Jamie Bamber Movies
As Viper pilot (and sometime commanding officer) Lee "Apollo" Adama on the hit sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica, London-born actor Jamie Bamber always defended the human race with a cool head and a quick trigger finger. The offspring of an American father and an Irish mother, Bamber no doubt had to keep his cool growing up as one of seven siblings -- including a younger brother and sisters as well as four older half-brothers -- though his early love of theater no doubt helped him to channel some of that youthful energy into creativity rather than sibling rivalry.Bamber's mother was a former actress in London before their family relocated to France, and it was she who sparked his passion for acting by casting the talented youngster as the Wicked Witch of the West in a children's theater production of The Wizard of Oz staged at the American Cathedral in Paris. Later, after earning his first professional paycheck by dubbing a French film into English while living in France, Bamber and his family moved back to the U.K. and he began to dabble in commercial work. As a student at St. Paul's School in London, Bamber honed his love for the stage and the field by alternating between acting and athletics, eventually moving on to study French and Italian literature at Cambridge. Upon being accepted into the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, however, Bamber finally realized that his calling was on the screen, and after making his dramatic debut in the 1998 miniseries Horatio Hornblower, there was no looking back.
In 2001, American television viewers caught their first glimpse of Bamber when he was cast in the Emmy Award-winning World War II miniseries Band of Brothers, with a handful of appearances in the U.K. war series Ultimate Force preceding his part in the 2003 series-starter Battlestar Galactica. Of course, Bamber would remain on roll-call when the series proper began the following year, with additional roles in Cold Case and Ghost Whisperer finding him equally effective outside of the sci-fi genre. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The human race is on the brink of extinction after coming under attack from soulless ghosts who use digital frequencies to haunt mankind, leaving two divorced parents with little choice other than to compromise their own safety in favor of finding their missing daughter. There weren't many people left on Earth after the spectral apocalypse, and now small pockets of survivors seek refuge from the malevolent spirits while attempting to escape their supernatural grip. But there's not much hope left in the world anymore, only chaos and terror. Upon realizing that their defenseless young daughter has inadvertently waded directly into the black heart of this cataclysmic horror, a divorced couple with nothing in common but their shared love of their daughter prepare to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to wrestle their little girl from the clutches of death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Bamber, Boti Ann Bliss, (more)
The untold story of the Battlestar Pegasus comes to the screen in this special, two-hour episode of Battlestar Galactica detailing the transformation of Major Kendra Shaw into a fearless tool of war known as a "razor." As the Cylons prepare to launch a genocidal attack on the Twelve Colonies, Major Kendra Shaw (Stephanie Jacobsen) arrives on the Battleship Pegasus reporting for duty. In the aftermath of the devastating attack, Major Shaw is trained by Admiral Helena Cain to employ suicidal fighting tactics and commit atrocious war crimes against her own people. Any sense of hesitation or doubt is methodically stripped away from Major Shaw, rendering her a living weapon driven by murderous instinct. But such a weapon can ultimately do as much damage as it does good, and it isn't long before this severe form of warfare takes a heavy psychological tool on the tormented Major Shaw. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2006
- Add Battlestar Galactica: Season 03 to QueueAdd Battlestar Galactica: Season 03 to top of Queue
The space opera's third season picks up a short time after the Colonial fleet was forced to abandon the bulk of humanity on the harsh but habitable New Caprica as the Cylons descended upon the defenseless settlement. While the commanders of Galactica and Pegasus, Adm. William Adama (Edward James Olmos) and Cdr. Lee "Apollo" Adama (Jamie Bamber), clash over the admiral's plan to rescue those left behind, resistance guerrillas led by Col. Saul Tigh (Michael Hogan) use suicide bombers to strike back at the Cylon occupiers on New Caprica. The occupation produces heroes, traitors and hostages-the last best personified by Capt. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace (Katee Sackhoff), who becomes a Cylon's love interest. Captive Cylon Sharon (Grace Park) redeems herself when she agrees to help Adm. Adama rescue the citizens of New Caprica. While the rescue operation unfolds, defrocked president Gaius Baltar (James Callis) locates Sharon's Cylon-human baby and accepts an invitation from D'Anna (Lucy Lawless) to join the Cylons. The large-scale rescue proves successful, but the occupation leaves emotional scars on the survivors, particularly Starbuck and Tigh, who stir up dissent within the ranks. Adm. Adama endeavors to heal his crew with a boxing event that ends up being cathartic for Starbuck and Apollo. While trying to prove his worth to the Cylons, Baltar helps D'Anna probe the mythical "final five" humanoid Cylons-who have become lost to the rest of their race-an investigation that doesn't sit well with the Cylon Cavil (Dean Stockwell). A food shortage forces the Colonial fleet to traverse a dangerous passage to an algae planet, home to a mysterious temple that houses a veritable road map to Earth, which the Cylons also covet. The tragic loss of a troubled crewmate and a sensational trial onboard Galactica become game-changing milestones during the fleet's quest for Earth. ~ Michael Chant, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, (more)
- 2004
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David Eick and Ronald D. Moore's dark reinvention of the cult sci-fi series picks up where the 2003 miniseries left off. An old battleship named Galactica leads a fleet of survivors away from their planets, which were decimated by a nuclear attack perpetrated by a race of machines known as Cylons. Galactica's senior officer, Cdr. William Adama (Edward James Olmos), and the newly sworn-in leader of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, President Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), discover how relentless the Cylons can be when they briefly manage to track, harass and nearly exhaust the fleet. Worse, the Cylons have created copies of machines that appear human, some of which have infiltrated the fleet as unwary sleeper agents. Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerii (Grace Park) learns she is a Cylon after she sabotages Galactica's water supply. And another copy of Boomer uses Lt. Karl "Helo" Agathon (Tahmoh Penikett) as a guinea pig in an experiment the Cylons are conducting on the devastated Colonial world Caprica. A suicide bombing on Galactica forces the Colonial leadership to publicly divulge the existence of humanoid Cylons and the likelihood that some are operating within the fleet, fostering feelings of paranoia in an already stressed and depressed populace. Adama and Roslin are tasked with forging a new government and replenishing their supplies of water, fuel and fighter pilots, while they also try to keep hope alive during their search for the fabled lost colony Earth. Meanwhile, Dr. Gaius Baltar (James Callis) must cope with his role in the near annihilation of his people, his place in the new space-faring community, and the intrusions of an incorporeal entity-that only he can see-which has taken the form of the sixth humanoid Cylon model (Tricia Helfer) to guide the troubled genius. ~ Michael Chant, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, (more)
A team of environmentalists, lead by publicity-hungry Vincent (Jaason Simons), sneaks aboard a North Atlantic oil rig in an effort to thwart its demolition. Problems arise almost immediately, with the electricity and the radio, but not the least of their troubles is an unseen body-hopping entity that is murdering them in horrific ways one at a time. Or is it one of their own? Wheelchair-bound Crawford (Noel Fitzpatrick) has some ideas, few of them very healthy and most of them regarding a chalk pentangle on a deck below. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Bamber
One of the most popular television series of the late '70s science fiction boom gets a new look for the new millennium in remake, created as a made-for-cable miniseries. Four decades after the Cylon Wars, the Cylon robots (some of whom have since assumed human form) have launched a vicious nuclear attack, leaving only a few Colonial forces to lead the survivors to safety. Led by starship commander Adama (Edward James Olmos) and politician and possible presidential successor Laura Roslin (Mary McDonnell), the crew of the Battlestar Galactica searches the galaxy for the mythic 13th Colony of Kobol (otherwise known as Earth), their destination and only hope for survival. Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries also stars Jamie Bamber, James Callis, and Grace Park. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos
Produced for British television, Daniel Deronda was adapted from George Eliot's final novel, written in 1874 (and first filmed in 1921). As was her habit, Eliot laid bare the hypocrisy and venality of Victorian-era "class culture," at the same time admitting that a certain amount of conformity was necessary if one hoped to survive in a world where nonconformity was not only looked down upon but actively suppressed. Essentially, both the novel and the TV presentation are comprised of two separate stories, linked together by the titular Daniel Deronda (Hugh Dancy), a young man of Jewish heritage. In the main narrative, Daniel is attracted to the spoiled, headstrong Gwendolen Harleth (Romola Garai), who is reluctantly poised to enter into a marriage of convenience with the wealthy, snobbish, and intensely anti-Semitic Henleigh Grancourt (Hugh Bonneville). This romantic intrigue is played against the curious relationship between Daniel and the Zionist visionary Mordecai (Daniel Evans), who tirelessly proselytizes in favor of a permanent homeland for the Jewish people. Things come to a head when Daniel finds himself falling in love with Mordecai's sister Mirah (Jodhi May). Originally telecast in three parts on the BBC beginning December 7, 2002, Daniel Deronda was re-edited as a two-parter for the PBS anthology Masterpiece Theatre, where it first aired on March 30, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Filmed several times during the silent era (most notably as a 1915 vehicle for Theda Bara), Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Victorian sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret was revamped as a British TV movie in 2000. Neve McIntosh heads the cast as Lucy, a mysterious woman with a shady past who manages to inveigle a proposal of marriage from her wealthy and aristocratic employer Sir Michael Audley (Kenneth Cranham). Upon his return to England after several years of prospecting for gold, Sir Michael's nephew, Robert (Steve Mackintosh), is immediately smitten by his glamorous young aunt. Equally impressed is Robert's scoundrelly mining partner, George (Jamie Bamber), who apparently knows the whole sordid truth about Lady Audley's past. The plot thickens when the blackmail-minded George abruptly disappears. Lady Audley's Secret was first telecast in the U.K. on May 17, 2000, several weeks after its March 23, 2000, world premiere on the American PBS anthology Mystery! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
