James Metcalfe "Jamie" Campbell Bower (born 22 November 1988) is a English actor who portrays teenage Gellert Grindelwald[1] in the film adaptations of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows[2] and reprised his role for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.[3]
Biography[]
Jamie Campbell Bower was born and raised in London, attended Bedales and was once part of the National Music Theatre. He is a passionate musician, and is the lead singer of the band The Darling Buds alongside Jordan Spiers and Dan Smith.
He was once a full time male model with British modelling agency Select Model Management. He began acting when his friend and Sweeney Todd co-star Laura Michelle Kelly referred him to her agent.
In an interview with Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast on 2 September, 2022, he revealed that he ruined an audition for the role of Harry Potter prior to the film Harry potter and the Philosopher's Stone. During a meeting with director Chris Columbus, he told a dirty joke about how a fairy sits on a Christmas tree, which stunned everyone in the room. He did not receive the role but his agent, who represented Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort, got him the role of young Gellert Grindelwald when the production conducted a search for the role. [4]
In 2007, he starred in his first major film role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, alongside several Harry Potter actors.
In 2008, Bower had a small part in Guy Ritchie's film RocknRolla. The same year, he also starred in the movie Oorlogswinter, a Dutch film production, in which he played Jack.
Campbell Bower has played the vampire leader Caius Volturi in the film adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's novel The Twilight Saga: New Moon and resumed his role in the sequels The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Part 2.
Bower portrayed Jace Wayland in the 2013 film The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, an adaption of the first book of Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instrument series.
It was announced in September 2018 that Campbell Bower would play the younger version of Grindelwald again in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, released in November 2018.
Personal life[]
Jamie with his former fiancée Bonnie Wright at the world premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
In 2010, he was confirmed to be dating British actress and Harry Potter co-star Bonnie Wright,[5] and they announced their engagement in 2011. However, since the end of June 2012, the couple announced they had broken up, with Campbell later stating he was devastated.
Campbell later started a relationship with Lily Collins, a co-star in the film The Mortal Instruments. Collins and Campbell ended their relationship in 2013. They reconciled in 2015.[6]
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Dinner Party | Douglas | TV production |
| Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Anthony Hope | Directed by Tim Burton | |
| 2008 | RocknRolla | Rocker | Directed by Guy Ritchie |
| Winter in Wartime | Jack | Directed by Martin Koolhoven | |
| 2009 | The Prisoner | Number 11-12 | |
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Caius Volturi | Directed by Chris Weitz | |
| 2010 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | Young Gellert Grindelwald | Directed by David Yates |
| London Boulevard | Whiteboy | Directed by William Monahan | |
| 2011 | Anonymous | Young Oxford | Directed by Roland Emmerich |
| Camelot | King Arthur | Telivision Production | |
| Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | Young Gellert Grindelwald | Directed by David Yates | |
| The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 | Caius Volturi | Directed by Bill Condon | |
| 2012 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 | Caius Volturi | Directed by Bill Condon |
| 2013 | The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones | Jace Wayland | |
| 2014 | Overdrive | Garrett | |
| 2015 | Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure | Skiff | Directed by David Stoten |
| 2016 - present | Thomas & Friends | Skiff | TV series, 6 episodes. |
| 2018 | Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald | Young Gellert Grindelwald | Directed by David Yates |
| 2022 | Stranger Things | Henry Creel | Directed by the Duffer Brothers |
Behind the scenes[]
- Jamie Campbell Bower originally auditioned for the role of Harry Potter for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.[7]
- Bower plays the role of King Arthur in the 2011 TV series Camelot with Ralph Fiennes's brother, Joseph Fiennes as Merlin.
- Bower and John Hurt (Garrick Ollivander,) Rob Rackstraw and Eddie Redmayne (Newton Scamander) appeared in the same Thomas & Friends special, Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure.
- Bower and Rackstraw also both currently voice characters on the show as well, while Redmayne was a guest voice actor for the special.
- Bower has starred alongside several actors and actresses from the Harry Potter films in various projects:
- Johnny Depp (Gellert Grindelwald,) Alan Rickman (Severus Snape,) Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange,) and Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) in the 2007 film Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
- Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory) in three films from The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009,) Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Part 2 (2011-2012.)
External links[]
Jamie Campbell Bower's official account on X- Jamie Campbell Bower's official Tumblr account
Jamie Campbell Bower on Wikipedia- Jamie Campbell Bower at the Internet Movie Database
- Jamie Campbell Bower at Coolspotters.com
- Jamie Campbell Bower on GettyImages
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Jamie Campbell Bower Talks Role as Young Grindelwald in Deathly Hallows
- ↑ "Jamie's a bachelor of (dark) arts" from the Daily Mail
- ↑ News: "11 intriguing moments from the third Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald trailer" at Pottermore
- ↑ 'Stranger Things' star Jamie Campbell Bower says he ruined his chance to play Harry Potter by sharing NSFW joke during 'Sorcerer's Stone' audition
- ↑ http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20345667,00.html
- ↑ lilyjcollins on Instagram
- ↑ See this video