Michael Gambon
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.
Born: 19 October 1940 • Died: 27 September 2023
Played In
Doctor Who at the Proms
Kazran Sardick (archive footage)
Judy
Bernard Delfont
Cordelia
Mr. Moses
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan
Man in Diner
Johnny English Strikes Again
Agent Five
King of Thieves
Billy 'The Fish' Lincoln
Citizen Lane
Lord Ardilaun
The Last Witness
Frank Hamilton
Little Women
Mr. Laurence
Paddington 2
Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Arthur
Victoria & Abdul
Lord Salisbury
Fearless
Sir Alistair McKinnon
Mad to Be Normal
Sidney Kotok
Viceroy's House
General Hastings Ismay
Churchill's Secret
Winston Churchill
Dad's Army
Private Godfrey
Hail, Caesar!
Narrator (voice)
The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells
Elderly Philosopher
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
Self (archive footage)
Unity
Narrator (voice)
The Casual Vacancy
Howard Mollison
Fortitude
Henry Tyson
On Angel Wings
Grandfather
Paddington
Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
Common
Judge
Quirke
Judge Garret Griffin
Lucan
John Burke
Lucan
John Burke
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
Hirst
Muse of Fire
Self
The Frame
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Restless
Baron Mansfield / Lucas Romer
Quartet
Cedric Livingston
London: The Modern Babylon
Self (voice)
The Hollow Crown
Mortimer
Luck
Michael
When Harry Left Hogwarts
Self
Page Eight
Benedict Baron
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Albus Dumbledore
Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol
Old Kazran / Elliot Sardick
The King's Speech
King George V
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Albus Dumbledore
The Michael Ball Show
Self
The Book of Eli
George
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Franklin Bean (voice)
Emma
Mr. Woodhouse
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Albus Dumbledore
Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire
Narrator
Brideshead Revisited
Lord Marchmain
Cranford
Thomas Holbrook
Joe's Palace
Elliot Graham
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Albus Dumbledore
The Alps - Climb of Your Life
Narrator (voice)
Celebration
Lambert
The Baker
Leo
The Good Night
Alan Weigert
The Good Shepherd
Dr. Fredericks
John Duffy's Brother
Narrator
Amazing Grace
Lord Charles Fox
The Omen
Bugenhagen
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Albus Dumbledore
Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal
Self
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Oseary Drakoulias
Stories of Lost Souls
Larry
Layer Cake
Eddie Temple
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Paley
Being Julia
Jimmie Langton
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter
Self
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Albus Dumbledore
Little Wolf's Book of Badness
Uncle Bigbad (voice)
Angels in America
Prior Walter Ancestor #1 (uncredited)
Path to War
Lyndon Johnson
Top Gear: Back in the Fast Lane
Self
Sylvia
Professor Thomas
Open Range
Denton Baxter
Deep Blue
Narrator (voice)
The Actors
Barreller
Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film
Self - Hamm (archive footage)
The Lost Prince
King Edward VII
Top Gear
Self
The Making of Gosford Park
Self
Ali G Indahouse
Prime Minister
Charlotte Gray
Levade
Gosford Park
William McCordle
Christmas Carol: The Movie
Ghost of Christmas Present (voice)
Richard & Judy
Self
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
Self
High Heels and Low Lifes
Kerrigan
Perfect Strangers
Raymond
Endgame
Hamm
Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend
Self
The Last September
Sir Richard Naylor
Longitude
John Harrison
Longitude
John Harrison
Wives and Daughters
Squire Hamley
Sleepy Hollow
Baltus Van Tassel
The Insider
Thomas Sandefur
Plunkett & Macleane
Lord Gibson
Dead on Time
Maurice Silverman
Dancing at Lughnasa
Father Jack Mundy
A Roll of the Dice: The Capeman on Broadway
Narrator (voice)
The Gambler
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Wings of the Dove
Lionel Croy
The Willows in Winter
Badger
Samson and Delilah
Re Hamun
Nothing Personal
Leonard
Midnight in Saint Petersburg
Alex
Two Deaths
Daniel Pavenic
Mary Reilly
Mary’s Father
The Innocent Sleep
Det. Insp. Matheson
The Wind in the Willows
Badger
Bullet to Beijing
Alexei
A Man of No Importance
Ivor J. Carney
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale
Sir George
Faith
Peter John Moreton
Room 101
Self
The Browning Version
Dr. Frobisher
Clean Slate
Cornell
The Entertainer
Archie Rice
GMTV
Self
Toys
General Zevo
Maigret
Chief Inspector Maigret
The Storyteller: Greek Myths
The Storyteller
Performance
Archie Rice
Mobsters
Don Salvatore Faranzano
Have I Got News for You
Self
About Face
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
Albert Spica
A Dry White Season
Magistrate
The Heat of the Day
Harrison
The Rachel Papers
Doctor Knowd
Paris by Night
Gerald Paige
The Jim Henson Hour
Ultragorgon (voice)
Monster Maker
Ultragorgon
Monster Maker
Ultragorgon(voice)
Mountain Language
Sergeant
Missing Link
Narrator (voice)
The Dame Edna Experience
Self
Ghosts
Pastor Manders
The Singing Detective
Philip Marlow
Turtle Diary
George Fairbairn
Theatre Night
Pastor Manders
Forbidden Passion: The Oscar Wilde Movie
Oscar
Oscar Wilde
Screen Two
Ivor J. Carney
Absurd Person Singular
Geoffrey
The Breadwinner
Charles Battle
Bergerac
Jarvis McLeod
Minder
Tommy Hambury
Tales of the Unexpected
Andrew
One of These Nights I'm Gonna Get an Early Day
Kenny
The Seagull
Trigorin
The Other One
Brian Bryant
The Sunday Drama
David Patton
French Without Tears
Lt Cmdr Rogers
Tiptoe Through the Tulips
Piers
In the Labyrinth
Duncan Harrison
The Other Woman
Robin
The Secret Agent
Tom Ossipon
Bold Face: Condensed
John
The Beast Must Die
Jan Jarmokowski
Zodiac
Reuben Keiser
The Catholics
Brother Kevin
Second City Firsts
John
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
Major Rolfe
Centre Play
Duncan Harrison
Nothing But the Night
Insp. Grant
Arthur of the Britons
Roland
Six Days of Justice
Mr.Golding
Cows
Max
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Theseus
Eyeless in Gaza
Mark Staithes
Great Performances
Self
Play for Today
Piers
Play for Today
Max
Play for Today
Robin
Confession
Mr. Tennent
Softly Softly: Task Force
Cranley
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Brother Kevin
The Borderers
Gavin Ker
Omnibus
Self
Omnibus
ITV Playhouse
Charles Battle
Romeo and Juliet
Gregory
Much Ado About Nothing
Other Watchman
Softly, Softly
Othello
Othello
Senators-Soldiers-Cypriots
BBC Play of the Month
Gregory
BBC Play of the Month
Theseus
BBC Play of the Month
Lt. Cmdr. Bill Rogers
BBC Play of the Month
Boris Trigorin
Public Eye
The BAFTA Awards
Self - Winner
Blood Royal: William the Conqueror
William I