Sir Michael John Gambon
19 October 1940 – 27 September 2023.
 
Another great loss to the British Entertainment Industry.
 
‘Theatre actors are just tolerated. You have to be a movie star to be a celebrity. I've always tried to be an actor who... I just plod on and try to keep my mouth shut, mind my own business. I find the whole thing about people's lives... I can't understand it. I'm always astonished that people want to know anything about me. There are more important ways of earning a living, aren't there? Like being a neurosurgeon. But some plays are very important, aren't they?'
 
Daniel Radcliff stated when working with Sir Michael ‘The wonderful thing about Michael is that he wasn’t an actor you talked about acting with. His true passion was restoring 19th-century Italian duelling pistols.’ Of Gambon’s approach to acting, Radcliffe added: 'He knows he’s at his best when he’s at his most playful. His ability to switch on was second to none.'
 
The Irish-born British 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.