62 Facts About Michael Gambon

1.

Sir Michael John Gambon is an Irish-English actor.

2.

Michael Gambon appeared in many productions of works by William Shakespeare such as Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth and Coriolanus.

3.

Michael Gambon has been nominated for thirteen Olivier Awards winning three times for A Chorus of Disapproval, A View from the Bridge, and Man of the Moment.

4.

In 1997 Michael Gambon made his Broadway debut in David Hare's Skylight earning a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination.

5.

Michael Gambon has appeared in the Wes Anderson films The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and Fantastic Mr Fox.

6.

Michael Gambon gained stardom for his role of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series from 2004 to 2011, replacing the late Richard Harris.

7.

Michael Gambon received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Path to War, and Emma.

8.

Michael John Gambon was born in the Cabra suburb of Dublin on 19 October 1940.

9.

Michael Gambon's mother, Mary, was a seamstress, while his father, Edward Gambon, was an engineering operative during World War II.

10.

Michael Gambon's 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.

11.

Michael Gambon's father arranged for him to be made a British citizen, a decision that would later allow him to receive a substantive knighthood.

12.

Michael Gambon then moved to St Aloysius' College in Highgate, whose former pupils include actor Peter Sellers.

13.

Michael Gambon later moved to North End, Kent, where he attended Crayford Secondary School but left with no qualifications at the age of 15.

14.

Michael Gambon then gained an apprenticeship as a toolmaker with Vickers-Armstrong.

15.

Michael Gambon kept the job for a further year, acquiring a lifelong passion for collecting antique guns, clocks, watches and classic cars.

16.

At age 24, Michael Gambon wrote a letter to Micheal Mac Liammoir, 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.

17.

Michael Gambon made his professional stage debut in the Gate Theatre's 1962 production of Othello, playing "Second Gentleman", followed by a European tour.

18.

Michael Gambon initially performed at the Old Vic, their first production being Hamlet, directed by Olivier and starring Peter O'Toole.

19.

Michael 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.

20.

Michael Gambon is one of the few actors to have mastered the demands of the vast Olivier Theatre.

21.

Michael Gambon is a very private person, a "non-starry star" as Ayckbourn has called him.

22.

In 1995, Michael Gambon starred in David Hare's Skylight, with Lia Williams, which opened to rave reviews at the National Theatre.

23.

Michael Gambon was not among the actors to grace Yasmina Reza's 'Art' at Wyndham's.

24.

In 2004, Michael Gambon played the lead role in Samuel Beckett's post-apocalyptic play Endgame at the Albery Theatre, London.

25.

In 2008, Michael 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.

26.

In late 2009, Gambon had to withdraw from his role of W H Auden in The Habit of Art because of ill health.

27.

In 2013, Michael Gambon took part in the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the National Theatre.

28.

In early 2015, Michael Gambon announced that due to the increasing length of time it was taking him to memorise his lines, he was giving up stage work.

29.

Michael Gambon had previously tried using an earpiece and being given prompts by theatre staff, but found this unsatisfactory.

30.

Michael Gambon made his film debut in the Laurence Olivier's Othello alongside Maggie Smith and Derek Jacobi in 1965.

31.

Michael Gambon continued acting in the British horror films Nothing But the Night, and The Beast Must Die.

32.

Michael Gambon later starred as Fyodor Dostoyevsky in the Hungarian director Karoly Makk's film The Gambler about the writing of Dostoyevsky's novella The Gambler.

33.

Michael Gambon 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.

34.

Michael Gambon appeared in the seventh and final film; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 and 2, released in two parts in 2010 and 2011.

35.

In 2010, Michael Gambon appeared in Tom Hooper's historical drama The King's Speech as King George V, alongside Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, and Guy Pearce.

36.

Michael Gambon found the role opposite Bill Nighy, Toby Jones and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the war comedy film Dad's Army, based on the television sitcom of the same name.

37.

Michael Gambon has provided voiceovers as Uncle Pastuzo in the Paddington films.

38.

That same year Michael Gambon appeared in Adrian Shergold's period thriller Cordelia, acting alongside Johnny Flynn and Catherine McCormack.

39.

Michael Gambon appeared in British programs such as Softly, Softly, and Public Eye.

40.

Michael Gambon had a recurring role in the Canadian series The Challengers.

41.

Michael Gambon appeared in drama anthology series including Play for Today, Play of the Month, and ITV Playhouse.

42.

Michael Gambon's craggy looks soon made him into a character actor.

43.

Michael Gambon starred as detective Inspector Jules Maigret in an ITV adaptation of twelve of Georges Simenon's books.

44.

Michael Gambon appeared in the BBC serial Wives and Daughters based on the Victorian novel by the same name by Elizabeth Gaskell.

45.

Michael Gambon portrayed Squire Hamley and received his second BAFTA Award nomination and win for Best Actor.

46.

Michael Gambon starred in a made-for-TV adaptation of Samuel Beckett's Endgame and Perfect Strangers have revealed a talent for comedy.

47.

Michael Gambon 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.

48.

Michael Gambon 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.

49.

Michael Gambon appeared in the 2010 Christmas Special of Doctor Who, "A Christmas Carol".

50.

Michael Gambon appeared as the Narrator in the British version of Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire.

51.

In 2013, Michael Gambon provided the voice for The Prophet, a character in the MMORPG video game The Elder Scrolls Online.

52.

Michael Gambon has performed voiceover for the Guinness ads with the penguins.

53.

In 2012, Michael Gambon reunited with Dustin Hoffman in the HBO horse-racing drama Luck, which was cancelled in March 2012 after three horses died on set.

54.

Michael Gambon participated in the live event, National Theatre Live: 50 Years On Stage, a production that was a part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the National Theatre.

55.

Michael Gambon joined Derek Jacobi in a live performance from No Man's Land by Harold Pinter.

56.

In 2015 and 2018, Michael Gambon starred as Henry Tyson in the first and third series of Sky Atlantic's Fortitude.

57.

However, in April 2019, it was reported that Michael Gambon left the series as he was having trouble memorising lines due to his issues with memory loss.

58.

Michael Gambon married mathematician Anne Miller in 1962 when he was 22 years old.

59.

Michael Gambon brought Philippa Hart, 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.

60.

Michael Gambon has been with Hart since 2000, when they worked together on Channel 4 series Longitude.

61.

Michael Gambon raced the Suzuki Liana so aggressively that it went around the last corner of his lap on two wheels.

62.

Michael Gambon 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.