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James Hamilton Bachman(born 24 February 1972) is an English comedian, actor and writer. He has written for and acted in many British television and radio programmes, includingThat Mitchell and Webb Look,Saxondale,Bleak ExpectationsandSorry, I've Got No Head.In 2014, he had a small role in the filmTransformers: Age of Extinction.
James Bachman | |
|---|---|
 James Bachman recording the BBC Radio 4 comedy pilotZoom,6 May 2008. | |
| Born | James Hamilton Bachman[1] 24 February 1972 |
| Alma mater | Emmanuel College, Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Comedian, actor, writer |
| Years active | 1996–present |
Early life
editBachman was born inCuckfield,West Sussexto American father Thomas Edwin Bachman, of Meadow House,Battle, East Sussex,and English mother Carolyn, daughter of Major-General Godfrey John Hamilton,CBE,DSO,of The Old House, Hailsham, Sussex, who was married to the writerMary Margaret Kaye,daughter of Lt-Col SirCecil Kaye,an officer in theBritish Indian Armyand minister ofTonk State,India.[2]
Bachman attendedRadley Collegeand studied Natural Sciences atEmmanuel College, Cambridge,focusing on Physics and Mathematics. He joinedFootlights,having been aMonty PythonandFry and Lauriefan as a youngster.[3]It was while in Footlights that he first metDavid MitchellandRobert Webb,whom he would collaborate with for their shows, and also future writing partnerMark Evans.His other student comedy contemporaries included the writer and directorDan Mazerand the TV scriptwriterRobert Thorogood.
He became co-vice-president of Footlights in 1993 and appeared in and wrote for the 1994 Footlights revueThe Barracuda Jazz Option.He returned after graduation to direct the subsequent revueFall From Grace,which included amongst its cast Mitchell, Webb, andMatthew Holness.[4]That same year he also directed a production of theKeith WaterhouseplayJeffrey Bernard Is Unwell 2,starring Mitchell asJeffrey Bernardand Webb in multiple roles.
By the time Bachman finished university he had lost interest in his area of study and chose to go into comedy instead.
Career
editThis section of abiography of a living persondoes notincludeanyreferences or sources.(September 2016) |
Shortly after graduating, Bachman began a short-lived sketch double-act with fellow Cambridge comedian Matthew Holness. Bachman & Holness performed their first sketch showRummagein thePleasance Atticat theEdinburgh Fringe Festivalin 1996. Their second showShoesdebuted at theADC Theatrein Cambridge the following year and is notable for including one of the first ever performances of Holness' characterGarth Marenghi.
Bachman then went on to spend the early part of his career earning a living mainly as a comedy writer, starting as a solo writer for radio shows such asWeek Ending,and then forming a writing partnership with Mark Evans. As a pair they contributed material to a huge number of sketch and entertainment shows for radio and television includingThe Very World of Milton Jones,The Jack Docherty Show,The 11 O'Clock Show,The Priory,The Richard Blackwood Show,Rhona,Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway,Popetown,Ed Stone Is Dead,That Mitchell and Webb Sound,andThat Mitchell and Webb Look.As writers onThat Mitchell and Webb Look,Bachman and Evans created several of their much-loved sketches including 'Numberwang', 'David's Chiropractor', 'Glucozade Port' and 'Bed & Booze'.
During this period he made a few appearances on TV in shows he was writing on as well as occasional roles in shows such as15 Storeys High,The RobinsonsandComedy Nation.
Frustrated at the lack of outlets for sketch and character performers on the London comedy circuit, Bachman, along with Evans and Robert Thorogood, set up the sketch comedy club TBA-2 at the Latchmere Theatre (nowTheatre503). (The name was a reference to London's 'first ever sketch comedy club' TBA set up byHenry NaylorandAndy Parsonsin the mid-Nineties.) Regular performers included their university contemporaries Mitchell, Webb, Holness and Jonathan Dryden Taylor as well as The Four Horseman, The Trap, Stuart & Quigley, John Reed,Ben & Arn,Nick Doody,Andy Bodle, Spencer Brown and Georgie Morgan.
In early 2001 Bachman and Evans began a weekly live residency at theEtcetera Theatrein London, developing a free-form live sketch-sitcom under the titleWork In Progress.Material from this residency became their first Edinburgh Fringe showHmm...which ran at theAssembly Rooms.Bachman and Evans returned to Edinburgh in 2002 with their second showThe Bachman and Evans Special Edition,which attempted to add DVD-style commentary and 'extra scenes' to their normal live-sitcom-adventure format. In 2001 and 2002 and 2002 Bachman also directed Edinburgh Fringe shows for Mitchell and Webb:The Mitchell and Webb StoryandThe Mitchell and Webb Clones.
At the end of 2001 Bachman joinedLucy MontgomeryandBarunka O'Shaughnessyto form the clown comedy trio Population: 3. Their first showGladiatrixwas devised with directorCal McCrystaland performed atthe Soho Theatrein London and subsequently at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it achieved some success. Continuing the theme of taking Hollywood films and reversing the sex of the main character, Population: 3 returned to the Fringe in 2003 with their most successful showThe Wicker Woman(which was seen byRobin Hardythe director of the originalThe Wicker Man), and its 2004 follow-upThe Elephant Woman,both devised with directorDavid Sant.[3]
Bachman was then invited to become part of the regular team behindEaling Live!,a weekly live comedy show atEaling Studiosinspired by the format of the American showSaturday Night Liveand the 1980s British comedy showsSaturday LiveandFriday Night Live.He also became a regular fixture on the live character and sketch circuit in London, performing as Oscar Wilde, The James Bachman International Orchestra and Papa Christmas at comedy nights including Oram and Meeten's Club Fantastico,The Book Club,and The Pros From Dover.
In 2008 he and Evans recorded a pilot for Radio 4 based on the style of their Edinburgh shows comedy. The show, calledZoom,was written by and starred Bachman and Evans, and co-starredDavid SoulandCarla MendonçawithJon GloverasMelvyn Bragg.It also featured a special guest appearance byNicholas Parsonsas himself. The show had originally been developed as a TV series withAbsolutely Productionsand was not picked up for a series by Radio 4.
Bachman has since appeared in regular and cameo roles inSaxondale,The Mighty Boosh,The IT Crowd,"Jonathan Creek",Hyperdrive,Miranda,Peep Show,Rev.andMount Pleasantas well as a number of other television and radio programmes. From 2008 to 2010 he co-wrote and starred in three series of theCBBCsketch showSorry, I've Got No Head,appearing as some of the shows most popular characters including Ross, the only student at the North Barrasay school, Mark, the record breaker, Prudith, who with her friend Jasmine thinks everything costs a thousand pounds, and the beekeeper who thinks maybe his bees can help.
He was a regular member of the cast of bothThat Mitchell and Webb LookandThat Mitchell and Webb Soundand in the winter of 2006 he toured with David Mitchell and Robert Webb as part of their live showThe Two Faces of Mitchell and Webb.
Bachman was in all five series of the BBC 4 radio comedyBleak Expectations,which ran from 2007 to 2012.
His film credits include the shortsStiffyandMonsters and Rabbitsas well as a cameo appearance in theBainandArmstrongfilmMagicians.In 2013 he was cast in Michael Bay'sTransformers: Age of Extinctionas Gill Wembley, head scientist to the character of Joshua Joyce played byStanley Tucci.The film was released in 2014 and became the first film that year to take one billion dollars at the worldwide box office.
In 2014, he played Tony McDonald in the first series ofMillie Inbetween.The role was recast toRichard Lumsdenin series 2, due to Bachman focusing on his music career.
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 15 Storeys High | Erection Man | 2 Episodes 'Car Boot and Pigeon Shit' 'Vince The Shirker' |
| 2005 | The Mighty Boosh | Colin | Series 2 'The Legend of Old Gregg' |
| 2006 | That Mitchell and Webb Look | Various Roles | All 4 Series Also writer |
| Saxondale | Alistair | Tommy Saxondale's anger management therapist Opened every episode of both series | |
| 2007 | The IT Crowd | Jeff/Dominator | 1 Episode 'Moss and the German' |
| Peep Show | Role-playing Guy | 1 Episodes 'Mark's Women' Unrecognisable under a large mask | |
| 2008–2011 | Sorry, I've Got No Head | Various Roles | All 4 Series Also Writer |
| 2009 | Miranda | Quentin | 1 Episode 'Excuse' |
| 2011 | Mount Pleasant | Richard | 2 Episodes |
| Rev. | Tim | 1 Episode | |
| 2014 | Jonathan Creek | Rev. Hugh Chater | 2 Episodes |
| Crackanory | Raymond Morris | 1 Episode 'The Surprise & The Crisis Plan' | |
| Millie Inbetween | Tony | Main role Series 1 | |
| 2015 | Fried | Gareth | 1 Episode 'The Chicken Awards' |
| 2017 | GLOW | Bruce | 1 Episode 'Money's In The Chase' |
| Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television | Famous Writer | 1 Episode 'Eight Is the New Se7en' | |
| 2018 | Me, Myself & I | Jeremy | 1 Episode 'There She Goes' |
| 2020 | Housebound | Stan | 1 Episode |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Stiffy | Other Corpse | |
| 2009 | Monsters and Rabbits | Kenny | |
| 2014 | Heart of Lightness | Max Buchanan | |
| Transformers: Age of Extinction | Gill Wembley | ||
| Paddington | Sixth Geographer | ||
| 2019 | The Mortuary Collection | Ralph Wilkes |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Assassin's Creed: Black Flag | Stede Bonnet | Voice |
References
edit- ^Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, ed. Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, Burke's Peerage Ltd, p. 553
- ^Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, ed. Hugh Montgomery-Massingberd, Burke's Peerage Ltd, p. 552-553
- ^ab"Comedy Interview: James Bachman".Londonist.31 October 2006.
- ^"The Cambridge Footlights Alumni".FootlightsOfficial Website.