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Michael Gambon

Born 1940-10-19
Died 2023-09-27
📍 Cabra, Dublin, Ireland

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 181

Doctor Who at the Proms
as Kazran Sardick (archive footage)
2024
Judy
as Bernard Delfont
2019
Cordelia
as Mr. Moses
2019
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan
as Man in Diner
2019
Johnny English Strikes Again
as Agent Five
2018
King of Thieves
as Billy 'The Fish' Lincoln
2018
Citizen Lane
as Lord Ardilaun
2018
The Last Witness
as Frank Hamilton
2018
Little Women
as Mr. Laurence
2017
Paddington 2
as Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
2017
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
as Arthur
2017
Victoria & Abdul
as Lord Salisbury
2017
Fearless
as Sir Alistair McKinnon
2017
Mad to Be Normal
as Sidney Kotok
2017
Viceroy's House
as General Hastings Ismay
2017
Churchill's Secret
as Winston Churchill
2016
Dad's Army
as Private Godfrey
2016
Hail, Caesar!
as Narrator (voice)
2016
The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells
as Elderly Philosopher
2016
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
as Self (archive footage)
2015
Unity
as Narrator (voice)
2015
The Casual Vacancy
as Howard Mollison
2015
Fortitude
as Henry Tyson
2015
On Angel Wings
as Grandfather
2014
Paddington
as Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
2014
Common
as Judge
2014
Quirke
as Judge Garret Griffin
2014
Lucan
as John Burke
2013
Lucan
as John Burke
2013
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
as Hirst
2013
Muse of Fire
as Self
2013
The Frame
as Professor Albus Dumbledore
2013
Restless
as Baron Mansfield / Lucas Romer
2012
Quartet
as Cedric Livingston
2012
London: The Modern Babylon
as Self (voice)
2012
The Hollow Crown
as Mortimer
2012
Luck
as Michael
2012
When Harry Left Hogwarts
as Self
2011
Page Eight
as Benedict Baron
2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
as Albus Dumbledore
2011
Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol
as Old Kazran / Elliot Sardick
2010
The King's Speech
as King George V
2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
as Albus Dumbledore
2010
The Book of Eli
as George
2010
Fantastic Mr. Fox
as Franklin Bean (voice)
2009
Emma
as Mr. Woodhouse
2009
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
as Albus Dumbledore
2009
Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire
as Narrator
2009
Brideshead Revisited
as Lord Marchmain
2008
Cranford
as Thomas Holbrook
2007
Joe's Palace
as Elliot Graham
2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
as Albus Dumbledore
2007
The Alps - Climb of Your Life
as Narrator (voice)
2007
Celebration
as Lambert
2007
The Baker
as Leo
2007
The Good Night
as Alan Weigert
2007
The Good Shepherd
as Dr. Fredericks
2006
John Duffy's Brother
as Narrator
2006
Amazing Grace
as Lord Charles Fox
2006
The Omen
as Bugenhagen
2006
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
as Albus Dumbledore
2005
Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal
as Self
2005
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
as Oseary Drakoulias
2004
Stories of Lost Souls
as Larry
2004
Layer Cake
as Eddie Temple
2004
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
as Paley
2004
Being Julia
as Jimmie Langton
2004
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter
as Self
2004
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
as Albus Dumbledore
2004
Little Wolf's Book of Badness
as Uncle Bigbad (voice)
2003
Angels in America
as Prior Walter Ancestor #1 (uncredited)
2003
Path to War
as Lyndon Johnson
2003
Top Gear: Back in the Fast Lane
as Self
2003
Sylvia
as Professor Thomas
2003
Open Range
as Denton Baxter
2003
Deep Blue
as Narrator (voice)
2003
The Actors
as Barreller
2003
Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film
as Self - Hamm (archive footage)
2003
The Lost Prince
as King Edward VII
2003
Top Gear
as Self
2002
The Making of Gosford Park
as Self
2002
Ali G Indahouse
as Prime Minister
2002
Charlotte Gray
as Levade
2001
Gosford Park
as William McCordle
2001
Christmas Carol: The Movie
as Ghost of Christmas Present (voice)
2001
Richard & Judy
as Self
2001
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
as Self
2001
High Heels and Low Lifes
as Kerrigan
2001
Perfect Strangers
as Raymond
2001
Endgame
as Hamm
2000
Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend
as Self
2000
The Last September
as Sir Richard Naylor
2000
Longitude
as John Harrison
2000
Longitude
as John Harrison
2000
Wives and Daughters
as Squire Hamley
1999
Sleepy Hollow
as Baltus Van Tassel
1999
The Insider
as Thomas Sandefur
1999
Plunkett & Macleane
as Lord Gibson
1999
Dead on Time
as Maurice Silverman
1999
Dancing at Lughnasa
as Father Jack Mundy
1998
The Gambler
as Fyodor Dostoyevsky
1997
The Wings of the Dove
as Lionel Croy
1997
The Willows in Winter
as Badger
1996
Samson and Delilah
as Re Hamun
1996
Nothing Personal
as Leonard
1996
Midnight in Saint Petersburg
as Alex
1996
Two Deaths
as Daniel Pavenic
1996
Mary Reilly
as Mary’s Father
1996
The Innocent Sleep
as Det. Insp. Matheson
1996
The Wind in the Willows
as Badger
1995
Bullet to Beijing
as Alexei
1995
A Man of No Importance
as Ivor J. Carney
1994
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale
as Sir George
1994
Faith
as Peter John Moreton
1994
Room 101
as Self
1994
The Browning Version
as Dr. Frobisher
1994
Clean Slate
as Cornell
1994
The Entertainer
as Archie Rice
1993
GMTV
as Self
1993
Toys
as General Zevo
1992
Maigret
as Chief Inspector Maigret
1992
The Storyteller: Greek Myths
as The Storyteller
1991
Performance
as Archie Rice
1991
Mobsters
as Don Salvatore Faranzano
1991
Have I Got News for You
as Self
1990
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
as Albert Spica
1989
A Dry White Season
as Magistrate
1989
The Heat of the Day
as Harrison
1989
The Rachel Papers
as Doctor Knowd
1989
Paris by Night
as Gerald Paige
1989
The Jim Henson Hour
as Ultragorgon (voice)
1989
Monster Maker
as Ultragorgon
1989
Monster Maker
as Ultragorgon(voice)
1989
Mountain Language
as Sergeant
1988
Missing Link
as Narrator (voice)
1988
The Dame Edna Experience
as Self
1987
Ghosts
as Pastor Manders
1987
The Singing Detective
as Philip Marlow
1986
Turtle Diary
as George Fairbairn
1985
Theatre Night
as Pastor Manders
1985
Forbidden Passion: The Oscar Wilde Movie
1985
Oscar
as Oscar Wilde
1985
Absurd Person Singular
as Geoffrey
1985
Bergerac
as Jarvis McLeod
1981
Minder
as Tommy Hambury
1979
Tales of the Unexpected
as Andrew
1979
One of These Nights I'm Gonna Get an Early Day
as Kenny
1978
The Other One
as Brian Bryant
1977
French Without Tears
as Lt Cmdr Rogers
1976
Tiptoe Through the Tulips
as Piers
1976
In the Labyrinth
as Duncan Harrison
1976
The Other Woman
as Robin
1976
Bold Face: Condensed
as John
1974
The Beast Must Die
as Jan Jarmokowski
1974
Zodiac
as Reuben Keiser
1974
The Catholics
as Brother Kevin
1973
Centre Play
as Duncan Harrison
1973
Nothing But the Night
as Insp. Grant
1973
Arthur of the Britons
as Roland
1972
Cows
as Max
1972
A Midsummer Night's Dream
as Theseus
1971
Great Performances
as Self
1971
Play for Today
as Piers
1970
Play for Today
as Max
1970
Play for Today
as Robin
1970
Softly Softly: Task Force
as Cranley
1969
The Borderers
as Gavin Ker
1968
Omnibus
as Self
1967
ITV Playhouse
as Charles Battle
1967
Romeo and Juliet
as Gregory
1967
Much Ado About Nothing
as Other Watchman
1967
Softly, Softly
1966
Othello
1965
Othello
as Senators-Soldiers-Cypriots
1965
BBC Play of the Month
as Gregory
1965
BBC Play of the Month
as Theseus
1965
BBC Play of the Month
as Lt. Cmdr. Bill Rogers
1965
BBC Play of the Month
as Boris Trigorin
1965
Public Eye
1965
The BAFTA Awards
as Self - Winner
1949
Blood Royal: William the Conqueror
as William I