Jamie Bamber Biography

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

Early life

Bamber was born in Hammersmith, London, to Elizabeth Bamber, a native of Northern Ireland and Ralph Griffith, an American. He holds British, Irish and American citizenship. Bamber has five brothers and one sister, actress Anastasia Griffith.

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. Bamber appeared in the 1994 student film Shifting Sands.

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 U.S. Sci Fi Channel (now Syfy). The show received critical acclaim and received a Peabody Award plus a number of nominations in its four-season run; Bamber was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor 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; 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.

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.

Other television roles

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 from 2009-2011.

He played Lieutenant Archibald "Archie" Kennedy in the popular ITV series Hornblower, appearing in five of the eight made-for-TV movies 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, 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. 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. Other TV series in which he has made guest appearances include CSI: Miami, House, Cold Case, Ghost Whisperer, The Last Detective and the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. Most recently, he had recurring roles on ABC's Body of Proof, and the TNT series Perception.

He played the role of detective Caolán Longstreet in 17th Precinct, 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 and Tricia Helfer.

In 2013 Bamber starred as neurosurgeon Dr. Tyler Wilson in Monday Mornings (briefly titled Chelsea General), the David E. Kelley-produced series for TNT, co-executive-produced by Sanjay Gupta and based on his novel of the same name. The series debuted in February 2013; it was cancelled after one season. He is currently filming the lead role of Kev Allison in The Smoke, an upcoming Kudos Television drama for Sky1 in the UK which focuses on a team of London firefighters; it is expected to air in early 2014.

Film

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

He made his French-language acting debut in Martin Valente's Un jour mon père viendra, 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. The film also stars François Berléand and Gérard Jugnot,. It was released in France in January 2012.

In May 2011, Bamber completed filming John Doe, an Australian production directed by Kelly Dolen. The film's release date is still to be determined.

Stage and radio

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

Personal life

Bamber is married to British actress and singer Kerry Norton. The couple have three daughters: Isla, and identical twins Darcy and Ava. In his free time, Bamber is a known water-skiing enthusiast.

Filmography

Starring roles

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1998	Hornblower: The Even Chance	Archie Kennedy	TV
1999	Hornblower: The Duchess and the Devil	Archie Kennedy	TV
1999	Hornblower: The Frogs and the Lobsters	Archie Kennedy	TV
1999	The Scarlet Pimpernel	Lord Tony Dewhurst	Miniseries
2000	Lady Audley's Secret	George Talboys	TV
2001"2002	Peak Practice	Dr. Matt Kendal	TV series
2001	Band of Brothers	2nd Lt Jack Foley	Miniseries
2001	Hornblower: Mutiny	Archie Kennedy	TV
2001	Hornblower: Retribution	Archie Kennedy	TV
2001	The Devil's Tattoo (UK) Ghost Rig (US)	Tom	Film
2002"2003	Ultimate Force	Lt. Dennis "Dotsy" Doheny	TV series
2002	Daniel Deronda	Hans Meyrick	TV
2003	Battlestar Galactica	Lee 'Apollo' Adama	Miniseries
2004"2009	Battlestar Galactica	Lee 'Apollo' Adama	TV series
2008	Pulse 2: Afterlife	Stephen	Film
2009"?2011	Law & Order: UK	DS Matt Devlin	TV series
2010	Outcasts	Mitchell Hoban	TV series
2012	Un jour mon père viendra	Stephen Astarti	Film
2013	John Doe	John Doe	Film
2013	Monday Mornings	Dr. Tyler Wilson	TV series
2014 "?	The Smoke	Kev Allison	TV series

Guest appearances

Year	Title	Role	Episode
2000	Poirot	Ralph Paton	8.1 "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"
2001	Bob Martin	James	2.2 "Big Break"
2006	The Last Detective	Luke Clayhill	4.2 "Dangerous Liaisons"
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"
2011	CSI: Miami	Ronnie Hale	10.3 "Blown Away"
2011	House	Bob Harris	8.5 "The Confession"
2012	Body Of Proof	Aiden Welles	2.15 "Occupational Hazards" 2.16 "Home Invasion" 2.17 "Identity"
2012	Perception	Dr. Michael Hathaway	1.2 "Faces" 1.6 "Lovesick" 1.8 "Kilimanjaro"
2013	Star Trek Continues	Simone	Pilgrim of Eternity