Star of HBO’s Strike Back, Jamie Bamber, on the challenges and rewards of filming in Southeast Asia
- Shot in Malaysia, the London-based actor found the heat and the humidity, as well as the physical and mental demands of the action-packed show, ‘relentless’
- Praises the warm welcome he received from Malaysian people, and found the country much changed in the 27 years since last visit
The term “shooting” a television series might have been coined for Strike Back .
Currently blazing through the HBO Go and Now TV channel 113 schedules, the show, filmed entirely on location in Malaysia, tells the breathless, all-action story of undercover British military intelligence unit Section 20, saving the world, during the current season, from its base in Southeast Asia.
The recovery of a stolen nuclear warhead is central to the unit’s counterterrorism operations in its seventh outing, and as with all previous series of a programme based on the eponymous novel by former Special Air Service soldier Chris Ryan, authenticity is the watchword.
“When I went in for weapons training or stunt work I could see the effort the cast has to put in, aside from filming,” says London-born actor Jamie Bamber, drafted in as the main new recruit and playing the Section 20 commander, Alexander Coltrane. “When they’re off camera they have to prepare for all the fights, which are always in a holding pattern – there are no short cuts, it’s constantly rigorous. I was impressed by the whole work ethic,” he continues.
“I’ve watched Alin strip an AK-47 down to its bare bones and put it back together again while eating a sandwich, almost,” says Bamber, marvelling at the skills of Iranian-Australian actress Alin Sumarwata, playing the returning Lance Corporal Gracie Novin. “The cast simply immerse themselves in their characters.”