Michael Gambon
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- 19 October 1940 · Cabra, Dublin, Ireland
- Died
- 27 September 2023
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
Acting 134
- 2024Doctor Who at the Proms as Kazran Sardick (archive footage)
- 2019Judy as Bernard Delfont
- 2019Cordelia as Mr. Moses
- 2019The Death & Life of John F. Donovan as Man in Diner
- 2018King of Thieves as Billy 'The Fish' Lincoln
- 2018Johnny English Strikes Again as Agent Five
- 2018Citizen Lane as Lord Ardilaun
- 2018The Last Witness as Frank Hamilton
- 2017Ratburger as Narrator (voice)
- 2017Paddington 2 as Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
- 2017Kingsman: The Golden Circle as Arthur
- 2017Victoria & Abdul as Lord Salisbury
- 2017Mad to Be Normal as Sidney Kotok
- 2017Viceroy's House as General Hastings Ismay
- 2016Churchill's Secret as Winston Churchill
- 2016Hail, Caesar! as Narrator (voice)
- 2016Dad's Army as Private Godfrey
- 2015Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC as Self (archive footage)
- 2015Unity as Narrator (voice)
- 2014On Angel Wings as Grandfather
- 2014Paddington as Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
- 2014Common as Judge
- 2013Lucan as John Burke
- 2013National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage as Hirst
- 2013Muse of Fire as Self
- 2012Quartet as Cedric Livingston
- 2012London: The Modern Babylon as Self (voice)
- 2011When Harry Left Hogwarts as Self
- 2011Page Eight as Benedict Baron
- 2011Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 as Albus Dumbledore
- 2010Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol as Old Kazran / Elliot Sardick
- 2010The King's Speech as King George V
- 2010Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 as Albus Dumbledore
- 2010The Book of Eli as George
- 2009Fantastic Mr. Fox as Franklin Bean (voice)
- 2009Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince as Albus Dumbledore
- 2008Brideshead Revisited as Lord Marchmain
- 2007Joe's Palace as Elliot Graham
- 2007Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as Albus Dumbledore
- 2007The Alps - Climb of Your Life as Narrator (voice)
- 2007Celebration as Lambert
- 2007The Baker as Leo
- 2007The Good Night as Alan Weigert
- 2006The Good Shepherd as Dr. Fredericks
- 2006John Duffy's Brother as Narrator
- 2006Amazing Grace as Lord Charles Fox
- 2006The Omen as Bugenhagen
- 2005Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as Albus Dumbledore
- 2005Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal as Self
- 2004The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou as Oseary Drakoulias
- 2004Stories of Lost Souls as Larry
- 2004Layer Cake as Eddie Temple
- 2004Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow as Paley
- 2004Being Julia as Jimmie Langton
- 2004The Magic Touch of Harry Potter as Self
- 2004Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as Albus Dumbledore
- 2004Standing Room Only
- 2003Little Wolf's Book of Badness as Uncle Bigbad (voice)
- 2003Path to War as Lyndon Johnson
- 2003Top Gear: Back in the Fast Lane as Self
- 2003Sylvia as Professor Thomas
- 2003Open Range as Denton Baxter
- 2003Deep Blue as Narrator (voice)
- 2003The Actors as Barreller
- 2003Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film as Self - Hamm (archive footage)
- 2002The Making of Gosford Park as Self
- 2002Ali G Indahouse as Prime Minister
- 2001Charlotte Gray as Levade
- 2001Gosford Park as William McCordle
- 2001Christmas Carol: The Movie as Ghost of Christmas Present (voice)
- 2001Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love as Self
- 2001High Heels and Low Lifes as Kerrigan
- 2000Endgame as Hamm
- 2000Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend as Self
- 2000The Last September as Sir Richard Naylor
- 2000Longitude as John Harrison
- 1999Sleepy Hollow as Baltus Van Tassel
- 1999The Insider as Thomas Sandefur
- 1999Plunkett & Macleane as Lord Gibson
- 1999Dead on Time as Maurice Silverman
- 1998Dancing at Lughnasa as Father Jack Mundy
- 1998A Roll of the Dice: The Capeman on Broadway as Narrator (voice)
- 1997The Gambler as Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- 1997The Wings of the Dove as Lionel Croy
- 1996The Willows in Winter as Badger
- 1996Samson and Delilah as King Hamun
- 1996Nothing Personal as Leonard
- 1996Midnight in Saint Petersburg as Alex
- 1996Two Deaths as Daniel Pavenic
- 1996Mary Reilly as Mary’s Father
- 1996The Innocent Sleep as Det. Insp. Matheson
- 1995The Wind in the Willows as Badger (voice)
- 1995Bullet to Beijing as Alexei
- 1994A Man of No Importance as Ivor J. Carney
- 1994Squanto: A Warrior's Tale as Sir George
- 1994The Browning Version as Dr. Frobisher
- 1994Clean Slate as Cornell
- 1993The Entertainer as Archie Rice
- 1992Toys as General Zevo
- 1991The Storyteller: Greek Myths - Daedalus & Icarus as The Storyteller
- 1991The Storyteller: Greek Myths - Orpheus & Eurydice as The Storyteller
- 1991The Storyteller: Greek Myths - Perseus & the Gorgon as The Storyteller
- 1991The Storyteller: Greek Myths - Theseus & the Minotaur as The Storyteller
- 1991Mobsters as Don Salvatore Faranzano
- 1990Blood Royal: William the Conqueror as William I
- 1989The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover as Albert Spica
- 1989A Dry White Season as Magistrate
- 1989The Heat of the Day as Harrison
- 1989The Rachel Papers as Doctor Knowd
- 1989Paris by Night as Gerald Paige
- 1989Monster Maker as Ultragorgon
- 1988Mountain Language as Sergeant
- 1988Missing Link as Narrator (voice)
- 1987Ghosts as Pastor Manders
- 1985Turtle Diary as George Fairbairn
- 1985Forbidden Passion: The Oscar Wilde Movie
- 1985Absurd Person Singular as Geoffrey
- 1982The Breadwinner as Charles Battle
- 1978One of These Nights I'm Gonna Get an Early Day as Kenny
- 1978The Seagull as Trigorin
- 1976French Without Tears as Lt Cmdr Rogers
- 1976Tiptoe Through the Tulips as Piers
- 1976In the Labyrinth as Duncan Harrison
- 1976The Other Woman as Robin
- 1975The Secret Agent as Tom Ossipon
- 1974Bold Face: Condensed as John
- 1974The Beast Must Die as Jan Jarmokowski
- 1973The Catholics as Brother Kevin
- 1973Nothing But the Night as Insp. Grant
- 1972Cows as Max
- 1971A Midsummer Night's Dream as Theseus
- 1967Romeo and Juliet as Gregory
- 1967Much Ado About Nothing as Other Watchman
- 1965Othello