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

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

Appearances as themselves (21)

• 2015Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC — Self (archive footage)
• 2013Muse of Fire — Self
• 2012London: The Modern Babylon — Self (voice)
• 2011When Harry Left Hogwarts — Self
• The Michael Ball Show — Self
• 2005Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal — Self
• 2004The Magic Touch of Harry Potter — Self
• 2003Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film — Self - Hamm (archive footage)
• 2003Top Gear: Back in the Fast Lane — Self
• 2002The Making of Gosford Park — Self
• Top Gear — Self
• 2001Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love — Self
• Richard & Judy — Self
• 2000Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend — Self
• Room 101 — Self
• GMTV — Self
• Have I Got News for You — Self
• The Dame Edna Experience — Self
• Great Performances — Self
• Omnibus — Self
• The BAFTA Awards — Self - Winner