In “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” he took over the role of the good-natured Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore from the previously deceased Richard Harris. Now Sir Michael Gambon has also passed away.
In “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” Richard Harris still played the popular Albus Dumbledore. After Harris died in 2002 after a serious illness, Michael Gambon followed in his footsteps – and did so for all the remaining six “Harry Potter” films (albeit only for guest appearances in the two-part finale). Now the Irish-British actor has died. His family announced that he fell asleep peacefully in hospital after a battle with pneumonia. He was 82 years old.
The part as the wise Hogwarts headmaster and mentor of the titular sorcerer’s apprentice was Gambon’s most widely known role – and only in the later part of his career, which he began as early as the 1960s on the theatre stage alongside acting legends such as Sir Laurence Olivier (alongside whom he then also appeared in his film debut “Othello”). In addition, he appeared in incisive supporting roles in films as diverse as “Sleepy Hollow”, “Layer Cake” and “Gosford Park”, among others, and also embodied the famous Inspector Maigret in a TV series in the 90s.
MICHAEL GAMBON WAS A JAMES BOND CANDIDATE
Also exciting: Michael Gambon was on the verge of becoming the new James Bond in the 1970s, but then didn’t make the running (it’s a little unclear whether he turned down the offer himself or the studio decided against him because they didn’t want to bet on a rather unknown actor again after George Lazenby’s one-off appearance in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, which wasn’t received too favourably at the time). Instead, Lazenby predecessor Sean Connery was then brought back for a film before Roger Moore ultimately took the helm.
In recent years, Michael Gambon has already taken it easy. His latest films, the Judy Garland biopic “Judy” and the thriller “Cordelia”, are both from 2019.
