Michael Gambon

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Michael Gambon

CBE
Michael Gambon 2011.webp
Gambon in July 2011
Born (1940-10-19) 19 October 1940 (age 80)
Dublin, Ireland
OccupationActor
Years active1962–present
Works
Full list
Spouse(s)
Anne Miller
(m. 1962)
Children3
AwardsFull list
Signature
Michael Gambon Autograph.png

Sir Michael John Gambon CBE (born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English[1] actor. Having trained under Laurence Olivier, he started his career on stage at the Royal National Theatre. Gambon is known for portraying Professor Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series from 2004 to 2011.

Having started his career on the theatre with Olivier with the National Theatre Company at the Old Vic Gambon appeared in many productions of works by William Shakespeare such as Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth and Coriolanus. Gambon has been nominated for thirteen Olivier Awards for his work on the London stage. He won three awards including for his performance as Eddie Carbone in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge in 1987. He also won for his performances in Alan Ayckbourn's plays A Chorus of Disapproval and Man of the Moment. For his work on the Broadway stage he went on to receive a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as Tom Sergeant in David Hare's Skylight in 1997. He also received a Drama Desk Award, and Olivier Award nomination. In 2013, Gambon took part in the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the National Theatre.[2]

Gambon made his film debut in Othello (1965) alongside Laurence Olivier and Maggie Smith. Gambon's other films include Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), Iain Softley's The Wings of the Dove (1997), Michael Mann's The Insider (1999), Robert Altman's Gosford Park (2001), Michael Apted's Amazing Grace (2006), Tom Hooper's The King's Speech (2010), Dustin Hoffman's Quartet (2012), and Stephen Frears' Victoria & Abdul (2017). Gambon has also appeared in the Wes Anderson films The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). He is known for his performances in television programmes such as The Singing Detective (1986), Wives and Daughters (1999), Path to War (2002), Cranford (2007), Emma (2009), The Casual Vacancy (2015), Churchill's Secret (2016), and Little Women (2017).

Gambon was knighted in 1998 for services to drama. He has received four BAFTA TV Awards, three Olivier Awards (a thirteen-time nominee), and the 2017 Irish Film & Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2020, he was listed at No. 28 on The Irish Times' list of Ireland's greatest film actors.[3] He retired from stage acting in 2015 due to memory loss, but continues to act on screen.

Early life[]

Michael John Gambon was born in the Cabra suburb of Dublin[4] on 19 October 1940.[5] His mother, Mary (née Hoare), was a seamstress, while his father, Edward Gambon, was an engineering operative during World War II.[6] His father decided to seek work in the rebuilding of London, and moved the family to Mornington Crescent in London's Camden borough when Gambon was six. His father arranged for him to be made a British citizen, a decision that would later allow him to receive a substantive (rather than honorary) knighthood.[7][a] Brought up as a strict Roman Catholic,[8] he attended St Aloysius Boys' School in Somers Town and served at the altar.[8] He then moved to St Aloysius' College in Highgate, whose former pupils include actor Peter Sellers.[8][9] He later moved to North End, Kent, where he attended Crayford Secondary School but left with no qualifications at the age of 15.[10] He then gained an apprenticeship as a toolmaker with Vickers Armstrong. By the time he was 21, he was a qualified engineering technician. He kept the job for a further year, acquiring a lifelong passion for collecting antique guns, clocks, watches and classic cars.[11]

Career[]

Theatre[]

1960–1979: Stage debut and National Theatre[]

Laurence Olivier, the first Artistic Director of the National Theatre in 1963, was a mentor to Gambon

At age 24, Gambon wrote a letter to Micheál Mac Liammóir, the Irish theatre impresario who ran Dublin's Gate Theatre, accompanied by a CV describing a rich and wholly imaginary theatre career: he was taken on.[12]

Gambon made his professional stage debut in the Gate Theatre's 1962 production of Othello, playing "Second Gentleman", followed by a European tour. A year later, auditioning with the opening soliloquy from Richard III, he caught the eye of Laurence Olivier who was recruiting promising actors for his new National Theatre Company.[13] Gambon, along with Robert Stephens, Derek Jacobi and Frank Finlay, were hired as one of the "to be renowned" and played any number of small roles, appearing on cast lists as "Mike Gambon". The company initially performed at the Old Vic, their first production being Hamlet, directed by Olivier and starring Peter O'Toole. Gambon played for four years in many NT productions, including named roles in The Recruiting Officer and The Royal Hunt of the Sun, working with directors William Gaskill and John Dexter.[14]

After three years at the Old Vic, Olivier advised Gambon to gain experience in provincial rep. In 1967, he left the National Theatre for the Birmingham Repertory Company, which was to give him his first crack at the title roles in Othello (his favourite), Macbeth and Coriolanus.

His rise to fame began in 1974 when Eric Thompson cast him as the melancholy vet in Alan Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests at Greenwich. A speedy transfer to the West End established him as a comic actor, squatting at a crowded dining table on a tiny chair and agonising over a choice between black or white coffee. Back at the National, now on the South Bank, his next turning point was Peter Hall's premiere staging of Harold Pinter's Betrayal, a performance marked by subtlety – a production photograph shows him embracing Penelope Wilton with sensitive hands and long slim fingers (the touch of a master clock-maker). He is also one of the few actors to have mastered the demands of the vast Olivier Theatre. As Simon Callow once said: "Gambon's iron lungs and overwhelming charisma are able to command a sort of operatic full-throatedness which triumphs over hard walls and long distances".

1980–1991: Rise to prominence and awards success[]

Gambon's powerful voice and presence were to serve him in good stead in John Dexter's masterly staging of The Life of Galileo by Brecht at the National Theatre in 1980, the first Brecht’s play to become a popular success. Hall called him "unsentimental, dangerous and immensely powerful," and The Sunday Times called his performance "a decisive step in the direction of great tragedy... great acting," while fellow actors paid him the rare compliment of applauding him in the dressing room on the first night.[15]

Ralph Richardson dubbed him The Great Gambon, an accolade which stuck, although Gambon dismisses it as a circus slogan.[16][17] But as Sheridan Morley perceptively remarked in 2000, when reviewing Nicholas Wright's Cressida: "Gambon's eccentricity on stage now begins to rival that of his great mentor Richardson". Also like Richardson, interviews are rarely given and raise more questions than they answer. Gambon is a very private person, a "non-starry star" as Ayckbourn has called him. Off-stage he prefers to stay out of the limelight.[18] While he has won screen acclaim, his ravaged King Lear at Stratford, while he was still in his early forties, formed a double act with a red-nosed Antony Sher as the Fool sitting on his master's knee like a ventriloquist's doll.

1995–2005: Broadway debut and other roles[]

There were also appearances in Harold Pinter's Old Times at the Haymarket Theatre and Ben Jonson's Volpone and the brutal sergeant in Pinter's Mountain Language. In 1995 Gambon starred in David Hare's Skylight, with Lia Williams, which opened to rave reviews at the National Theatre. The play transferred first to Wyndham's Theatre and then on to Broadway for a four-month run which left him in a state of advanced exhaustion. "Skylight was ten times as hard to play as anything I've ever done" he told Michael Owen in the Evening Standard. "I had a great time in New York, but wanted to return." Gambon received his first Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play.

Gambon was not among the actors to grace Yasmina Reza's 'Art' at Wyndham's. But together with Simon Russell Beale and Alan Bates, he gave a droll radio account of the role of Marc. And for the RSC he shared Reza's two-hander The Unexpected Man with Eileen Atkins, first at The Pit in the Barbican and then at the Duchess Theatre, a production also intended for New York but finally delayed by other commitments.

In 2001, he played what he described as "'a physically repulsive" Davies in Patrick Marber's revival of Pinter's The Caretaker, but he found the rehearsal period an unhappy experience, and felt that he had let down the author. A year later, playing opposite Daniel Craig, he portrayed the father of a series of cloned sons in Caryl Churchill's A Number at the Royal Court, notable for a recumbent moment when he smoked a cigarette, the brightly lit spiral of smoke rising against a black backdrop, an effect which he dreamt up during rehearsals.

In 2004, Gambon played the lead role (Hamm) in Samuel Beckett's post-apocalyptic play Endgame at the Albery Theatre, London.[19] In 2005 he finally achieved a lifelong ambition to play Falstaff, in Nicholas Hytner's National production of Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2, co-starring with Matthew Macfadyen as Prince Hal.

2006–2015: Final roles and stage retirement[]

In 2006, He performed as Joe in Beckett's Eh Joe, giving two performances a night at the Duke of York's Theatre in London. That same year he played Henry in Stephen Rea's play about Samuel Beckett's Embers for Radio 3.[20] In 2007 he was Sam in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming for Radio 3.[21]

In 2008, Gambon appeared in the role of Hirst in No Man's Land by Harold Pinter in the Gate Theatre, Dublin, opposite David Bradley as Spooner, in a production directed by Rupert Goold, which transferred to the London West End's Duke of York's Theatre, for which roles each received nominations for the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. After Pinter's death on 24 December 2008, Gambon read Hirst's monologue selected by the playwright for Gambon to read at his funeral, held on 31 December 2008, during the cast's memorial remarks from the stage as well as at the funeral and also in Words and Music, transmitted on the BBC Radio 3 on 22 February 2009.[22]

In late 2009, Gambon had to withdraw from his role of W. H. Auden in The Habit of Art (being replaced by Richard Griffiths) because of ill health. In April 2010, Gambon returned once again to the Gate Theatre Dublin to appear in Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, which transferred to London's Duchess Theatre in October 2010.[23] Also in 2012, he starred with Eileen Atkins in an adaptation of Beckett's radio play, All That Fall. Its premiere was at the Jermyn Street Theatre and it later transferred to the Arts Theatre. All That Fall had such good reviews in London that they took it to New York. In New York, they recast the role of Jerry and Liam Thrift got the part. They were a huge hit in New York, in 2013, and sold out the whole run after 4 days.

In early 2015, Gambon announced that due to the increasing length of time it was taking him to memorise his lines, he was giving up stage work. He stated that "It's a horrible thing to admit". He had previously tried using an earpiece and being given prompts by theatre staff, but found this unsatisfactory, saying that "after about an hour I thought, 'This can't work. You can't be in theatre, free on stage shouting and screaming and running around, with someone reading you your lines.'"[24][25]

Film[]

1965–1988: Film debut and early roles[]

He made his film debut in the Laurence Olivier's Othello alongside Maggie Smith and Derek Jacobi in 1965. After his film debut in Olivier's Othello, Gambon was asked by James Bond producer Cubby Broccoli to audition for the role in 1970, to replace George Lazenby. He continued acting in the British horror films Nothing But the Night (1973), and The Beast Must Die (1974). In 1985 he appeared in the British drama film Turtle Diary directed by John Irvin with a screenplay adapted by Harold Pinter. The film starred Glenda Jackson and Ben Kingsley.

1989–2003: Independent films and acclaim[]

In 1989, Gambon starred in the acclaimed and controversial Peter Greenaway film The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, which also starred Helen Mirren. He later starred as Fyodor Dostoyevsky in the Hungarian director Károly Makk's film The Gambler (1997) about the writing of Dostoyevsky's novella The Gambler. In the 1990s he appeared in films such as, Barry Levinson's fantasy comedy Toys (1992), the period drama Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), the action film Plunkett & Macleane (1998), Michael Mann's political drama The Insider (1999), Tim Burton's gothic horror film Sleepy Hollow (1999).

During the 2000s, Gambon appeared in several films including Robert Altman's murder mystery ensemble Gosford Park. In 2003, he appeared with Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner, playing the principal villain in the Western film Open Range.

2004–2011: Harry Potter and other roles[]

In 2004, he appeared in five films, including Wes Anderson's cult comedy The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou; the British gangster film Layer Cake; theatrical drama Being Julia.

In 2007, Gambon appeared in Michael Apted's historical drama Amazing Grace alongside Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Benedict Cumberbatch, Albert Finney, Rufus Sewell. The film focuses on William Wilberforce who led the campaign against the slave trade in the British Empire. The film is Certified Fresh according to Rotten Tomatoes with critics consensus describing the film as "your quintessential historical biopic: stately, noble, and with plenty of electrifying performances."[26] That same year he played major roles the acclaimed BBC five-part adaptation of Mrs Gaskell's Cranford novels alongside Judi Dench, and Imelda Staunton and in Stephen Poliakoff's Joe's Palace.

Wax figure of Gambon's Albus Dumbledore from the Harry Potter film series

His best-known role is perhaps that of Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts' headmaster in the third instalment of J. K. Rowling's franchise, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, taking over the role after the death of Richard Harris. (Harris had also played Maigret on television four years before Gambon took that role.) Gambon reprised the role of Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which was released in November 2005 in the United Kingdom and the United States. He returned to the role again in the fifth film, 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and the sixth film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. He appeared in the seventh film; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts I and II, released in two parts in 2010 and 2011. Gambon told an interviewer that, when playing Dumbledore, he does not "have to play anyone really. I just stick on a beard and play me, so it's no great feat. I never ease into a role—every part I play is just a variant of my own personality. I'm not really a character actor at all...'"[27]

In 2010, Gambon also appeared in Tom Hooper's acclaimed historical drama The King's Speech as King George V, alongside Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, and Guy Pearce. The film received widespread critical acclaim, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reporting the film with a score of 95% Certified Fresh with the website's critical consensus reading: "Colin Firth gives a masterful performance in The King's Speech, a predictable but stylishly produced and rousing period drama.[28] In 2011, the film received 12 Academy Awards nominations, more than any other film in that year. The film won four Oscars including Best Picture, Director, Actor, and Adapted Screenplay.

2012–2019: British films and comedies[]

In 2012, he played a role in Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut with Quartet, based on the same-titled play by Ronald Harwood and starring Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly and Pauline Collins. The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival to favourable reviews. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 80% approval rating with the consensus reading, "It's sweet, gentle, and predictable to a fault, but Dustin Hoffman's affectionate direction and the talented cast's amiable charm make Quartet too difficult to resist."[29]

Gambon in 2013

In 2016, Gambon was the narrator for the Coen Brothers' Hollywood comedy Hail, Caesar!, which satirized the 1950s Hollywood film industry and featured an ensemble cast including Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Channing Tatum. The film was well received by critics, earning an approval rating of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus being, "Packed with period detail and perfectly cast, Hail, Caesar! finds the Coen brothers delivering an agreeably lightweight love letter to post-war Hollywood."[30] The film also received an Academy Award nomination for its Production Design. He found the role opposite Bill Nighy, Toby Jones and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the war comedy film Dad's Army (2016), based on the television sitcom of the same name. Gambon has also provided voiceovers as Uncle Pastuzo in the Paddington films (2014, 2018). The films star Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, Imelda Staunton, Brendan Gleeson, Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman.

In 2019, he appeared in the biographical film Judy, about Judy Garland, starring Renée Zellweger, Rufus Sewell, Finn Wittrock and Jessie Buckley.[31] That same year Gambon appeared in Adrian Shergold's period thriller Cordelia, acting alongside Johnny Flynn and Catherine McCormack.

Television[]

1967–1985: Television debut and early roles[]

In 1967 he made his television debut in the BBC television adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing as Watchman No. 4. He also starred in British programs such as Softly, Softly (!967), and Public Eye (1968). From 1968 to 1970 he starred in the BBC historical series The Borderers as Gavin Kerr. He also had a recurring role in the Canadian series The Challengers (1972). He also appeared in various shows televising theatrical productions including Play for Today, Play of the Month, and ITV Playhouse.

1986–1999: The Singing Detective and acclaim[]

His craggy looks soon made him into a character actor. But it was not until Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective (1986) that he became a household name. After this success, for which he won his first British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. he famously starred as Georges Simenon's detective Inspector Jules Maigret in an ITV adaptation of Simenon's series of books. He subsequently played romantic leads, notably in the BBC television series The Borderers (1968–70), in which he was swashbuckling Gavin Ker. In 1990 he played Jerry in Harold Pinter's Betrayal for BBC Radio 3. In 1991, he starred as Tommy Hanbury in an episode of the ITV series Minder called "Look Who's Coming To Pinner". He also appeared in the BBC limited series Wives and Daughters (1999) based on the Victorian novel by the same name by Elizabeth Gaskell. He portrayed Squire Hamley and received his second BAFTA Award nomination and win for Best Actor.

2000–2009: Established character actor[]

Gambon starred in a made-for-TV adaptation of Samuel Beckett's Endgame (2001) and Perfect Strangers (2001) have revealed a talent for comedy. Gambon played President Lyndon B. Johnson in the television film Path to War. About his performance The Washington Post said: "Gambon is entirely up to the task of making a larger-than-life icon seem painfully -- and in the end, helplessly -- human. It is a performance of fire and brimstone".[32] He was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Mini-series or Movie and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. In series 1 episode 8 of BBC's Top Gear, he was a Star in a Reasonably Priced Car. Around the last corner of his lap around the track, he came close to rolling the car. The corner from then on was named "Gambon Corner" or simply "Gambon" in his honour.[33]

In 2009, he appeared in a television adaptation of Jane Austen's famously irrepressible Emma, a four-hour miniseries that premiered on BBC One in October 2009, co-starring Romola Garai.[34] He played Mr. Woodhouse for which he received a 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie nomination for his performance.

2010–2019: Roles in HBO and PBS projects[]

Gambon appeared in the 2010 Christmas Special of Doctor Who, "A Christmas Carol".[35] During the 2010s he has also known for his voice work. He appeared as the Narrator in the British version of Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire. In 2013, Gambon provided the voice for The Prophet, a character in the MMORPG video game The Elder Scrolls Online. Gambon has performed voiceover for the Guinness ads with the penguins.[36]

In 2012, Gambon reunited with Dustin Hoffman in the HBO horse-racing drama Luck, which was canceled in March 2012 after three horses died on set.[37] Gambon participated in the live event, National Theatre Live: 50 Years On Stage (2013), a production that was a part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Royal National Theatre started by Laurence Olivier. Gambon was one of the original actors chosen by Olivier to participate in the company. The presentation included live performances, interspersed with documentary footage, and archival footage of live performances of original productions from the National Theatre. Gambon joined Derek Jacobi in a live performance from No Man's Land by Harold Pinter.

The following year, he was cast in the role of Howard Mollison on the upcoming adaptation of the best-selling book The Casual Vacancy by author J. K. Rowling, who is also the author of the Harry Potter books.[38] The BBC One miniseries, being produced in association with HBO, will comprise three one-hour parts. Production begun 7 July 2014 in South West England.[38]

In 2015 and 2018, Gambon starred as Henry Tyson in the first and third series of Sky Atlantic's Fortitude. In March 2018 it was announced that Gambon would star in the comedy series Breeders.[39] However, in April 2019, it was reported that Gambon left the series as he was having trouble memorising his lines due to memory loss issues.[40]

Personal life[]

Gambon married mathematician Anne Miller in 1962, when he was 22 years old. Noted for being protective of his privacy, he once responded to an interviewer's question about his wife by asking, "What wife?" The couple lived in Gravesend, Kent.[41] They have one son, Fergus, who later became a ceramics expert on the BBC series Antiques Roadshow.[42]

Gambon brought , a woman 25 years his junior, to the set while filming the 2001 film Gosford Park and introduced her to his co-stars as his girlfriend. When their affair was publicly revealed in 2002, he moved out of the home he shared with his wife. He has been with Hart since 2000, when they worked together on Channel 4 series Longitude.[41] In February 2007, it was revealed that Hart was pregnant with Gambon's child, and she gave birth to a son named Thomas that May.[41] She gave birth to Gambon's third child, a son named William, on 22 June 2009.[41][43]

In the New Year Honours 1998, Gambon was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to drama.[44] On 17 July 1998, he was invested by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.[45]

Gambon is a qualified private pilot. His love of cars led to his appearance on the BBC series Top Gear in December 2002. He raced the Suzuki Liana, which he drove so aggressively that it went around the last corner of his lap on two wheels. The final corner of the Top Gear test track has been named "Gambon" in his honour.[46] He appeared on the programme again on 4 June 2006 and set a time in the Chevrolet Lacetti of 1:50.3, a significant improvement on his previous time of 1:55. He clipped his namesake corner the second time, and when asked why by Jeremy Clarkson, replied, "I don't know, I just don't like it."[47]

Acting credits[]

Awards and nominations[]

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
1997 Tony Award Best Actor in a Play Skylight Nominated
1979 Olivier Awards Best Actor of the Year in a New Play Betrayal Nominated
1980 Best Actor in a Revival The Life of Galileo Nominated
1983 Best Actor in a New Play Tales from Hollywood Nominated
1986 Best Comedy Performance A Chorus of Disapproval Won
1988 Best Actor A View from the Bridge Won
1990 Best Comedy Performance Man of the Moment Won
1997 Best Actor Skylight Nominated
1998 Tom and Clem Nominated
1999 The Unexpected Man Nominated
2001 The Caretaker Nominated
2003 A Number Nominated
2005 Endgame Nominated
2009 No Man's Land Nominated
2002 Golden Globe Award Best Actor in a Mini-Series or a TV Movie Path to War Nominated
2002 Primetime Emmy Award Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated
2010 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Emma Nominated
2001 Screen Actors Guild Award Cast in a Motion Picture Gosford Park Won
2010 Cast in a Motion Picture The King's Speech Won
1987 British Academy Television Awards Best Actor The Singing Detective Won
2000 Wives and Daughters Won
2001 Longitude Won
2002 Perfect Strangers Won

Notes[]

  1. ^ Under the British Nationality Act 1981, anyone born in Ireland before 1949 can still register as a British subject and, after five years' UK residence, become a British citizen.

References[]

  1. ^ I suppose I can't get away from it, I'm English, aren't I?, theartsdesk Q&A: Actor Michael Gambon, 21 Dec, 2020
  2. ^ "National theatre's 50th birthday: what were your highlights?". The Guardian. 8 June 2021.
  3. ^ The 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time – in order, Irish Times, June 13, 2020
  4. ^ "Man from Cabra all right on the Knight". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  5. ^ "MICHAEL GAMBON BIOGRAPHY". Tiscali.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Michael Gambon Biography". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2009.
  7. ^ "Michael Gambon biography on tiscali". Tiscali.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 March 2009. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c Wills, Dominic. "Michael Gambon - Biography". TalkTalk Group. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
  9. ^ "St Aloysius do old boy Joe proud". Sunday Mirror. 8 February 2004. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  10. ^ "Surnames beginning with G". bexley.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Michael Gambon – Biography". Biography.com. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  12. ^ 'This is easy, acting. Standing there with a spear. Anyone can do that', Irish Times, April 24, 2010
  13. ^ "Such memories of Laurence Olivier". Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  14. ^ "Interview: Michael Gambon". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2004.
  15. ^ "Michael Gambon by Maya Houser". Onlinereviewlondon.com. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  16. ^ "No. 51981". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1989. p. 7.
  17. ^ "The Great Gambon" Reflects on Skylight". playbill.com. 18 October 1996. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  18. ^ Riley, Kathleen (27 April 2005). Nigel Hawthorne on Stage. ISBN 9781902806310. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
  19. ^ "Endgame". Onlinereviewlondon.com. 8 May 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  20. ^ "BBC – Drama on 3 – Embers". Bbc.co.uk. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  21. ^ "BBC – Drama on 3 – The Homecoming". Bbc.co.uk. 18 March 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  22. ^ Michael Gambon (Reader), Words and Music: Harold Pinter. Transmitted on BBC Radio 3, 22 February 2009. 22 February 2009. (Accessible for 7 days afterward on "Listen again" on BBCiPlayer.)
  23. ^ Kellaway, Kate. "Krapp's Last Tape". Duchess Theatre. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  24. ^ Harrison, David (8 February 2015). "Unscripted end to Gambon's career on stage". The Sunday Times UK. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  25. ^ "Sir Michael Gambon forced to quit theatre due to 'frightening' memory loss". The Telegraph. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  26. ^ "Amazing Grace (2007)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  27. ^ "Q&A with Michael Gambon, Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter". Futuremovies.co.uk. 5 July 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  28. ^ "The King's Speech (2010)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  29. ^ "Quartet (2013)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  30. ^ "Hail, Caesar! (2016)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  31. ^ "Jessie Buckley had tears in her eyes watching Renee Zellweger play Judy". The List. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  32. ^ "HBO's Powerful 'Path to War': The Drama That Was LBJ".
  33. ^ "Top Gear, Season 1, Episode 8". Motoringbox.com. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  34. ^ Singh, Anita (4 April 2009). "Romola Garai to play Emma in BBC's latest Jane Austen adaptation". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 15 November 2009.
  35. ^ Michael Gambon Appears on BBC, Katherine Jenkins to star in Christmas Doctor Who.
  36. ^ "Guinness Penguins". YouTube. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  37. ^ "Casting Call". TV Guide. 15–21 March 2010.
  38. ^ Jump up to: a b "BBC, HBO Announce Cast for J. K. Rowling's 'The Casual Vacancy' Minisseries". Variety. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  39. ^ White, Peter (7 March 2018). "Avalon Developing Martin Freeman Comedy 'Breeders' For BBC & FX". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  40. ^ Pearce, Tilly (21 April 2019). "Sir Michael Gambon 'steps down from new sitcom after struggling with memory loss'". Metro. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  41. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "The Casual Vacancy's Sir Michael Gambon's TWO families revealed: Wife of 50 years and lover 25 years younger". Daily Mirror. UK. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  42. ^ "Emotions run high on Antiques Roadshow as expert Fergus Gambon uncovers rare dolls worth £200,000". Metro. UK. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  43. ^ "Harry Potter actor Sir Michael Gambon becomes a father at 68". The Telegraph. 22 June 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  44. ^ "No. 54993". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 30 December 1997. pp. 1–2.
  45. ^ "No. 55229". The London Gazette. 18 August 1998. p. 8994.
  46. ^ "The one with Gambon corner". Top Gear. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  47. ^ "Top Gear: Series 8, Episode 5". Top Gear. Retrieved 6 October 2014.

Further reading[]

  • Who's Who in the Theatre, Fourteenth edition, Pitman (1967) for National Theatre at the Old Vic playbills
  • Who's Who in the Theatre, Seventeenth edition, Gale (1981) ISBN 0-8103-0235-7 for Michael Gambon's own CV up to 1980
  • Giant of the Stage: A Profile of Michael Gambon by John Thaxter, The Stage newspaper, (16 November 2000)
  • Gambon: A Life in Acting by Mel Gussow, Nick Hern Books (2004) ISBN 1-85459-773-6
  • Theatre Record and Theatre Record annual indexes 1981–2007

External links[]

Retrieved from ""