MICHAEL GAMBON

Magic and menace…

ROUGH DIAMOND

‘I like being rough round the edges,’ the late Michael Gambon said. ‘A big, interesting old bugger.’ Born in Dublin, 1940, he was a trained toolmaker and set builder but untrained actor, who brought light-footed instinct and craft to his roles. His career started when he blagged a role in Othello (1962) in Dublin and then joined Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre Company, auditioning – cheekily -with a Richard III soliloquy.

THE GREAT GAMBON(D)

His film debut was Othello (1965), courtesy of Olivier, before a role in swashbuckling TV show The Borderers (1968-70) banked him an invitation to audition for James Bond. Gambon refused, but screen service continued in Nothing but the Night (1973) and The Beast Must Die (1974). Meanwhile, he chalked up stage turns of great presence and precision in works by Ayckbourn, Pinter and Brecht, earning – from Ralph Richardson -the sobriquet ‘The Great Gambon’.

TV TITAN

TV gave Gambon the opportunity to be rough/interesting and bag BAFTAs as proof. After The Borderers, The Challengers (1972) was another hit. Described by Jason Isaacs as ‘complex, vulnerable and utterly human’, Gambon’s turn as psoriasis-stricken writer Philip E. Marlow in Dennis Potter’s The Singing Detective (1986) was indelible. He brought wit to Maigret, aced a tenderly Scrooge-ish role in Doctor Who: A Christmas Carol (2010), and elevated TV adaptations from Emma (2009) to Little Women (2017).

DARK WIZARDRY

On film, Gambon invested villains with weight in Mobsters (1991), Layer Cake (2004) and Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989). He was at home in period pieces like Sleepy Hollow (1999) and The King’s Speech (2011). Other grumpy stand-outs include Dustin Hoffman’s Quartet (2012) and Robert Altman’s Gosford Park (2001), though a screenstealing twinkle lurked behind the mendacity of his CEO in The Insider (1999).

HOUSEHOLD HERO

From Dennis to Harry Potter, Gambon brought magic to Hogwarts as Albus Dumbledore, summoning all his power and playfulness with focused grace. That gentle touch extended to The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and Dad’s Army (2016), while his voice work kept him busy when fading memory forced his retirement from theatre. As the voice of Uncle Pastuzo in the Paddington films, Gambon’s bear-ish beneficence reaffirmed why he was so loved.

KEY MOVIES

THE SINGING DETECTIVE 1986

★★★★★

From under melting make-up, Gambon projects intuitive depths as the hospitalised writer drifting into noir-ish fantasies and memories of youth.

THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE & HER LOVER 1989

★★★★★

As psycho-gangster Albert Spica, Gambon delivers a terrifying display of vindictive menace.

GOSFORD PARK 2001

★★★★★

‘Business is business…’ As a jowly, craggy, dog-stroking tycoon, Gambon flourishes amid the bustling ensemble of Robert Altman’s murder mystery.

HARRY POTTER III-VIII 2004-11

★★★★★

Warm and wily, twinkly and imposing: replacing Richard Harris, Gambon makes Hogwarts’ head wizard, Dumbledore, come alive in every enigmatic detail.