Michael Gambon

Born: 1940-10-19 in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland

Died: 2023-09-27

Known For: Acting

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.

Filmography

2024

Doctor Who at the Proms as Kazran Sardick (archive footage)

2019

Cordelia as Mr. Moses
Judy as Bernard Delfont
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan as Man in Diner

2018

Johnny English Strikes Again as Agent Five
King of Thieves as Billy 'The Fish' Lincoln
Citizen Lane as Lord Ardilaun
The Last Witness as Frank Hamilton

2017

Kingsman: The Golden Circle as Arthur
Paddington 2 as Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
Little Women as Mr. Laurence
Viceroy's House as General Hastings Ismay
Victoria & Abdul as Lord Salisbury
Mad to Be Normal as Sidney Kotok
Fearless as Sir Alistair McKinnon

2016

Dad's Army as Private Godfrey
Hail, Caesar! as Narrator (voice)
Churchill's Secret as Winston Churchill
The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells as Elderly Philosopher

2015

Unity as Narrator (voice)
Fortitude as Henry Tyson
The Casual Vacancy as Howard Mollison
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC as Self (archive footage)

2014

Paddington as Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
Common as Judge
Quirke as Judge Garret Griffin
On Angel Wings as Grandfather

2013

Lucan as John Burke
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage as Hirst
The Frame as Professor Albus Dumbledore
Muse of Fire as Self
Lucan as John Burke

2012

Quartet as Cedric Livingston
The Hollow Crown as Mortimer
London: The Modern Babylon as Self (voice)
Luck as Michael
Restless as Baron Mansfield / Lucas Romer

2007

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as Albus Dumbledore
The Baker as Leo
Celebration as Lambert
Cranford as Thomas Holbrook
Joe's Palace as Elliot Graham
The Good Night as Alan Weigert
The Alps - Climb of Your Life as Narrator (voice)

2006

Amazing Grace as Lord Charles Fox
The Omen as Bugenhagen
The Good Shepherd as Dr. Fredericks
John Duffy's Brother as Narrator

2005

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as Albus Dumbledore
Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal as Self

2004

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as Albus Dumbledore
Being Julia as Jimmie Langton
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow as Paley
Layer Cake as Eddie Temple
Stories of Lost Souls as Larry
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as Oseary Drakoulias
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter as Self

2003

Deep Blue as Narrator (voice)
Sylvia as Professor Thomas
Open Range as Denton Baxter
The Actors as Barreller
Path to War as Lyndon Johnson
Angels in America as Prior Walter Ancestor #1
Top Gear: Back in the Fast Lane as Self
Little Wolf's Book of Badness as Uncle Bigbad (voice)
The Lost Prince as King Edward VII

2002

Top Gear as Self
Ali G Indahouse as Prime Minister
The Making of Gosford Park as Self

2001

Richard & Judy as Self
Charlotte Gray as Levade
High Heels and Low Lifes as Kerrigan
Christmas Carol: The Movie as Ghost of Christmas Present (voice)
Gosford Park as William McCordle
Perfect Strangers as Raymond
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love as Self

2000

Longitude as John Harrison
Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend as Self
Endgame as Hamm
The Last September as Sir Richard Naylor
Longitude as John Harrison

1999

Sleepy Hollow as Baltus Van Tassel
Plunkett & MacLeane as Lord Gibson
The Insider as Thomas Sandefur
Wives and Daughters as Squire Hamley
Dead on Time as Maurice Silverman

1998

Dancing at Lughnasa as Father Jack Mundy
A Roll of the Dice: The Capeman on Broadway as Narrator (voice)

1997

The Gambler as Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Wings of the Dove as Lionel Croy

1996

Mary Reilly as Mary’s Father
Two Deaths as Daniel Pavenic
Nothing Personal as Leonard
The Willows in Winter as Badger
Midnight in Saint Petersburg as Alex
The Innocent Sleep as Det. Insp. Matheson
Samson and Delilah as Re Hamun

1995

The Wind in the Willows as Badger
Bullet to Beijing as Alexei

1994

Room 101 as Self
The Browning Version as Dr. Frobisher
A Man of No Importance as Ivor J. Carney
Clean Slate as Cornell
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale as Sir George
Faith as Peter John Moreton

1993

GMTV as Self
The Entertainer as Archie Rice

1992

Toys as General Zevo
Maigret as Chief Inspector Maigret

1991

Mobsters as Don Salvatore Faranzano
Performance as Archie Rice
The Storyteller: Greek Myths as The Storyteller

1990

Have I Got News for You as Self

1989

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover as Albert Spica
Monster Maker as Ultragorgon
A Dry White Season as Magistrate
The Rachel Papers as Doctor Knowd
The Heat of the Day as Harrison
Paris by Night as Gerald Paige
The Jim Henson Hour as Ultragorgon (voice)
About Face

1988

Mountain Language as Sergeant
Missing Link as Narrator (voice)

1987

Ghosts as Pastor Manders
The Dame Edna Experience as Self

1986

The Singing Detective as Philip Marlow

1985

Turtle Diary as George Fairbairn
Absurd Person Singular as Geoffrey
Theatre Night as Pastor Manders
Forbidden Passion: The Oscar Wilde Movie
Oscar as Oscar Wilde

1982

The Breadwinner as Charles Battle

1981

Bergerac as Jarvis McLeod

1979

Minder as Tommy Hambury
Tales of the Unexpected as Andrew

1978

The Seagull as Trigorin
One of These Nights I'm Gonna Get an Early Day as Kenny

1977

The Other One as Brian Bryant

1976

The Other Woman as Robin
Tiptoe Through the Tulips as Piers
In the Labyrinth as Duncan Harrison
French Without Tears as Lt Cmdr Rogers

1975

The Secret Agent as Tom Ossipon

1974

Zodiac as Reuben Keiser
The Beast Must Die as Jan Jarmokowski
Bold Face: Condensed as John

1973

The Catholics as Brother Kevin
Nothing But the Night as Insp. Grant

1972

Cows as Max
Arthur of the Britons as Roland

1971

Great Performances as Self
A Midsummer Night's Dream as Theseus

1970

Play for Today as Piers

1969

Softly Softly: Task Force as Cranley

1968

The Borderers as Gavin Ker

1967

Omnibus as Self
Romeo and Juliet as Gregory
Much Ado About Nothing as Other Watchman

1966

Softly, Softly

1965

1949

The BAFTA Awards as Self - Winner