Stage and radio

Bamber's stage appearances include Prince Hal in Henry IV Parts 1 and 2 at the Bristol Old Vic in 2002;[25] and in 2005 he appeared as Mephistopheles in Dr. Faustus;[26] at the Liverpool Playhouse.

He has also acted in radio serials; major roles include Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited and Philip in Where Angels Fear to Tread for BBC Radio 4.[27]

Personal life

Bamber is married to English actress and singer Kerry Norton who played Ishay, Doc Cottle's assistant on Battlestar Galactica. The couple have three daughters: Isla and identical twins Darcy and Ava.[28]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2001 The Devil's Tattoo Tom Released as Ghost Rig in the US
2008 Pulse 2: Afterlife Stephen Direct-to-DVD
2012 Un jour mon père viendra Stephen Astarti
2012 Filly Brown Sam
2012 Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse Robin Hood (voice) Direct-to-DVD
2013 Before I Sleep Paul
2014 John Doe: Vigilante John Doe
2015 The Better Half Jeff Ryan
2015 Numb Will
2016 Money John
2016 A New York Christmas Sam Martin
2017 L'Embarras du choix Paul
2018 Inferno: Skyscraper Escape[29] Tom Bronson

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1998–2001 Hornblower Lieutenant Archie Kennedy 5 episodes
1999 The Scarlet Pimpernel Lord Tony Dewhurst Episode: "The Scarlet Pimpernel"
2000 Agatha Christie's Poirot Ralph Paton Episode: "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"
2000 Lady Audley's Secret George Talboys Television film
2001 Bob Martin James Episode: "Big Break"
2001 Band of Brothers 2nd Lt. Jack Foley Miniseries; 3 episodes
2001–2002 Peak Practice Dr. Matt Kendal 8 episodes
2002–2003 Ultimate Force Lt. Dennis "Dotsy" Doheny 8 episodes
2002 Daniel Deronda Hans Meyrick Miniseries; 4 episodes
2003 Battlestar Galactica Lee 'Apollo' Adama Miniseries; 2 episodes
2004–2009 Main role; 68 episodes
2007 Battlestar Galactica: Razor Television film
2007 Cold Case Jack Kimball Episode: "Blood on the Tracks"
2007 Ghost Whisperer Bryan Curtis Episode: "The Walk-In"
2007 The Last Detective Luke Clayhill Episode: "Dangerous' Liaisons"
2009–2011 Law & Order: UK DS Matt Devlin Main role (series 1–5); 32 episodes
2009 Dollhouse Martin Klar Episode: "Vows"
2011 Outcasts Mitchell Hoban Episode: "Episode 1"
2011 CSI: Miami Ronnie Hale Episode: "Blown Away"
2011 House Bob Harris Episode: "The Confession"
2012 Body of Proof Aiden Welles 3 episodes
2012 Perception Dr. Michael Hathaway 3 episodes
2013 Monday Mornings Dr. Tyler Wilson Main role; 10 episodes
2014 The Smoke Kev Allison Main role; 8 episodes
2014–2015 Rizzoli & Isles Paul Wescourt 2 episodes
2014–2015 NCIS Jake Malloy 6 episodes
2015 The Messengers Vincent Plowman 3 episodes
2016–present Marcella DI Tim Williamson 14 episodes
2017 Fearless Matthew Wild 5 episodes
2017 Counterpart Eric Burton Episode: "The Crossing"
2019–2020 Strike Back Colonel Alexander Coltrane[30] 19 episodes

Web
Year Title Role Notes
2013 Star Trek Continues Mr. Simone Episode: "Pilgrim of Eternity"

Video games
Year Title Role
2011 Star Wars: The Old Republic Additional Voices
2013 Grand Theft Auto V The Local Population
2013 Dead Rising 3 Simon Merkin
gollark: Why did you fall into the ontologically unstable flooring?
gollark: GTech™.
gollark: Apologies, my network rotated.
gollark: It might have to be inset into a wall differently.
gollark: I think the issue is that the stone kind of sort of blocks lasers.

References
  1. April MacIntyre (15 August 2007). "A chat with FX 'Damages' Anastasia Griffith". Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2008.
  2. "Biography: Jamie Bamber". TCM.com.
  3. Shifting Sands official website Archived 5 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, with video clips of Bamber
  4. ""Battlestar Galactica" Wins Peabody Award". TV Fodder. 7 April 2006.
  5. "Today's Pop Five: MamaChockley's top American accents". USA Today. 28 January 2011.
  6. "The Best And Worst Fake American Accents From Scifi's Army Of Brits". io9. 4 August 2008.
  7. "Edward James Olmos faking eye color". Battlestar Blog. 27 March 2005. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010.
  8. Bassom, David; Bamber, Jamie (foreword) (August 2007). Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion Season Three. Titan Books. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-8457-6478-4.
  9. Dos Santos, Kristin; Jennifer Godwin (20 July 2008). "Exclusive: Holy Frak! Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber to Star in Law & Order: UK". Watch with Kristin. E! Online. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
  10. Walmsley, Clare. "Law & Order gets UK makeover", BBC News, 22 February 2009.
  11. "Jamie Bamber Galactica.TV Interview, MegaCon 2007". Galactica.tv. 8 March 2007.
  12. Phillips, Jevon (25 September 2009). "'Dollhouse': Jamie Bamber talks about his marriage to Eliza Dushku's Echo". Los Angeles Times.
  13. "Jamie Bamber Talks 'Battlestar Galactica,' 'Outcasts' and 'Law & Order: UK'". AOL TV. 17 June 2011.
  14. "PILOT CASTINGS: Rob Huebel Gets Fox's 'Family Album' After FX Passes On 'USS Alabama', Jamie Bamber To '17th Precinct'". Deadline. 15 February 2011.
  15. "Enrique Murciano, Rebecca Mader & James Callis Among Latest Pilot Cast Additions". Deadline. 3 March 2011.
  16. "'Battlestar' Alumna Tricia Helfer Joins Ron Moore's NBC Pilot '17th Precinct'". Deadline. 4 March 2011.
  17. "'PILOT CASTINGS: Jamie Bamber In 'Chelsea General', Two Join Sarah Silverman Comedy'". Deadline.com. 2 February 2012.
  18. "'TNT Picks Up David E. Kelley/Sanjay Gupta Medical Pilot 'Monday Mornings' To Series'". Deadline.com. 8 May 2012.
  19. "Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber Cast In Sky1′s 'The Smoke'". TV Wise. 23 March 2013..
  20. Barton, Steve (22 September 2008). "Pulse 2". Dread Central. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  21. Un jour mon père viendra, uniFrance
  22. "A quick chat with Jamie Bamber". What's On TV. 6 September 2010.
  23. "John Doe: Vigilante – In Theaters 3.21.14!". Main Street Films. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  24. Hopewell, John; Mayorga, Emilio (9 June 2015). "Bamber, Lutz, Williams, Weixler Set For Money". Variety.
  25. "SciFi Channel Bio: Jamie Bamber". Archived from the original on 6 December 2010.
  26. Review of Dr. Faustus from thestage.co.uk
  27. "Jamie Bamber".
  28. "'The Internet's Sexiest Guys'". People Magazine. 15 November 2006.
  29. Summer, Eric (2017), Crystal Inferno, Claire Forlani, Jamie Bamber, Riley Jackson, retrieved 3 February 2018
  30. Petskidate=May 31, 2018, Denise. "'Strike Back': Jamie Bamber & Yasemin Allen Join Cast As Season 6 Production Begins". Deadline. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
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