An Interview with Jamie Bamber from ‘Cannes Confidential’

Jamie Bamber as Harry King in Episode 101 of ‘Cannes Confidential’ – ‘Death of a Jester’. (Photo Courtesy of Acorn TV.)

Jamie Bamber is a highly accomplished actor that has appeared in some iconic franchises throughout the years, such as Battlestar Galactica and NCIS, and in the past year… he’s been quite the busy actor. Courtesy of his work in The Lair, Signora Volpe and now his latest project, Cannes Confidential. Wherein he plays the enigmatic Harry King, and we were fortunate enough to sit down with Jamie to discuss his new show and his new character.  
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John Betancourt: What has motivated you in the past year to try out so many unique roles?

Jamie Bamber: The life of an actor is not always guided by your own choices. But what opportunities come your way. I don't know, this particular project is something I went out of my way to pursue. Right after lockdown, it was the first script I read. I am a French speaker, and I've grown up and lived in France. And I know that part of the world very well my mum lives not too far away. And this opportunity came to read this script. For me, it just excited me on the basis of just saying the words and living in that relationship. I've always wanted to be in one of those kind of screwball comedy environments, a Mr. and Mrs. Smith, you know, Romancing the Stone and even Indiana Jones. You know, they're full of these relationships between two people who find themselves stuck into a situation where they have to help each other but they don't necessarily… where they wouldn't naturally be bedfellows if you pardon the pun.

It was that sort of tapping Cary Grant, Roger Moore, David Niven, Rupert Everett, Hugh Grant, all in one, you know, and playing, playing the dialogue. And the project changed a lot. And there was that there was a lot of work, but I was, you know, I was left with a bit of freedom, on the set, because obviously, we were working with an entirely French cast in France and yet speaking English, which is its own particular eccentricity. And, yeah, as a result, you know, in terms of the dialogue, I was very much encouraged to sign off and make it my own. So, yeah, it was all of that sort of stuff that made this one particularly special. But, you know, in all honesty, with other projects, it's what comes to me largely. This one, I do feel like I was involved from a very early stage, steering it and casting and, and all the rest of it. So, it was a little different from the others.

John Betancourt: What attracted you to the role of Harry?

Jamie Bamber: I really wanted to play somebody loquacious, you know? When you sort of play as a, you know, a young lead actor, the hero is sort of normally a guy with few words, who does lots but says very little. And Harry is the opposite. He does very little but says a lot. And it was that really, that sort of attracted me. Someone who is able to talk his way out of and into any situation. And you know, and the contrast is Camille's character, Lucie's (Lucas) character, who is a woman of action, who's a police officer who's got a specific goal in mind, she just states it, she interviews people, she arrests people, she makes a difference. Harry's the opposite. He avoids any kind of interaction like that. Nobody really knows anything about him. He's a man of mystery. Literally. He's not trying to be discovered by anybody in town, although he seems to know everybody in town, but nobody really seems to quite be able to pin down who he is and what he's about. And I think those people are fascinating to play someone that you want to know more about.

John Betancourt: How did you build his unique style and flair as an actor? Especially since you had so much leeway.

Jamie Bamber: Well, yeah, I mean, my input was really just about the character and the dialogue. And so, I was allowed to suggest things and suggest ways in which, you know, I did a lot of googling a lot of sort of making jokes that made me laugh, and, and just understanding that this is someone that gets away with life, because he is able to talk, that's really what he can do. And yeah, and that was, that was the challenge for me all the way through. The other thing was, you know, I'm working with a French cast whose first language is not English. So, I wanted them to be able to participate in it as well. So, we had a wonderful actor who is also a dialect coach called Pierre-Edouard Bellanca and he was on set the whole time helping to make sure that we found a way, you know, everyone navigating this situation. And then the unique thing about this show is that we all then dubbed it into French for French television. So, there'll be another version which is entirely in French and it's quite different.

You know, there's a lot of the dialogues changed again. So yeah, it was a very fluid kind of atmosphere on the set, which was encouraged by the Director, Camille Delamarre, and he's a very, very good action director. But he really wanted the humor to come through and that, for me was paramount. I was drawn to this show because it was funny, and you did enjoy the sort of the way these two characters got under each other's skin. And you throw into that third character Lea, who is also Camille's actual partner, her professional detective partner, but also, she has designs on her as well sort of in an implicit workplace forbidden relationship. So, it's a love triangle, which is sort of very 21st century, I think.

John Betancourt: So, how fulfilling was it to take part in a role that clearly just excited you as an actor.

Jamie Bamber: I was super excited, you know, there was a lot of pressure as well, because you really want it to work. And there are so many moving elements in a show like this, we shot you know, all the episodes at the same time. So that was a super challenge, remembering which case this particular scene was about and obviously, there is an overarching evolution in the story, which the big story, which is how Camille and Harry, develop and help each other or hinder each other in terms of the investigation into Camille's father. So, the overarching plot is Camille's dad. Who’s also a cop, the chief of police, but he's in prison. He's been put behind bars for corruption, and she's trying to exonerate him. And Harry knows a bit about it. So that's one big, long arc. And then we had little six mini arcs, and they're all jumbled up. So, you know that that was a real challenge. Just unscrambling everyday which case you were doing and what stage the relationship between the two is because it does evolve.

John Betancourt: Last question I have for you today, what are you most excited for audiences to see when it comes to this season?

Jamie Bamber: Hopefully, the sense of humor, there's sort of… hopefully they'll want to jump on that motorcycle with Camille and Harry and go on a caper with them. And it's meant to be fun. It's meant to be for the family. It's sort of old school television, broadcast television, throwback to stuff like Moonlighting and Miami Vice and The Persuaders! and that's what I hope they take from it. I hope thy leave every episode with a smile on their face and enjoy a glass of their favorite French tipple or whatever it is while they're watching it.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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