The Admiration of Jamie Bamber 
Greetings and welcome to my page, The Admiration of Jamie Bamber!
I originally had no idea who Jamie Bamber was, or even anything about his character in Horatio Hornblower. I even missed the first half of "The Duel" (titled "The Even Chance" in the UK) because I wasn't home! Lucky for me, A&E was replaying it and I ran to see the last half hour or so. My sister, Elisabeth gave me a quick run down on the story, but in her admiration for Hornblower, left out Kennedy completely, except to tell me he drifted away in a lifeboat!
The first scene I saw was where Mr. Simpson returns again to the Justinian, where Hornblower and Kennedy have been enjoying life in the military without his bullying.
As Mr. Simpson cried about the loss of his old ship, the camera focused on Hornblower, who shot a meaningful glance at Kennedy....and instantly, I was obsessed! "Who is that?" I asked, drooling profusely. "That's Archie Kennedy," my sister replied, drooling similarily over Hornblower.
"That's Archie!" I cried. "He's the one going to drift away in a lifeboat? That's not fair!"
"What's really sad is that Horatio gets shot before he can rescue him," my sister replied. "In the head. But not seriously."
But somehow, I knew Archie Kennedy would survive. Imagine my happiness when I learned that he returned in "The Duchess and the Devil"! I went on a search and discovered Archie Kennedy had a real name--Jamie Bamber. But other than a few facts and some photos, there wasn't the kind of fan page I wanted to see. And so I made one!
I hope that you enjoy all the things about Jamie that are on this site and I really hope that you visit many times, because this page will continue to expand!
Jamie St. John Bamber Griffith, was born on April 3, 1973 in Hammersmith, London. His father, Ralph is an American. His mother, Elizabeth is Irish and she trained as an actress. He has 5 brothers and one sister. The family lived in France for Jamie's first few years. He attended a bilingual school there until the family moved back to England when he was eight. Jamie’s first part was that of a woman! He played the wicked witch in the “Wizard of Oz” at school. In 1996, Jamie went to the London Academy of Dramatic Arts (LAMDA) where he completed a post graduate course. Before that he received a first Class Honours Degree in Modern Languages (Italian and French) at St. Johns College, Cambridge University. Then, leaving the LAMDA in 1997, his natural talent secured him parts in Horatio Hornblower, as Midshipman Archie Kennedy and The Scarlet Pimpernel as Lord Tony within two weeks of finishing. Unfortunately, his role as Lord Tony was unhappily short, as he was shot in the first episode. But his performance as Archie Kennedy was impressive enough that his character was expanded beyond the first episodes. Bringing Kennedy back, seemingly from the dead, gave the series continuity and to give the series hero, Horatio Hornblower, a friend. I was especially happy to see this happen and I can only hope that Jamie's success continues, as I am anxious to see him in more productions!
Jamie lives in London, with his wife Kerry Norton, their first born daughter Isla, and twins Darcy and Ava. He enjoys horseback riding, rugby, golf, scuba diving, tennis and skiing but running is his main sport. He ran the London Marathon in April 2002 finishing in just under 3 hours. Jamie has recently been filming the second installment of "Battlestar Galactica" in which he donnes another uniform and plays the part of "Apollo". But for the latest information on Jamie's latest films and appearances, please click the "filmography" link in the index below.
Jamie Bamber on playing Midshipman Archie Kennedy:
On his first day on set he walked into a raging storm for a scene where his character welcomes Hornblower aboard the Justinian.
"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."
It was hardly the most glamorous start to his career. But Jamie quickly gained his sea legs, and was delighted to find his character was greatly expanded to become a major player in the series.
"He introduces him to life in the Navy, and shows him the ropes. But there s a hint of rivalry in the friendship. Kennedy is envious of Hornblower s success. While Hornblower succeeds and rises above him, Kennedy seems to mess up his chances of promotion."
"He s a vivacious character, with a lively sense of humour when we first see him. But he has been terrorised in his early career by the bullying tactics of Midshipman Simpson. When Simpson returns Kennedy retreats into his shell, and his confidence in life is shattered."
"I enjoyed playing the role, particularly because of the friendship between my character and Hornblower. Ioan and I became firm friends too."
* Updates: 12/31/04 Sorry it has been awhile since my last update. But there really hasn't been much to report other than the birth of his twins Darcy and Ava in Sep. of 2004. But he will soon be appearing in the latest installment of Battlestar Gallactica in January, (I think on the 15th) on the sci fi network. But for the most up to date news on Jamie please click on the "filmography" link below, which will take you to imdb, or head to: Jamie Bamber, This is your website
Which gets news much quicker than I. But if you have any questions or comments you can e-mail me by clicking here *
Now, where do you go from here?
Jamie's Filmography
Check out a detailed list of the work Jamie has been in.
Jamie's Picture Gallerys
The Gallery of Jamie I
View some of Jamie's lovely images from the first Horatio Hornblowers.
The Gallery of Jamie II
Pictures from the new episodes.
The Scarlet Pimpernel, Lady Audley's Secret, and Poirot
Jamie as Lord Tony Dewhurst, George Talboys, and Ralph Paton.
Shifting Sands
Photo's from the small college film.
Jamie in Peak Practice
Photo's and information about Jamie as the character Matt Kendal on Peak Practice.
The Jamie Sound Booth:
Hear some wav files of his beautiful voice. (Currently Under Major Construction)
Jamie's Letter to Me
View my signed photo and handwritten letter from Jamie, and see what picture he is sending in his fan letters now.
Jamie's Interviews
The A&E Interview With Jamie-1999
The A&E Interview With Jamie-2001
Read both the A&E interviews with Jamie he gave for the web site about the Hornblower films.
Jamie's Questionaire Letter
Read a questionaire that Jamie filled out and sent back to Gena on the Bamber mailing list. I'm one of only two websites to receive this. :)
Jamie's Links
Surf Jamie websites to your hearts content. There's also some great non-Jamie related pages that are worth a look.
Sign My Guestbook
While you're here, I'd love it if you'd sign my guestbook, so I know what you think about my site. :)
P.S. Jamie, if you ever come back to my site, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for taking the time to hand write me a letter and send such a lovely photo. Thank you for inspiring me to make my site the best fan page ever! :D This page was created 04/10/99, which makes it the second page ever made for Jamie.
