Biografia
Award-Winning Writer/Director Chris Jaymes has been active in the industry for multiple decades, having worked as an actor, writer, director and producer. He is a published author, with a best selling graphic novel, has toured with numerous bands as a piano/keyboard player, and his debut feature film as a writer/director attained numerous awards and nominations.
As an actor, Jaymes entered the entertainment industry at the age of 17, with a guest starring role in the hit show, Wings which was deleted from the episode prior to filming. Shortly, thereafter, he was cast alongside Cory Haim and opposite Helen Hunt in the CBS movie-of-the-week Murder In New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story. Cory later quit the production and was replaced by Chad Allen. Over the course of the next years, Jaymes would work on numerous hit shows including LOST and Party of Five, working with directors Ivan Reitman and actors Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Martin Short, and William Shatner.
As a director, his debut feature film, In Memory of My Father starring Judy Greer and Jeremy Sisto attained 20 international awards and nominations including Best Picture at Santa Barbara International Film Festival and CineVegas International Film Festival, Best Debut Feature at Sonoma Valley Film Festival, and Best Director at three festivals. Jaymes acted as writer, producer, and director
He has since directed numerous feature films and TV shows, including Long Story Short, starring Martin Short, Making A Scene, starring William Shatner and Cloris Leachman, The Cottage starring David Arquette, FOX Studios Netflix Original, Bad Samaritans produced by Walt Becker, Mile High produced by Coquette Productions for the Travel Channel, and a handful of others for networks including the CBC, Lifetime, and Sundance Channel.
Jaymes's original screenplay Sons of Chaos surrounding the 1821 Greek War for Independence was released as a graphic novel by Penguin Random House/IDW in the English territories, and Kaktos Publications in Greece where it became a best seller. His screenplay entitled Unconditional was acknowledged as a 2016 Semi-Finalist for the Academy of Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship Award. His non-fiction book, Boxing Day was published in 2007 surrounding his experiences as an aid worker in the 2004 tsunami which devastated South East Asia, and his research and footage of marine mammals won the 2014 Michael Debakey Journalism Award, recognizing outstanding journalism that highlights the responsible use of animal models in recent medical discoveries and scientific breakthroughs.
Jaymes is the piano player of the band previously under the Capitol Records label, Bootstraps, has toured with rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson, and attended Berklee College of Music studying piano and arranging/orchestration.
He has spent a significant amount of energy working for ocean and marine mammal conservation efforts including the development of the Ocean Aquarium Concept as a solution for the future of our oceans and the animals living within.
Chris Jaymes spent his childhood in Huntington Beach until moving into a loft in downtown Los Angeles at the age of seventeen with a group of musicians and skateboarders, including Jason Lee (My Name is Earl) and Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots).
Between 1994 and 1996, he was a member of the conservatory of South Coast Repertory Theater in Costa Mesa where he performed several plays on both the Main and Second stages, including "Three Sisters" and "Measure for Measure".
From 1997 through 1999, he starred in numerous plays including the role of Claire in Jean Genet's "The Maids" at L.A.T.C., Michael in Curtains at the International City Theater, and Don Baker, the blind guitarist and lead in "Butterflies Are Free" at the Matrix Theater in 1999.
In MySpace's heyday, he was hired as a Freelance Content Producer, to help stimulate and develop MySpace's homepage into a hub for video content, producing spots featuring artists and events, such as the Beastie Boys, Wyclef Jean, Lance Bass, the Toronto Film Festival, and many others.
During that same period, Jaymes produced and directed a number of commercials and web campaigns for companies such as Intel, Lenovo, Harper/Collins, FRS, NaturaPet, Nikki Six, and LiveBooks.com, while also focusing his efforts on a myriad of Non-Profit Organizations, including One Generation, Island Dolphin Care, and Sweet Relief Musician's Fund.
