Michael Gambon
Acting • Born 1940-10-19 – Died 2023-09-27
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
184 credits
Forbidden Passion: The Oscar Wilde Movie
Movie • 1985
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Movie • 2004
Oseary Drakoulias
The Good Shepherd
Movie • 2006
Dr. Fredericks
Open Range
Movie • 2003
Denton Baxter
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Movie • 2004
Albus Dumbledore
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Movie • 2005
Albus Dumbledore
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Movie • 2007
Albus Dumbledore
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Movie • 2009
Albus Dumbledore
High Heels and Low Lifes
Movie • 2001
Kerrigan
Absurd Person Singular
Movie • 1985
Geoffrey
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Movie • 2009
Franklin Bean (voice)
Sleepy Hollow
Movie • 1999
Baltus Van Tassel
Layer Cake
Movie • 2004
Eddie Temple
Deep Blue
Movie • 2003
Narrator (voice)
Gosford Park
Movie • 2001
William McCordle
Dancing at Lughnasa
Movie • 1998
Father Jack Mundy
The Book of Eli
Movie • 2010
George
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Movie • 2004
Paley
Path to War
Movie • 2003
Lyndon Johnson
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
Movie • 1989
Albert Spica
Toys
Movie • 1992
General Zevo
Bold Face: Condensed
Movie • 1974
John
Midnight in Saint Petersburg
Movie • 1996
Alex
A Dry White Season
Movie • 1989
Magistrate
The Insider
Movie • 1999
Thomas Sandefur
Brideshead Revisited
Movie • 2008
Lord Marchmain
Mary Reilly
Movie • 1996
Mary’s Father
The Actors
Movie • 2003
Barreller
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Movie • 2010
Albus Dumbledore
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Movie • 2011
Albus Dumbledore
The Good Night
Movie • 2007
Alan Weigert
The Beast Must Die
Movie • 1974
Jan Jarmokowski
Nothing But the Night
Movie • 1973
Insp. Grant
The Rachel Papers
Movie • 1989
Doctor Knowd
The Baker
Movie • 2007
Leo
Amazing Grace
Movie • 2006
Lord Charles Fox
The Catholics
Movie • 1973
Brother Kevin
Bullet to Beijing
Movie • 1995
Alexei
Joe's Palace
Movie • 2007
Elliot Graham
The Wings of the Dove
Movie • 1997
Lionel Croy
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale
Movie • 1994
Sir George
Endgame
Movie • 2000
Hamm
The Last September
Movie • 2000
Sir Richard Naylor
Clean Slate
Movie • 1994
Cornell
Being Julia
Movie • 2004
Jimmie Langton
The Browning Version
Movie • 1994
Dr. Frobisher
Longitude
Movie • 2000
John Harrison
A Man of No Importance
Movie • 1994
Ivor J. Carney
Page Eight
Movie • 2011
Benedict Baron
Dead on Time
Movie • 1999
Maurice Silverman
Stories of Lost Souls
Movie • 2004
Larry
The Wind in the Willows
Movie • 1995
Badger
The Willows in Winter
Movie • 1996
Badger
Quartet
Movie • 2012
Cedric Livingston
Turtle Diary
Movie • 1985
George Fairbairn
The Seagull
Movie • 1978
Trigorin
Ghosts
Movie • 1987
Pastor Manders
Two Deaths
Movie • 1996
Daniel Pavenic
London: The Modern Babylon
Movie • 2012
Self (voice)
Monster Maker
Movie • 1989
Ultragorgon
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter
Movie • 2004
Self
The Gambler
Movie • 1997
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Muse of Fire
Movie • 2013
Self
On Angel Wings
Movie • 2014
Grandfather
The Entertainer
Movie • 1993
Archie Rice
Missing Link
Movie • 1988
Narrator (voice)
The Innocent Sleep
Movie • 1996
Det. Insp. Matheson
Plunkett & MacLeane
Movie • 1999
Lord Gibson
The King's Speech
Movie • 2010
King George V
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
Movie • 2001
Self
Mobsters
Movie • 1991
Don Salvatore Faranzano
Ali G Indahouse
Movie • 2002
Prime Minister
Common
Movie • 2014
Judge
Paddington
Movie • 2014
Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
Christmas Carol: The Movie
Movie • 2001
Ghost of Christmas Present (voice)
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Movie • 1971
Theseus
When Harry Left Hogwarts
Movie • 2011
Self
The Alps - Climb of Your Life
Movie • 2007
Narrator (voice)
Unity
Movie • 2015
Narrator (voice)
Top Gear: Back in the Fast Lane
Movie • 2003
Self
Dad's Army
Movie • 2016
Private Godfrey
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
Movie • 2015
Self (archive footage)
Sylvia
Movie • 2003
Professor Thomas
Mad to Be Normal
Movie • 2017
Sidney Kotok
In the Labyrinth
Movie • 1976
Duncan Harrison
The Breadwinner
Movie • 1982
Charles Battle
Churchill's Secret
Movie • 2016
Winston Churchill
Celebration
Movie • 2007
Lambert
Hail, Caesar!
Movie • 2016
Narrator (voice)
Charlotte Gray
Movie • 2001
Levade
The Other Woman
Movie • 1976
Robin
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan
Movie • 2019
Man in Diner
French Without Tears
Movie • 1976
Lt Cmdr Rogers
Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol
Movie • 2010
Old Kazran / Elliot Sardick
Victoria & Abdul
Movie • 2017
Lord Salisbury
Viceroy's House
Movie • 2017
General Hastings Ismay
Nothing Personal
Movie • 1996
Leonard
Romeo and Juliet
Movie • 1967
Gregory
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
Movie • 2013
Hirst
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Movie • 2017
Arthur
Paris by Night
Movie • 1989
Gerald Paige
Paddington 2
Movie • 2017
Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
Lucan
Movie • 2013
John Burke
Judy
Movie • 2019
Bernard Delfont
Cordelia
Movie • 2019
Mr. Moses
The Last Witness
Movie • 2018
Frank Hamilton
King of Thieves
Movie • 2018
Billy 'The Fish' Lincoln
Citizen Lane
Movie • 2018
Lord Ardilaun
Johnny English Strikes Again
Movie • 2018
Agent Five
Tiptoe Through the Tulips
Movie • 1976
Piers
Cows
Movie • 1972
Max
Little Wolf's Book of Badness
Movie • 2003
Uncle Bigbad (voice)
Mountain Language
Movie • 1988
Sergeant
A Roll of the Dice: The Capeman on Broadway
Movie • 1998
Narrator (voice)
The Heat of the Day
Movie • 1989
Harrison
Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend
Movie • 2000
Self
Othello
Movie • 1965
Othello
Movie • 1965
Senators-Soldiers-Cypriots
The Making of Gosford Park
Movie • 2002
Self
Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal
Movie • 2005
Self
One of These Nights I'm Gonna Get an Early Day
Movie • 1978
Kenny
Monster Maker
Movie • 1989
Ultragorgon(voice)
The Omen
Movie • 2006
Bugenhagen
Doctor Who at the Proms
Movie • 2024
Kazran Sardick (archive footage)
Much Ado About Nothing
Movie • 1967
Other Watchman
John Duffy's Brother
Movie • 2006
Narrator
The Secret Agent
Movie • 1975
Tom Ossipon
Top Gear
TV • 2002
Self
The Singing Detective
TV • 1986
Philip Marlow
Bergerac
TV • 1981
Jarvis McLeod
Softly, Softly
TV • 1966
Tales of the Unexpected
TV • 1979
Andrew
Room 101
TV • 1994
Self
Richard & Judy
TV • 2001
Self
Longitude
TV • 2000
John Harrison
Perfect Strangers
TV • 2001
Raymond
Wives and Daughters
TV • 1999
Squire Hamley
Arthur of the Britons
TV • 1972
Roland
Public Eye
TV • 1965
The Borderers
TV • 1968
Gavin Ker
The Lost Prince
TV • 2003
King Edward VII
Maigret
TV • 1992
Chief Inspector Maigret
Emma
TV • 2009
Mr. Woodhouse
GMTV
TV • 1993
Self
Oscar
TV • 1985
Oscar Wilde
Luck
TV • 2012
Michael
The Michael Ball Show
TV • 2010
Self
Performance
TV • 1991
Archie Rice
Fortitude
TV • 2015
Henry Tyson
Quirke
TV • 2014
Judge Garret Griffin
The Other One
TV • 1977
Brian Bryant
The Casual Vacancy
TV • 2015
Howard Mollison
The Dame Edna Experience
TV • 1987
Self
Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire
TV • 2009
Narrator
Cranford
TV • 2007
Thomas Holbrook
The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells
TV • 2016
Elderly Philosopher
About Face
TV • 1989
Minder
TV • 1979
Tommy Hambury
Little Women
TV • 2017
Mr. Laurence
Fearless
TV • 2017
Sir Alistair McKinnon
Softly Softly: Task Force
TV • 1969
Cranley
Play for Today
TV • 1970
Piers
The Jim Henson Hour
TV • 1989
Ultragorgon (voice)
Play for Today
TV • 1970
Max
Play for Today
TV • 1970
Robin
Restless
TV • 2012
Baron Mansfield / Lucas Romer
Faith
TV • 1994
Peter John Moreton
Angels in America
TV • 2003
Prior Walter Ancestor #1
The Frame
TV • 2013
Professor Albus Dumbledore
The Hollow Crown
TV • 2012
Mortimer
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Gregory
Lucan
TV • 2013
John Burke
The Storyteller: Greek Myths
TV • 1991
The Storyteller
Samson and Delilah
TV • 1996
Re Hamun
Great Performances
TV • 1971
Self
Have I Got News for You
TV • 1990
Self
Theatre Night
TV • 1985
Pastor Manders
The BAFTA Awards
TV • 1949
Self - Winner
Omnibus
TV • 1967
Self
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Theseus
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Lt. Cmdr. Bill Rogers
BBC Play of the Month
TV • 1965
Boris Trigorin
Zodiac
TV • 1974
Reuben Keiser
Centre Play
TV • 1973
Duncan Harrison