SIR MICHAEL GAMBON
Date of Birth: October 19, 1940
This Dublin, Ireland native moved to London, England with his family when he
was five years old. Ten years later he left school and worked in a factory
sweeping floors and serving tea to the workers before being bitten by the
acting bug. By the time Gambon was 21, he was a fully qualified Vickers
engineer, but he turned to the stage and started training at the
Edwards/MacLiammoir Gate Theatre in Dublin.
Gambon made his stage debut in 1962 in a Dublin production of Othello. He
then went on to London where he performed at the National Theatre under the
tutelage of Laurence Olivier. Taking Olivier's advice, Gambon continued his
training at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, which eventually led to his
becoming a leading stage actor in Britain.
His extensive stage work includes the premieres of Betrayal and Mountain
Language in 1963, Close of Play, Tales from Hollywood, A
Chorus of Disapproval (for which he won an Olivier Award), A View from
the Bridge (for which he won all the major drama awards in 1987), and as
the name parts in Galileo and Volpone (winning the 1995 Evening
Standard Best Actor Award).
Gambon made his screen debut in filmed theatrical plays like Othello (1965) and
A Midsummer's Night's Dream, but it wasn't until his role as Philip E.
Marlow on the miniseries The Singing Detective that he first garnered a
name on television, as well as a BAFTA award for Best Actor. Since receiving
this honor, Gambon has won BAFTA TV awards on two more occasions, the first
for his work on the miniseries Wives and Daughters in 1999 and the
second on the telefilm, Longitude in 2000.
Film has also been a prolific arena for Gambon, though he has not received
as many critical awards for his work there. Strong performances in films
such as The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989), The Wings of a Dove (1997), Plunkett & Macleane (1999), The Last September (1999), Sleepy Hollow (1999) and The Insider (1999),
have displayed his talents to the film viewing world. When Richard Harris died in 2002, the producers of the Harry Potter films searched for months before deciding to give Gambon the role of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).
An antique weapon enthusiast, Gambon was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for
his work in the entertainment industry in 1998. He has been married to his wife, Anne, for over 45 years. They have one child together.
Filmography:
The Book of Eli (2010)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Brideshead Revisited (2008)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
The Alps (2007)
The Baker (2007)
The Good Night (2007)
The Good Shepherd (2006)
John Duffy's Brother (2006)
Amazing Grace (2006)
The Omen (2006)
The Good Shepherd (2006)
Stories of Lost Souls (2005)
Layer Cake (2005)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Deep Blue (2005) (voice)
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004)
Being Julia (2004)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Standing Room Only (2004)
Open Range (2003)
Ali G Indahouse (2002)
Charlotte Gray (2001)
Gosford Park (2001)
Christmas Carol: The Movie (2001) (voice)
High Heels and Low Lifes (2001)
Dead On Time (1999)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
The Insider (1999)
The Château des singes (1999) (voice)
The Last September (1999)
Plunkett & Macleane (1999)
dancing at lughnasa (1998)
The Gambler (1997)
The Wings of the Dove (1997)
Mary Reilly (1996)
The Innocent Sleep (1996)
Bullet to Beijing (1995)
Midnight in St. Petersburg (1995)
Nothing Personal (1995)
Two Deaths (1995)
Clean Slate (1994)
Squanto: A Warrior's Tale (1994)
A Man of No Importance (1994)
The Browning Version (1994)
Toys (1992)
Mobsters (1991)
The Dry White Season (1989)
The Rachel Papers (1989)
The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
Missing Link (1988) (voice)
Paris by Night (1988)
Turtle Diary (1985)
Forbidden Passion: Oscar Wilde (1976)
The Beast Must Die (1974)
Nothing But the Night (1972)
Othello (1965)