Michael Gambon

Sir Michael John Gambon CBE (October 19, 1940 – September 28, 2023) was an Irish-British actor who has worked in theatre, television, and film. He was trained under Laurence Olivier and started his work on stage in the National Theatre. He received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play for his work in David Hare’s Skylight on Broadway. He retired from stage acting in 2015 due to memory loss. He is most famous for portraying Professor Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series, starting from the third film after the death of original actor Richard Harris. They collectively feature Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Gary Oldman, Ralph Fiennes, John Cleese, Imelda Staunton, Helena Bonham-Carter, Emma Thompson, David Thewlis, Gary Oldman, among others.

Gambon’s other films include Perter Greenway’s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), with Richard Bohringer, Helen Mirren and Alan Howard: Tim Burton‘s Sleepy Hollow (1999), with Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, and Christopher Walken; Robert Altman‘s Gosford Park (2001), with Eileen Atkins, Bob Balaban, Alan Bates, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Richard E. Grant, Derek Jacobi, Kelly Macdonald, Mirren, Jeremy Northam, Clive Owen, Ryan Phillippe, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Emily Watson; Wes Anderson‘s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), with Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Anjelica Huston and Bud Cort; The Omen (2006), with Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, Mia Farrow, and Pete Postlethwaite; The Book of Eli (2010), with Denzel Washington, Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, and Tom Waits; and Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech (2010), with Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Derek Jacobi, and Jennifer Ehle.

Gambon has appeared in various television programs, including The Singing Detective (1986), Bullet to Beijing (1995), with Michael Caine, Jason Connery, and Mia Sara; Wives and Daughters (1999), Emma (2009), Page Eight (2011), with Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Tom Hughes, Ralph Fiennes, and Judy Davis; Churchill’s Secret (2016), and Little Women (2017). He was knighted in 1998 for services to drama, and has won four BAFTA TV Awards, three Olivier Awards and was awarded the Irish Film & Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 for his contribution to Irish film. In 2020, he was listed at number 28 on The Irish Times list of Ireland’s greatest film actors. Each review will be linked to the title below. (*seen originally in theaters) (*seen rereleased in theaters)

Othello (1965) – directed by Stuart Burge
Much Ado About Nothing (1967) – directed by Alan Cooke – TV movie
Nothing But the Night (1973) – directed by Peter Sasdy
Conflict (1973) – directed by Jack Gold
The Beast Must Die (1974) – directed by Paul Annett
The Secret Agent (1975) – directed by Herbert Wise – TV movie
La Ronde (1982) – directed by Kenneth Ives – TV movie
Oscar (1985) – directed by Henry Herbert – miniseries
Tropical Moon Over Dorking (1985) – directed by Robert Chetwyn – TV movie
Turtle Diary (1985) – directed by John Irvin
Absurd Person Singular (1985) – directed by Michael A. Simpson – TV movie
The Singing Detective (1986) – directed by Jon Amiel – miniseries
Paris by Night (1988) – directed by David Hare
Missing Link (1988) – directed by Carol & David Hughes
Mountain Language (1989) – directed by Harold Pinter – TV short
The Rachel Papers (1989) – directed by Damian Harris
A Dry White Season (1989) – directed by Euzhan Palcy
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989) – directed by Peter Greenaway
The Heat of the Day (1989) – directed by Christopher Morahan – TV movie
Blood Royal: William the Conqueror (1990) – directed by Peter Jefferies – TV movie
Mobsters (1991) – directed by Michael Karbelnikoff
Toys (1992)* – directed by Barry Levinson
Mama’s Back (1993) – directed by Ed Bye – TV short
Clean Slate (1994) – directed by Mick Jackson
The Browning Version (1994) – directed by Mike Figgis
Faith (1994) – directed by John Strickland – miniseries
A Man of No Importance (1994) – directed by Suri Krishnamma
Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale (1994) – directed by Xavier Koller
Bullet to Beijing (1995) – directed by George Mihalka – TV movie
Nothing Personal (1995) – directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan
Two Deaths (1995) – directed by Nicolas Roeg
The Wind in the Willows (1995) – directed by Dave Unwin & Dennis Abey – TV movie
Midnight in Saint Petersburg (1996) – directed by Douglas Jackson
The Innocent Sleep (1996) – directed by Scott Michell
Mary Reilly (1996) – directed by Stephen Frears
Samson and Delilah (1996) – directed by Nicolas Roeg – miniseries
The Willows in Winter (1996) – directed by Dave Unwin & Dennis Abey – TV movie
The Wings of the Dove (1997) – directed by Iain Softley
The Gambler (1997) – directed by Károly Makk
Dancing at Lughnasa (1998) – directed by Pat O’Connor
Plunkett & Macleane (1999) – directed by Jake Scott
The Last September (1999) – directed by Deborah Warner
A Monkey’s Tale (1999) – directed by Jean-François Laguionie – aka Le Château des singes – English dub
The Insider (1999) – directed by Michael Mann
Sleepy Hollow (1999) – directed by Tim Burton
Wives and Daughters (1999) – directed by Nicholas Renton – miniseries
Dead on Time (1999) – directed by James Larkin – short
Longitude (2000) – directed by Charles Sturridge – TV movie
Endgame (2000) – directed by Conor McPherson – TV movie
Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure (2001) – directed by George Butler – documentary short
Perfect Strangers (2001) – directed by Stephen Poliakoff – miniseries
High Heels and Low Lifes (2001) – directed by Mel Smith
Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001) – directed by Jimmy T. Murakami
Gosford Park (2001) – directed by Robert Altman
Charlotte Gray (2001) – directed by Gillian Armstrong
Ali G Indahouse (2002) – directed by Mark Mylod
Path to War (2002) – directed by John Frankenheimer – TV movie
The Lost Prince (2003) – directed by Stephen Poliakoff – TV movie
The Actors (2003) – directed by Connor McPherson
Standing Room Only (2003) – directed by Deborra-Lee Furness
Open Range (2003) – directed by Kevin Costner
Little Wolf’s Book of Badness (2003) – directed by Karsten Kiilerich – short
Sylvia (2003) – directed by Christine Jeffs
Angels in America (2003) – directed by Mike Nichols – miniseries
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)* – directed by Kerry Conran
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)* – directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Being Julia (2004) – directed by István Szabó
Layer Cake (2004) – directed by Matthew Vaughn
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) – directed by Wes Anderson
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)* – directed by Mike Newell
The Omen (2006) – directed by John Moore
Amazing Grace (2006) – directed by Michael Apted
John Duffy’s Brother (2006) – directed by Mikel Murfi – short
The Good Shepherd (2006) – directed by Robert De Niro
The Good Night (2007) – directed by Jake Paltrow
Celebration (2007) – directed by John Crowley – TV short
The Alps (2007) – directed by Stephen Judson – narrator – documentary
The Baker (2007) – directed by Gareth Lewis
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)* – directed by David Yates
Joe’s Place (2007) – directed by Stephen Poliakoff – TV movie
Brideshead Revisited (2008) – directed by Julian Jarrold
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)* – directed by David Yates
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)* – directed by Wes Anderson
Emma (2009) – directed by Jim O’Hanlon – miniseries
The Book of Eli (2010)* – directed by The Hughes Brothers
The King’s Speech (2010) – directed by Tom Hooper
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)* – directed by David Yates
Page Eight (2011) – directed by David Hare – TV movie
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)* – directed by David Yates
Quartet (2012) – directed by Dustin Hoffman
Restless (2012) – directed by Edward Hall – TV movie
Common (2014) – directed by David Blair – TV movie
Paddington (2014) – directed by Paul King
On Angel’s Wings (2014) – directed by Dave Unwin – TV short
The Casual Vacancy (2015) – directed by Johnny Campbell – miniseries
Hail, Cesar! (2016)* – directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
Dad’s Army (2016) – directed by Oliver Parker
Churchill’s Secret (2016) – directed by Charles Sturridge – TV movie
Viceroy’s House (2017) – directed by Gurinder Chadha
Mad to Be Normal (2017) – directed by Robert Mullan
Fearless (2017) – directed by Peter Travis – miniseries
Victoria and Abdul (2017) – directed by Stephen Frears
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)* – directed by Matthew Vaughn
Paddington 2 (2017) – directed by Paul King
Little Women (2017) – directed by Vanessa Caswill – miniseries
The Last Witness (2018) – directed by Piotr Szkopiak
Citizen Lake (2018) – directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2018) – directed by Xavier Dolan
King of Thieves (2018) – directed by James Marsh
Johnny English Strikes Again (2018) – directed by David Kerr
Judy (2019) – drected by Rupert Goold
Cordelia (2019) – directed by Adrian Shergold
Cordelia (2019) – directed by Adrian Shergold

Share this: