James Bamford | |
|---|---|
 Promotional photo of James Bamford | |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Other names | BamBam, Bam |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1990–present |
James Bamford, also known by the nickname "BamBam", is a Canadian film & television director, who was the sole "directing producer" of the series Arrow and directed 17 episodes of the series including multiple premieres, season finales, crossovers and the series finale.[1] He started his career in the film and television industry as a stuntman and fight choreographer with his martial arts experience as his entry skill set. He continued on in his career to become a stunt coordinator, 2nd unit director, then director, and directing producer/executive producer.
James Bamford was president and on the executive board of Stunts Canada, an invitation-only organisation for stunt professionals, for three consecutive two-year terms.[2] Stunts Canada is the oldest and largest stunt association in Canada.
Bamford was born in Victoria, British Columbia, and presently lives and works out of Vancouver, Canada.[3]
James Bamford has won two Leo Awards for Stunt Coordination, as well as a nomination in 2010 for Best Stunt Coordination in a Dramatic Series for the Stargate Universe episode "Air".[4] The Leo Awards celebrate excellence in film and television in British Columbia. In 2013, Bamford won the Leo Award for Best Stunt Coordination in a Television Movie for Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.[5] In 2016 he, along with colleagues JJ Makaro, Eli Zagoudakis, and Curtis Braconnier, won the Leo Award for Best Stunt Coordination in a Dramatic Series for the Arrow episode, Brotherhood, in which Bamford made his directorial debut. His directing efforts on the Brotherhood episode were also rewarded with a Leo Award nomination for Best Director in a Dramatic Series.[6]
Bamford was a stunt coordinator on the movie Ek Tha Tiger which won Best Action at the Times of India Film Awards in 2013.[7]
While working as a Juvenile Corrections Officer in Victoria, Bamford won a bronze medal for Team Canada for the Karate-Kumite division in the 1991 World Police and Fire Games, in Memphis, USA.[8]
Bamford has been a stunt double for many actors, including Benicio Del Toro, Mickey Rourke and David Duchovny, and worked as a stunt performer and stunt coordinator on TV shows from The X-Files to Arrow, and films including Final Destination, The Chronicles of Riddick and X-Men 2. He is best known for his work on Arrow, and has appeared at many fan conventions in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia including San Diego Comic-Con.
James Bamford appeared as a subject in the 2014 Vancouver Creatives exhibition by Vancouver Biennale (VnB), comprising portraits of 22 creative Vancouverites [9] and sponsored by the magazine Vancouver is Awesome.[10] The photographs were an example of collaborative Calotype photography and James Bamford was selected as a result of a public vote.
In 2020, James Bamford was a guest on the Positive Solace podcast with BBC journalist Attika Choudhary [11]
In 2018, Canada's The Globe and Mail profiled James Bamford.[12]
Joseph Mallozzi, producer of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, hosted a Q&A to Bamford on his Wordpress blog in 2008, and called him "the fearless one".[13]
Premiere Scene interviewed Bamford about stunt coordination at the London Film and Comic Con.[14]
Bamford was a presenter at the Leo Awards in 2012.[15]
Next Level Radio[16] interviewed James Bamford, where he says that "a stunt performer has a 100% likelihood of being injured."[17]
DC Entertainment's DC All Access went behind the scenes on the TV show Arrow in April 2014, where James Bamford demonstrates some stunt action.[18]
Bamford was the fight coordinator on the Arrow stunt team, which was hailed by Entertainment Weekly as the Most Likely to Earn Someone an Emmy in their 5th Annual Season Finale Awards, 2014.[19]
This is only a small selection of James Bamford's roles, as in June 2014 he had 424 entries at IMDB.[20]
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | M.A.N.T.I.S. | Stunt performer |
| 1995 | Sliders | Stunt performer; Stunt double for Jerry O'Connell |
| The Outer Limits | Stunt performer | |
| 1996 | Poltergeist: The Legacy | Stunt coordinator (cover days) |
| Two | Stunt double for Lochlyn Munro | |
| 1997 | Dead Man's Gun: My Brother's Keeper | Stunt performer |
| Nightman | Stunt double Agent Aldrich | |
| 1998 | Cold Squad | Stunt performer |
| Welcome to Paradox | Stunt double for Ice-T | |
| Shattered Image | Stunt double for William Baldwin | |
| First Wave | Stunt performer | |
| 1999 | So Weird | Stunt performer |
| Behind The Mask | Stunt double for Matthew Fox | |
| Harsh Realm | Stunt double for D. B. Sweeney | |
| The Sentinel | Nick Ray | |
| 2000 | Final Destination | Stunt performer |
| Dark Angel | Stunt double for Michael Weatherly; Stunt double for William Gregory Lee | |
| Call of the Wild | Stunt double | |
| Chain of Fools | ER doctor Stunt performer | |
| 2001 | Smallville | Stunt double |
| UC: Undercover | Stunt double for William Forsythe | |
| 2002 | Reign of Fire | Stunt coordinator |
| John Doe | Stunt performer | |
| The Twilight Zone | Stunt double | |
| Jeremiah | Stunt coordinator (2002–2004 – 34 episodes) | |
| X2 | Stunt performer for Hugh Jackman; Remy LeBeau / Gambit (deleted scene)[21] | |
| 2003 | Scary Movie 3 | Stunt performer |
| 2004 | Stargate Atlantis | Stunt coordinator (2004–2009 – 99 episodes) Male Wraith orderly Stunt double for Joe Flanigan |
| The Butterfly Effect | Stunt coordinator Security Guard | |
| Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed | Martial arts coordinator Stunt actor: Captain Cutler's Ghost | |
| The Chronicles of Riddick | Stunt performer | |
| Blade: Trinity | Stunt performer | |
| Stargate SG-1 | Eighth | |
| Scary Movie 4 | Stunt actor: soldier | |
| 2005 | Stargate SG-1 | Fight coordinator (2005–2007 – 5 episodes) Stunt performer Stunt double for Ben Browder |
| 2006 | X-Men: The Last Stand | Stunt performer |
| Fallen | Powers Angel | |
| 2007 | In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale | Stunt actor: Legionnaire |
| Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem | Stunt performer | |
| Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | Stunt performer Stunt driver | |
| Sanctuary | Stunt coordinator (8 episodes) | |
| War | Stunt performer | |
| Things We Lost in the Fire | Stunt performer | |
| A Dog's Breakfast | Stunt coordinator | |
| 2008 | Flash Gordon | Stunt coordinator Stunt performer |
| 2009 | Watchmen | Stunt performer |
| Rampage | Stunt coordinator | |
| Stargate Universe | Stunt coordinator (2009–2011 – 39 episodes) | |
| 2010 | Shattered | Stunt performer/double |
| 2011 | Mortal Kombat: Legacy | Thug No. 2 |
| Once Upon a Time | The Black Knight | |
| Apollo 18 | Stunt coordinator | |
| 2012 | Ek Tha Tiger | Stunt coordinator |
| True Justice | Stunt performer Darko Thug No. 8 | |
| Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn | Stunt coordinator | |
| Fringe | Agent Murphy | |
| Alcatraz | White inmate | |
| True Justice | Stunt performer Darko Thug No. 8 | |
| Arrow | Fight choreographer (2012 – 7 episodes) Stunt coordinator (2012–2013 – 23 episodes) Fight coordinator (2012–2016 – 38 episodes) Gunman #2 (Pilot episode) Director (2015–2020 – 17 episodes) Supervising stunt coordinator (2016–2017 – 21 episodes) Producer (2017–2020) | |
| 2016 | Supergirl | Director ("Survivors") |
| 2020 | Batwoman | Director ("If You Believe In Me, I Believe In You") |
| 2021 | NCIS: Hawaii | Director ("Rescuers") |
| 2024 | Air Force One Down | Director |
