James Bamford (stunt coordinator)


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. 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. Stunts Canada is the oldest and largest stunt association in Canada.

Biography

Bamford was born in Victoria, British Columbia, and presently lives and works out of Vancouver, Canada.

Awards, nominations, medals

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". 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. 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.
Bamford was a stunt coordinator on the movie Ek Tha Tiger which won Best Action at the Times of India Film Awards in 2013.
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.

Career

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, comprising portraits of 22 creative Vancouverites and sponsored by the magazine Vancouver is Awesome. The photographs were an example of collaborative Calotype photography and James Bamford was selected as a result of a public vote.

Interviews

In 2020, James Bamford was a guest on the Positive Solace podcast with BBC journalist Attika Choudhary
In 2018, Canada's The Globe and Mail profiled James Bamford.
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".
Premiere Scene interviewed Bamford about stunt coordination at the London Film and Comic Con.
Bamford was a presenter at the Leo Awards in 2012.
Next Level Radio interviewed James Bamford, where he says that "a stunt performer has a 100% likelihood of being injured."
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.
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.

Filmography

This is only a small selection of James Bamford's roles, as in June 2014 he had 424 entries at IMDB.
YearFilmRole
1994M.A.N.T.I.S.Stunt performer
1995SlidersStunt performer;
Stunt double for Jerry O'Connell
1995The Outer LimitsStunt performer
1996Poltergeist: The LegacyStunt coordinator
1996TwoStunt double for Lochlyn Munro
1997Dead Man's Gun: My Brother's KeeperStunt performer
1997NightmanStunt double
Agent Aldrich
1998Cold SquadStunt performer
1998Welcome to ParadoxStunt double for Ice-T
1998Shattered ImageStunt double for William Baldwin
1998First WaveStunt performer
1999So WeirdStunt performer
1999Behind The MaskStunt double for Matthew Fox
1999Harsh RealmStunt double for D. B. Sweeney
1999The SentinelNick Ray
2000Final DestinationStunt performer
2000Dark AngelStunt double for Michael Weatherly;
Stunt double for William Gregory Lee
2000Call of the WildStunt double
2000Chain of FoolsER doctor
Stunt performer
2001SmallvilleStunt double
2001UC: UndercoverStunt double for William Forsythe
2002Reign of FireStunt coordinator
2002John DoeStunt performer
2002The Twilight ZoneStunt double
2002JeremiahStunt coordinator
2002X2Stunt performer for
Hugh Jackman;
Remy LeBeau / Gambit
2003Scary Movie 3Stunt performer
2004Stargate AtlantisStunt coordinator
Male Wraith
orderly
Stunt double for Joe Flanigan
2004The Butterfly EffectStunt coordinator
Security Guard
2004Scooby Doo 2: Monsters UnleashedMartial arts coordinator
Stunt actor: Captain Cutler's Ghost
2004The Chronicles of RiddickStunt performer
2004Blade: TrinityStunt performer
2004Stargate SG-1Eighth
2004Scary Movie 4Stunt actor: soldier
2005Stargate SG-1Fight coordinator
Stunt performer
Stunt double for Ben Browder
2006X-Men: The Last StandStunt performer
2006FallenPowers Angel
2007In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege TaleStunt actor: Legionnaire
2007Aliens vs. Predator: RequiemStunt performer
2007Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver SurferStunt performer
Stunt driver
2007SanctuaryStunt coordinator
2007WarStunt performer
2007Things We Lost in the FireStunt performer
2007A Dog's BreakfastStunt coordinator
2008Flash GordonStunt coordinator
Stunt performer
2009WatchmenStunt performer
2009RampageStunt coordinator
2009Stargate UniverseStunt coordinator
2010ShatteredStunt performer/double
2011Mortal Kombat: LegacyThug No. 2
2011Once Upon a TimeThe Black Knight
2011Apollo 18Stunt coordinator
2012Ek Tha TigerStunt coordinator
2012True JusticeStunt performer
Darko Thug No. 8
2012Halo 4: Forward Unto DawnStunt coordinator
2012FringeAgent Murphy
2012AlcatrazWhite inmate
2012True JusticeStunt performer
Darko Thug No. 8
2012ArrowFight choreographer
Stunt coordinator
Fight coordinator
Gunman #2
Director
Supervising stunt coordinator
Producer
2016SupergirlDirector
2020BatwomanDirector
2021NCIS: HawaiiDirector
2024Air Force One DownDirector
2024JadeDirector
2024UtopiaDirector
2025Man with No PastDirector