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Michael Gambon

Michael Gambon

Birthday: 1940-10-19 | Place of Birth: Cabra, Dublin, Ireland

Sir Michael John Gambon CBE (born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English 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. 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. He retired from stage acting in 2015 due to memory loss, but continues to act on screen.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2022
Cordelia

as    Mr. Moses

2019
Judy

as    Bernard Delfont

2019
King of Thieves

as    Billy 'The Fish' Lincoln

2018
Johnny English Strikes Again

as    Agent Five

2018
The Last Witness

as    Frank Hamilton

2017
Viceroy's House

as    General Hastings Ismay

2017
Victoria & Abdul

as    Lord Salisbury

2017
Little Women

as    Mr. Laurence

2016
Dad's Army

as    Private Godfrey

2016
Churchill's Secret

as    Winston Churchill

2015
The Casual Vacancy

as    Howard Mollison

2015
Paddington

as    Uncle Pastuzo (voice)

2014
Common

as    Judge

2014
Quirke

as    Judge Garret Griffin

2014
Quirke

as    Judge Garret Griffin

2013
Quartet

as    Cedric Livingston

2013
Muse of Fire

as    Self

2012
Restless

as    Baron Mansfield / Lucas Romer

2012
Restless

as    Baron Mansfield / Lucas Romer

2011
Page Eight

as    Benedict Baron

2010
The Book of Eli

as    George

2010
The King's Speech

as    King George V

2010
Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol

as    Old Kazran / Elliot Sardick

2009
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

as    Albus Dumbledore

2009
Fantastic Mr. Fox

as    Franklin Bean (voice)