THE DEAN
Jamie Bamber, the man behind Da Man
I decided to add this page partly out of wonder that I have yet to be served with a restraining order by Mr. Bamber, but mostly out of gratitude for his bringing Archie to life and admiration for his promising career.
There's nothing terribly original here; the fan sites listed in Further Dissertations do a much better job and are far more comprehensive. Also, Jamie's 1999 and 2001 interviews with A&E are both well worth reading. But (hopefully) it's the thought here that counts!
(Many thanks to Alice for the Making of HH2 image!)
FAQs
(NOTE: This is NOT one of the numerous questionnaires Jamie has filled
out for fans; it's just my usual data-distillation style of presentation.)
REAL NAME?
* Jamie St. John Bamber Griffith (changed for Equity purposes: already a Jamie Griffith registered)
WHEN/WHERE BORN?
* April 3, 1973. Hammersmith, England.
JUST HOW MANY NATIONS IS HE A CITIZEN OF?!
* Beats me. Born in England, father's American, mother's Irish. Must make tax time interesting.
SCHOOL?
* St. Paul's School, London
* St. John's College, Cambridge
* degree: 1st class M.A. honors in Modern Languages (French and Italian)
* London Academy of Dramatic Arts
PERSONAL INFO?
* very into Dante and Shakespeare
* very into sports and Italian food
* married to actress Kerry Norton; they are the proud parents of daughters Isla, Darcy, and Ava
A NOT VERY COMPLETE FILMOGRAPHY
Basically I'm just listing whatever I'm aware of. Jamie has appeared in theater and radio productions as well (among the latter, Richard II -- one of my favorite plays, for which I would gladly sell my next-door neighbor for medical experiments to hear). Once again, your best bets are the fan sites listed in Further Dissertations.
TITLE
|
WHAT
|
WHO
|
HIGHLIGHTS
|
LIVES?
|
WEBSITE
|
SHIFTING SANDS
(1994)
|
college film
|
Bean
(yes, you read that correctly)
|
* standing on a bridge
(it's deja vu all over
again)
* nose scrunches and
lip licks galore (yes,
even then)
* "Evidently."
* "Shall I take that as a
compliment or an
insult?"
* "You always ask so
many questions."
* the Dallas Cowboys
tee-shirt!
* finally, an on-screen
snog (warning: it
may not be quite
what you'd expect)
|
yes
|
Simon Birkenhead (the guy who made the film) used to have a site about it ... but it seems to have disappeared now.
|
THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL (1998)
[PART 1]
|
A&E miniseries with Richard E. Grant in the title role and Martin Shaw as the bad guy
|
Lord Tony Dewhurst
|
* Tony's adorable
stuttering
* a certain party at an
artist's house ...
* the "morning after"
scene
(I hesitate to call the street corner scene a highlight; it's too tragic!)
|
no
|
And A&E has deleted their Scarlet Pimpernel site. I sense a distressing pattern here ...
|
HORATIO HORN-BLOWER (1999)
[EPISODES
1, 3, 4]
|
A&E miniseries with Ioan Gruffudd in the title role
|
Midshipman
and Acting Lieutenant Archie Kennedy
|
* If you've been
browsing around this
site, I think you have
a pretty good idea! J
|
yes
(but a couple of close shaves)
|
|
POIROT: THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD (2000)
|
A&E mystery series with David Suchet as Poirot
|
Ralph Paton
|
* "I've been trying to
find a job, Father!"
* disgusted shake of
head
* there and back again
at the end
|
yes
(but AWOL for quite awhile)
|
|
LADY AUDLEY'S SECRET (2000)
|
PBS "Mystery!" presentation with nobody else worth mentioning
|
George Talboys
|
* the Brian Jones hair
* "Give me that!"
* reading a newspaper
* fishing (profile)
* the lightning strike
scene
* "Taking you back to
the man you have
deceived!"
* all's "well" that ends
well ...
* fencing in
regimentals
* "Why not? It was
valuable!"
* "Well, I wasn't
thinking terribly
clearly."
* there and back again
at the end (again)
|
yes
(but presumed otherwise for quite awhile)
|
|
HORATIO HORN-BLOWER: THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES (2001)
[EPISODES
5 & 6]
|
A&E miniseries with Ioan Gruffudd in the title role
|
Lieutenant Archie Kennedy
|
* every scene he's in,
basically!
|
aghhhhh, no! *sob*
|
|
BOB MARTIN
(April 2001)
[EPISODE: "Big Break"]
|
Comedy series starring Michael Barrymore and our old friend Captain Foster (Denis Lawson)
|
James Warburton
|
* His slightly oily,
insincere demeanor
(I always wanted to
see Jamie play a
heel!)
* The hideously ugly
powder-blue jumper-
thingee which only
he could wear with
dignity
|
yes
|
|
BAND OF BROTHERS (September 2001)
[PARTS 7 & 8]
|
10-part HBO miniseries by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks
|
Lieutenant Jack Foley
|
* sounds like they
ended up on the
cutting room floor,
but I haven't seen it
myself
|
yes
(As it happens, the real Lt. Foley is still alive and posting on internet message boards.)
|
|
PEAK PRACTICE
(2001-2002)
|
Long-running British medical drama series with nobody else I've ever heard of
|
Dr. Matt Kendal
|
* Just the sight of him
in contemporary
clothing for once is
more than enough!
|
yes
|
|
THE DEVIL'S TATTOO
(2001)
[aka "Ghost Rig"]
|
Eco-horror film (yes, you read that correctly) that seems to have gone straight to video
|
Tom
|
* I can't say I'm dying to
see this. But
however bad it may
be, it did introduce
Jamie to his future
wife Kerry Norton.
For this alone it
deserves an
honorable mention
on his CV.
|
given that it's a horror film, I'm guessing he doesn't make it to the end
|
|
ULTIMATE FORCE
(2002-2003)
|
British action TV series starring Ross Kemp, whom I know nothing about but for whom a lot of people seem to have a violent dislike
|
Lt. Dotsy Doheny
|
* I haven't seen this,
but people who like
action shows and can
tolerate Ross Kemp
seem to enjoy it
|
dunno
|
|
DANIEL DERONDA
(2002)
|
TV adaptation of a novel by George Elliot, whom you couldn't pay me to read
|
Hans Meyrick
|
* Jamie has a lot to
compensate for here:
yer typical George
Eliot snoozefest and
a totally blah titular
hero. But he does
it! The proceedings
come alive in his few
scenes. Even with
the Colonel Sanders
hair he's very good,
especially in the last
ten minutes. (And he
sings!)
|
yes
|
|
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
(2003)
[miniseries]
|
Highly-rated cable TV miniseries remake of the 1970s show, with Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell
|
Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama
|
* His first meeting with
Starbuck when he
arrives on the
Galactica
* His heated argument
with Adama about his
dead brother Zack
* His quite good
American accent
* The very flattering
un-ee-form
* Just the fact that he
made me like Apollo,
whom I had always
considered an
unappealing wet
blanket in the old
series
|
yes
(although there are close shaves)
|
|
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
(2005)
[series]
|
Successful regular series spawned by the 2003 miniseries, with the same cast; already renewed for a second season
|
Captain Lee "Apollo" Adama
|
* After catching a few
episodes, my sister
paid Jamie the
ultimate compliment
for this role: she said
he was a "dude." To
give you some
perspective, bear in
mind that she is a
Horatio girl in the
Hornblower universe.
(And we were both
Starbuck girls back in
1978!). Carry on,
dude.
* Beneath the special
effects and nudge-
nudge pokes at post-
9/11 America, this is a
show about human
relationships--which
are worth the pain
they so often cause
us. Even some of the
Cylons recognize and
envy our unique
ability to connect.
Apollo has complex
and intense
relationships with his
father, his dead
brother's fiance (the
female Starbuck),
and Mme. President--
all of them worth
watching
* One word: biceps
|
yes
(so far!)
|
NOTE 5/13/01: Thanks to the generous donation of Mags of the Hornblower Cafe, I have finally heard Richard II ! My next-door neighbor is safe ... for now, anyway ...
SOME LITTLE THINGS
If you've ever wondered where Archie gets his sense of humor from, I think we needn't look too far -- as the following little tidbits will illustrate:
* Jamie describing his first day on the Hornblower set
From The Making of Hornblower by Tom MacGregor, (c) 1998 by Boxtree:
"The rain machines were on and chucking it down, it was bitterly cold, there was lots of noise, lots of pigs and loose women running around, and I couldn't even hear the director shout 'Action!' or anything."
Pigs and loose women? The mind boggles.
* Jamie the film critic
In the midst of filling out a questionnaire dated January 2001, Jamie treated his fans to a concise, incisive review of that millenial cinematic masterpiece Charlie's Angels. From the fan site Our Men: We Wish:
"Dispense with all character, all plot, and stitch together two hours' worth of stuff that would struggle to get into a Vidal Sassoon commercial and pass it off as entertainment. A gross collage of boring set-pieces. I fell asleep. Beautiful girls, though. It's a hit! Put it in a double-bill with Armageddon and you would have just that -- my idea of the end of the world and everything in it."
Jamie, I gotta tell ya: I like the way you think.
* Jamie the social commentator
Around the time HH2 was broadcast on A&E, TV Guide posted on their website a little video clip of an interview with Jamie. For a 60-second excerpt, Jamie managed to cover quite a bit of ground, mostly concerning the political and socioeconomic realities of post-Cold War former provinces of the now defunct Soviet Union. (I kid you not.) Alas, the clip is no longer on the TV Guide website, but it may possibly be preserved on one of the Jamie fansites listed on the Further Dissertations page.
EPISTOLARY HARASSMENT TIPS
Following are the two most frequently used addresses for fan mail. However, I feel obliged to note that these are the addresses of Jamie's agents, not his publicists. He does not currently have a publicist and handles his mail himself -- when he has the time. Also, when sending letters to the UK address, including a few international reply coupons would probably save him a heap of expense and difficulty.
FOR U.K. CORRESPONDENCE
c/o Shepherd Ford ASsociates Ltd.
13 Radnor Walk
London England SW3 4BP
FOR U.S. CORRESPONDENCE
c/o Alan Siegel Entertainment
345 N. Maple Drive, Suite 375
Beverly Hills, CA 90210