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