Author: Peter Glotz (Pedda) - 05.03.2006
Caprica City: Jamie, I'm glad we have the chance to talk to you. We're
from
Caprica-City.de, Germany's biggest news site and fan community for all
incarnations of Battlestar Galactica. The majority of the following
questions were
submitted by our readers. First of all, how does it feel to be back in
London
for a couple of weeks?
Jamie Bamber: It is lovely. We have decided to move to LA/Vancouver on a
more permanent basis so it's also a bit of an au revoir which makes it an
even
more special time. Seeing friends and family is great when we spend so
much
time so far away and London is an amazing city with a spectacular
immediate
future now the Olympics are coming. I have actually just bought a flat in
the
East End near the Olympic Village. I am sure we will come back here
eventually.
It is home. Theatre, pubs, rugby - all things I will miss...
CC: Speaking of your last days, how did you spend Valentine's Day?
JB: I spent Valentine's Day watching my wife sing at a big gig in a local
Jazz Club. She utterly amazed me. She is extremely talented and moved me
to
tears when she sang AND I LOVE YOU SO directly to me in front of the
whole
place... The most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me... and all I
did was
give her flowers...
CC: I know that you and your family relocate twice a year, you live in
London when you're not filming Battlestar Galactica, and in Vancouver
when you're
on set. How do you manage that?
JB: With great difficulty! It is extremely stressful uprooting a family
of
five twice a year which is why we have decided to settle in LA. We need
to
make a home with all our books on the shelves and the kids in their own, specially decorated, bedrooms. And as long as we are filming 8 months of
the year
in Vancouver, London can't be that.
CC: When filming in Vancouver, how do you spend your free time? And what
other projects are you involved in at the moment?
JB: I play with the kids, go running along the beachfront pushing my
young
twins in our off-road buggy. We play golf, ski occasionally, visit
cousins and
enjoy the West Coast cuisine and lifestyle. It is a stunningly beautiful
part of the world.
I just finished an episode of a British drama called THE LAST DETECTIVE
starring ex-Doctor Who, Peter Davison. Cela Imrie played my Mum as she
did in
Daniel Deronda. She is a wonderful actress.
CC: How did you get the role of Lee "Apollo" Adama? Was there some kind
of
key moment or key experience for either you or the producers?
JB: It came at a key time in my life. I was doing an English series that
I
didn't like. My then girlfriend was pregnant and the future was a bit
scary! I
went to LA for two weeks and it was the first script my manger gave me to
read. I cringed at the idea of the remake but the script knocked me
sideways.
Five auditions later, on the eve of my flight home I had the part. Best
night
of my life, almost!
CC: Your wife Kerry Norton is working on the show, too, her role being
that
of paramedic Layne Ishay.
JB: I love that Kerry is on the show. She has sacrificed a great deal to
have three kids, to follow me to Vancouver and I loved that she was made
welcome
by the crew and is now a part of it in her own right. She is also a
recording artist in Europe so she has been ridiculously busy!
CC: With whom of the characters - main cast or recurring - would you like
Lee to end up?
JB: Layne Ishay of course!
CC: I t is rumored that the Starbuck-Anders romance results from ideas of
Katee Sackhoff. Do you have any wishes or ideas for your character's
storyline in
season three or later?
JB: Just that he continues to experience things as deeply as he has. I
don't
have any particular wish list of twists. A scene with number 6 might be
nice
though!
CC: I've been wondering about how actors and directors deal with
situations
where the actor is supposed to react to something that will only be added
in
the post-production stage. Can you tell us something about that?
JB: It is very hard and takes conviction and imagination. You have to be
specific. But the VFX guys are very sensitive and observant. They help
make the
show.
CC: Along with your colleague James Callis - who happens to be a native
Englishman, too! -, you were recently nominated for a Saturn Award. How
has that
changed your or other people's perception of your work on the show?
JB: I have always thought awards are stupid but now that I have been
nominated for one I must admit it gives you a boost. It is very nice to
be
appreciated. But beyond that it changes nothing. I am just lucky to be
doing what I am
doing it. James will win it. He deserves it.
CC: Is there something else you would like to share with your German
fans?
JB: A glass of beer and some sauerkraut. Yum.
CC: Jamie, thank you very much for this interview. Keep up the good work,
good luck with the Saturn Awards and please don't get yourself killed in
season
three!
JB: Thank you very much for responding to our show. I will try to dodge
the
bullets!