Cast & creator
Michael Gambon
Best known for Great Performances, Have I Got News for You, Play for Today
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.
Also known as: Sir Michael John Gambon CBE
135
film credits
69
television credits
204
1949–2024 · acting roles
6.7
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (204)
Showing 204 of 204 credits
Great Performances
Self
1971
Have I Got News for You
Self
1990
Play for Today
Max
1970Play for Today
Robin
1970Play for Today
Piers
1970
Top Gear
Self
2002
Minder
Tommy Hambury
1979
Screen Two
Ivor J. Carney
1985
Tales of the Unexpected
Andrew
1979
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Albus Dumbledore
2004
Richard & Judy
Self
2001
BBC Play of the Month
Gregory
1965BBC Play of the Month
Theseus
1965BBC Play of the Month
Lt. Cmdr. Bill Rogers
1965BBC Play of the Month
Boris Trigorin
1965
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Albus Dumbledore
2005
ITV Playhouse
Charles Battle
1967
GMTV
Self
1993
Omnibus
Self
1967Omnibus
1967
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Albus Dumbledore
2007
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Albus Dumbledore
2011
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Albus Dumbledore
2009
Bergerac
Jarvis McLeod
1981
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Albus Dumbledore
2010
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
Major Rolfe
1973
Performance
Archie Rice
1991
ITV Saturday Night Theatre
Brother Kevin
1969
The Singing Detective
Philip Marlow
1986
Sleepy Hollow
Baltus Van Tassel
1999
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Arthur
2017
Room 101
Self
1994
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Franklin Bean (voice)
2009
The King's Speech
King George V
2010
Public Eye
1965
Centre Play
Duncan Harrison
1973
The BAFTA Awards
Self - Winner
1949
The Book of Eli
George
2010
Softly, Softly
1966
Paddington 2
Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
2017
Fortitude
Henry Tyson
2015
The Hollow Crown
Mortimer
2012
The Storyteller: Greek Myths
The Storyteller
1991
The Good Shepherd
Dr. Fredericks
2006
Paddington
Uncle Pastuzo (voice)
2014
Softly Softly: Task Force
Cranley
1969
Johnny English Strikes Again
Agent Five
2018
Hail, Caesar!
Narrator (voice)
2016
The Jim Henson Hour
Ultragorgon (voice)
1989
Cranford
Thomas Holbrook
2007The Sunday Drama
David Patton
1977The Michael Ball Show
Self
2010
The Insider
Thomas Sandefur
1999
Theatre Night
Pastor Manders
1985
Luck
Michael
2012Second City Firsts
John
1973
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Paley
2004
The Frame
Professor Albus Dumbledore
2013
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Oseary Drakoulias
2004
The Dame Edna Experience
Self
1987Premiere
Kenny
1977
Gosford Park
William McCordle
2001
Little Women
Mr. Laurence
2017
Angels in America
Prior Walter Ancestor #1 (uncredited)
2003
Emma
Mr. Woodhouse
2009
Longitude
John Harrison
2000
Maigret
Chief Inspector Maigret
1992
Wives and Daughters
Squire Hamley
1999
King of Thieves
Billy 'The Fish' Lincoln
2018
The Omen
Bugenhagen
2006
Open Range
Denton Baxter
2003
Six Days of Justice
Mr.Golding
1972
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
Albert Spica
1989
Arthur of the Britons
Roland
1972
Ali G Indahouse
Prime Minister
2002
Restless
Baron Mansfield / Lucas Romer
2012
Victoria & Abdul
Lord Salisbury
2017
Layer Cake
Eddie Temple
2004
A Dry White Season
Magistrate
1989
The Casual Vacancy
Howard Mollison
2015Confession
Mr. Tennent
1970
Toys
General Zevo
1992
The Borderers
Gavin Ker
1968
Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire
Narrator
2009
Fearless
Sir Alistair McKinnon
2017
Zodiac
Reuben Keiser
1974
Judy
Bernard Delfont
2019
Brideshead Revisited
Lord Marchmain
2008
Quirke
Judge Garret Griffin
2014
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan
Man in Diner
2019
The Lost Prince
King Edward VII
2003
The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells
Elderly Philosopher
2016
Deep Blue
Narrator (voice)
2003
Plunkett & Macleane
Lord Gibson
1999
Clean Slate
Cornell
1994
Page Eight
Benedict Baron
2011
Standing Room Only
2004
Lucan
John Burke
2013
Mary Reilly
Mary’s Father
1996
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale
Sir George
1994
Dad's Army
Private Godfrey
2016
Christmas Carol: The Movie
Ghost of Christmas Present (voice)
2001
The Rachel Papers
Doctor Knowd
1989
Perfect Strangers
Raymond
2001
The Wings of the Dove
Lionel Croy
1997About Face
1989
Viceroy's House
General Hastings Ismay
2017
Path to War
Lyndon Johnson
2003
Quartet
Cedric Livingston
2012
Samson and Delilah
Re Hamun
1996
The Good Night
Alan Weigert
2007
Mobsters
Don Salvatore Faranzano
1991
High Heels and Low Lifes
Kerrigan
2001
The Storyteller: Greek Myths - Orpheus & Eurydice
The Storyteller
1991
Stories of Lost Souls
Larry
2004
Amazing Grace
Lord Charles Fox
2007
Being Julia
Jimmie Langton
2004
Dancing at Lughnasa
Father Jack Mundy
1998
When Harry Left Hogwarts
Self
2011
The Beast Must Die
Jan Jarmokowski
1974
Faith
Peter John Moreton
1994
The Entertainer
Archie Rice
1993
Ratburger
Narrator (voice)
2017
Two Deaths
Daniel Pavenic
1996
Unity
Narrator (voice)
2015
Muse of Fire
Self
2013
The Storyteller: Greek Myths - Perseus & the Gorgon
The Storyteller
1991
Midnight in Saint Petersburg
Alex
1996
The Browning Version
Dr. Frobisher
1994
Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol
Old Kazran / Elliot Sardick
2010
Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film
Self - Hamm (archive footage)
2003
The Making of Gosford Park
Self
2002
The Last Witness
Frank Hamilton
2018
Charlotte Gray
Levade
2001The Storyteller: Greek Myths - Theseus & the Minotaur
The Storyteller
1991
The Storyteller: Greek Myths - Daedalus & Icarus
The Storyteller
1991
Sleepy Hollow: Behind the Legend
Self
2000
Bullet to Beijing
Alexei
1995
Doctor Who at the Proms
Kazran Sardick (archive footage)
2024
Sylvia
Professor Thomas
2003
The Other One
Brian Bryant
1977
Romeo and Juliet
Gregory
1967
Longitude
John Harrison
2000
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
Hirst
2013
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter
Self
2004The Breadwinner
Charles Battle
1982
The Baker
Leo
2007
Mad to Be Normal
Sidney Kotok
2017
The Wind in the Willows
Badger (voice)
1995
A Man of No Importance
Ivor J. Carney
1994
Nothing But the Night
Insp. Grant
1973
The Alps - Climb of Your Life
Narrator (voice)
2007Masquerade
Stewart
1974
Churchill's Secret
Winston Churchill
2016
Little Wolf's Book of Badness
Uncle Bigbad (voice)
2003
Eyeless in Gaza
Mark Staithes
1971
London: The Modern Babylon
Self (voice)
2012
The Willows in Winter
Badger
1996
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Theseus
1971
Cows
Max
1972
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
Self (archive footage)
2015
Blood Royal: William the Conqueror
William I
1990
Turtle Diary
George Fairbairn
1985
The Actors
Barreller
2003
The Heat of the Day
Harrison
1989
Much Ado About Nothing
Other Watchman
1967
Paris by Night
Gerald Paige
1989
Top Gear: Back in the Fast Lane
Self
2003
Othello
1965Othello
Senators-Soldiers-Cypriots
1965
On Angel Wings
Grandfather
2014
Monster Maker
Ultragorgon
1989Monster Maker
Ultragorgon(voice)
1989
Oscar
Oscar Wilde
1985
Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal
Self
2005
The Gambler
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
1997
Tiptoe Through the Tulips
Piers
1976
French Without Tears
Lt Cmdr Rogers
1976
The Innocent Sleep
Det. Insp. Matheson
1996
Cordelia
Mr. Moses
2019
Joe's Palace
Elliot Graham
2007
The Last September
Sir Richard Naylor
2000
One of These Nights I'm Gonna Get an Early Day
Kenny
1978
Forbidden Passion: The Oscar Wilde Movie
1985
The Catholics
Brother Kevin
1973
Ghosts
Pastor Manders
1987
John Duffy's Brother
Narrator
2006
Larry & Vivien: The Oliviers in Love
Self
2001
The Other Woman
Robin
1976
Nothing Personal
Leonard
1996
In the Labyrinth
Duncan Harrison
1976A Roll of the Dice: The Capeman on Broadway
Narrator (voice)
1998
Missing Link
Narrator (voice)
1988
Mountain Language
Sergeant
1988
Common
Judge
2014
Absurd Person Singular
Geoffrey
1985
Citizen Lane
Lord Ardilaun
2018
Celebration
Lambert
2007
Bold Face: Condensed
John
1974
Lucan
John Burke
2013The Secret Agent
Tom Ossipon
1975
Dead on Time
Maurice Silverman
1999
Endgame
Hamm
2000The Seagull
Trigorin
1978