Name
Michael Gambon
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1940-10-19
Deathday
2023-09-27 (83 years old)
Place of Birth
Cabra, Dublin, Ireland
Biography
Sir Michael John Gambon (October 19, 1940 – September 27, 2023) was an Irish-English actor. Gambon started his acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the original members of the Royal National Theatre. Over his six-decade-long career, he received three Olivier Awards and four BAFTA TV Awards. In 1998, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama.
Gambon appeared in many productions of works by William Shakespeare such as Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth and Coriolanus. Gambon was nominated for thirteen Olivier Awards, winning three times for A Chorus of Disapproval (1985), A View from the Bridge (1987), and Man of the Moment (1990). In 1997, Gambon made his Broadway debut in David Hare's Skylight, earning a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination.
Gambon made his film debut in Othello (1965). His other notable films include The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), The Wings of the Dove (1997), The Insider (1999), Gosford Park (2001), Amazing Grace (2006), The King's Speech (2010), Quartet (2012), and Victoria & Abdul (2017). Gambon also appeared in the Wes Anderson films The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). Gambon gained wider recognition through his role of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series from 2004 to 2011, replacing Richard Harris following his death in 2002.
For his work on television, he received four BAFTA Awards for The Singing Detective (1986), Wives and Daughters (1999), Longitude (2000), and Perfect Strangers (2001). He also received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Path to War (2002) and Emma (2009). Gambon's other notable projects include Cranford (2007) and The Casual Vacancy (2015). In 2017, he received the Irish Film & Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2020, he was listed at No. 27 on The Irish Times's list of Ireland's greatest film actors.
Known For
8.01
Harry Potter's life is in danger once more as dangerous wizard Sirius Black has escaped fr...
7.804
When his name emerges from the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter becomes a competitor in a grue...
7.681
Dumbledore tries to prepare Harry for the final battle with Voldemort while Death Eaters w...
7.735
Harry, Ron and Hermione walk away from their last year at Hogwarts to find and destroy the...
7.673
When a new professor's methods leave Hogwarts unprepared to fight the rising tide of evil,...
8.08
Harry, Ron and Hermione continue their quest to vanquish the evil Voldemort once and for a...
7.735
The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Quee...
- 1985 Forbidden Passion: The Oscar Wilde Movie
- 2004 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as Oseary Drakoulias
- 2006 The Good Shepherd as Dr. Fredericks
- 2003 Open Range as Denton Baxter
- 2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as Albus Dumbledore
- 2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as Albus Dumbledore
- 2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as Albus Dumbledore
- 2009 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as Albus Dumbledore
- 2001 High Heels and Low Lifes as Kerrigan
- 1985 Absurd Person Singular as Geoffrey
- 2009 Fantastic Mr. Fox as Franklin Bean (voice)
- 1999 Sleepy Hollow as Baltus Van Tassel
- 2004 Layer Cake as Eddie Temple
- 2001 Gosford Park as William McCordle
- 2003 Deep Blue as Narrator (voice)
- 1998 Dancing at Lughnasa as Father Jack Mundy
- 2010 The Book of Eli as George
- 2004 Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow as Paley
- 2003 Path to War as Lyndon Johnson
- 1989 The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover as Albert Spica
- 1992 Toys as General Zevo
- 1974 Bold Face: Condensed as John
- 1996 Midnight in Saint Petersburg as Alex
- 1989 A Dry White Season as Magistrate
- 1999 The Insider as Thomas Sandefur
- 2008 Brideshead Revisited as Lord Marchmain
- 1996 Mary Reilly as Mary’s Father
- 2003 The Actors as Barreller
- 2010 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 as Albus Dumbledore
- 2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 as Albus Dumbledore
- 2007 The Good Night as Alan Weigert
- 1974 The Beast Must Die as Jan Jarmokowski
- 1973 Nothing But the Night as Insp. Grant
- 1989 The Rachel Papers as Doctor Knowd
- 2007 The Baker as Leo
- 1973 The Catholics as Brother Kevin
- 2006 Amazing Grace as Lord Charles Fox
- 1995 Bullet to Beijing as Alexei
- 2007 Joe's Palace as Elliot Graham
- 1997 The Wings of the Dove as Lionel Croy
- 1994 Squanto: A Warrior's Tale as Sir George
- 2000 Endgame as Hamm
- 2000 The Last September as Sir Richard Naylor
- 1994 Clean Slate as Cornell
- 2004 Being Julia as Jimmie Langton
- 1994 The Browning Version as Dr. Frobisher
- 2000 Longitude as John Harrison
- 1994 A Man of No Importance as Ivor J. Carney
- 2011 Page Eight as Benedict Baron
- 1999 Dead on Time as Maurice Silverman
- 2004 Stories of Lost Souls as Larry
- 1996 The Willows in Winter as Badger
- 1995 The Wind in the Willows as Badger
- 2012 Quartet as Cedric Livingston
- 1985 Turtle Diary as George Fairbairn
- 1978 The Seagull as Trigorin
- 1987 Ghosts as Pastor Manders
- 1996 Two Deaths as Daniel Pavenic
- 2012 London: The Modern Babylon as Self (voice)
- 1989 Monster Maker as Ultragorgon
- 2004 The Magic Touch of Harry Potter as Self
- 1997 The Gambler as Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- 2013 Muse of Fire as Self
- 2014 On Angel Wings as Grandfather
- 1993 The Entertainer as Archie Rice
- 1988 Missing Link as Narrator (voice)
- 1996 The Innocent Sleep as Det. Insp. Matheson
- 1999 Plunkett & Macleane as Lord Gibson
- 2010 The King's Speech as King George V
- 2001 Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love as Self
- 1991 Mobsters as Don Salvatore Faranzano
- 2002 Ali G Indahouse as Prime Minister
- 2014 Common as Judge
- 2014 Paddington as Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
- 2001 Christmas Carol: The Movie as Ghost of Christmas Present (voice)
- 1971 A Midsummer Night's Dream as Theseus
- 2011 When Harry Left Hogwarts as Self
- 2007 The Alps - Climb of Your Life as Narrator (voice)
- 2015 Unity as Narrator (voice)
- 2003 Top Gear: Back in the Fast Lane as Self
- 2016 Dad's Army as Private Godfrey
- 2015 Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC as Self (archive footage)
- 2003 Sylvia as Professor Thomas
- 2017 Mad to Be Normal as Sidney Kotok
- 1976 In the Labyrinth as Duncan Harrison
- 1982 The Breadwinner as Charles Battle
- 2016 Churchill's Secret as Winston Churchill
- 2007 Celebration as Lambert
- 2016 Hail, Caesar! as Narrator (voice)
- 2001 Charlotte Gray as Levade
- 1976 The Other Woman as Robin
- 2019 The Death & Life of John F. Donovan as Man in Diner
- 1976 French Without Tears as Lt Cmdr Rogers
- 2010 Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol as Old Kazran / Elliot Sardick
- 2017 Victoria & Abdul as Lord Salisbury
- 2017 Viceroy's House as General Hastings Ismay
- 1996 Nothing Personal as Leonard
- 1967 Romeo and Juliet as Gregory
- 2013 National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage as Hirst
- 2017 Kingsman: The Golden Circle as Arthur
- 1989 Paris by Night as Gerald Paige
- 2017 Paddington 2 as Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
- 2013 Lucan as John Burke
- 2019 Judy as Bernard Delfont
- 2019 Cordelia as Mr. Moses
- 2018 The Last Witness as Frank Hamilton
- 2018 King of Thieves as Billy 'The Fish' Lincoln
- 2018 Citizen Lane as Lord Ardilaun
- 2018 Johnny English Strikes Again as Agent Five
- 1976 Tiptoe Through the Tulips as Piers
- 1972 Cows as Max
- 2003 Little Wolf's Book of Badness as Uncle Bigbad (voice)
- 1988 Mountain Language as Sergeant
- 1998 A Roll of the Dice: The Capeman on Broadway as Narrator (voice)
- 1989 The Heat of the Day as Harrison
- 2000 Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend as Self
- 1965 Othello
- 1965 Othello as Senators-Soldiers-Cypriots
- 2002 The Making of Gosford Park as Self
- 2005 Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal as Self
- 1978 One of These Nights I'm Gonna Get an Early Day as Kenny
- 1989 Monster Maker as Ultragorgon(voice)
- 2006 The Omen as Bugenhagen
- 2024 Doctor Who at the Proms as Kazran Sardick (archive footage)
- 1967 Much Ado About Nothing as Other Watchman
- 2006 John Duffy's Brother as Narrator
- 1975 The Secret Agent as Tom Ossipon
- 2003 Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film as Self - Hamm (archive footage)
- 1990 Blood Royal: William the Conqueror as William I
- 2002 Top Gear ( 2 episodes ) as Self
- 1986 The Singing Detective ( 6 episodes ) as Philip Marlow
- 1981 Bergerac ( 1 episode ) as Jarvis McLeod
- 1966 Softly, Softly ( 1 episode )
- 1979 Tales of the Unexpected ( 1 episode ) as Andrew
- 1994 Room 101 ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2001 Richard & Judy ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2000 Longitude ( 2 episodes ) as John Harrison
- 2001 Perfect Strangers ( 3 episodes ) as Raymond
- 1999 Wives and Daughters ( 4 episodes ) as Squire Hamley
- 1972 Arthur of the Britons ( 1 episode ) as Roland
- 1965 Public Eye ( 1 episode )
- 1968 The Borderers ( 26 episodes ) as Gavin Ker
- 2003 The Lost Prince ( 2 episodes ) as King Edward VII
- 1992 Maigret ( 12 episodes ) as Chief Inspector Maigret
- 2009 Emma ( 4 episodes ) as Mr. Woodhouse
- 1993 GMTV ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1985 Oscar ( 3 episodes ) as Oscar Wilde
- 2012 Luck ( 9 episodes ) as Michael
- 2010 The Michael Ball Show ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1991 Performance ( 1 episode ) as Archie Rice
- 2015 Fortitude ( 11 episodes ) as Henry Tyson
- 2014 Quirke ( 3 episodes ) as Judge Garret Griffin
- 1977 The Other One ( 13 episodes ) as Brian Bryant
- 2015 The Casual Vacancy ( 3 episodes ) as Howard Mollison
- 1987 The Dame Edna Experience ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2009 Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire ( 1 episode ) as Narrator
- 2007 Cranford ( 2 episodes ) as Thomas Holbrook
- 2016 The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells ( 1 episode ) as Elderly Philosopher
- 1989 About Face ( 1 episode )
- 1979 Minder ( 1 episode ) as Tommy Hambury
- 2017 Little Women ( 3 episodes ) as Mr. Laurence
- 2017 Fearless ( 6 episodes ) as Sir Alistair McKinnon
- 1970 Play for Today ( 1 episode ) as Piers
- 1970 Play for Today ( 1 episode ) as Max
- 1969 Softly Softly: Task Force ( 1 episode ) as Cranley
- 1970 Play for Today ( 1 episode ) as Robin
- 2012 Restless ( 2 episodes ) as Baron Mansfield / Lucas Romer
- 1994 Faith ( 2 episodes ) as Peter John Moreton
- 2013 The Frame ( 1 episode ) as Professor Albus Dumbledore
- 2012 The Hollow Crown ( 1 episode ) as Mortimer
- 1965 BBC Play of the Month ( 1 episode ) as Gregory
- 2013 Lucan ( 1 episode ) as John Burke
- 1991 The Storyteller: Greek Myths ( 4 episodes ) as The Storyteller
- 1996 Samson and Delilah ( 2 episodes ) as Re Hamun
- 1971 Great Performances ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1990 Have I Got News for You ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1985 Theatre Night ( 1 episode ) as Pastor Manders
- 1949 The BAFTA Awards ( 2 episodes ) as Self - Winner
- 1967 Omnibus ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1965 BBC Play of the Month ( 1 episode ) as Theseus
- 1965 BBC Play of the Month ( 1 episode ) as Lt. Cmdr. Bill Rogers
- 1965 BBC Play of the Month ( 1 episode ) as Boris Trigorin
- 1974 Zodiac ( 1 episode ) as Reuben Keiser
- 1973 Centre Play ( 1 episode ) as Duncan Harrison
- 2003 Angels in America ( 2 episodes ) as Prior Walter Ancestor #1 (uncredited)
- 1977 The Sunday Drama ( 1 episode ) as David Patton
- 1967 ITV Playhouse ( 1 episode ) as Charles Battle
- 1967 Omnibus ( 1 episode )
- 1969 ITV Saturday Night Theatre ( 1 episode ) as Brother Kevin
- 1973 Orson Welles' Great Mysteries ( 1 episode ) as Major Rolfe
- 1989 The Jim Henson Hour ( 1 episode ) as Ultragorgon (voice)
- 1985 Screen Two ( 1 episode ) as Ivor J. Carney
- 1970 Confession ( 1 episode ) as Mr. Tennent
- 1972 Six Days of Justice ( 1 episode ) as Mr.Golding
- 1973 Second City Firsts ( 1 episode ) as John
- 1971 Eyeless in Gaza ( 5 episodes ) as Mark Staithes
- 1974 Masquerade ( 1 episode ) as Stewart
- 1977 Premiere ( 1 episode ) as Kenny
