Richard Harris played the popular Albus Dumbledore in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”. However, after he died in 2002 following a serious illness, Michael Gambon followed in his footsteps – and did so for all of the remaining six ‘Harry Potter’ films (though only for cameo appearances in the two-part finale). Now the Irish-British actor has also passed away. He died peacefully in a hospital after a battle with pneumonia, his family announced. He was 82 years old.
The role as the wise headmaster of Hogwarts and mentor to the eponymous wizard’s student was Gambon’s best-known role – and only in the latter part of his career, which he began on the theater stage in the 1960s alongside acting legends such as Sir Laurence Olivier. He also appeared in notable supporting roles in such diverse films as ‘Sleepy Hollow’, ‘Layer Cake’ and ‘Gosford Park’ and also famously played Inspector Maigret in a TV series in the 1990s.
Also exciting: Michael Gambon was on the verge of becoming the new James Bond in the 1970s and even made test recordings for the coveted role of cult spy. However, in the end they chose against him because after George Lazenby’s one-off performance, which was not particularly well received at the time, they did not want to rely on an actor who was quite unknown at the time. Instead, Lazenby predecessor Sean Connery was brought back for one film before Roger Moore took over.
In recent years, Michael Gambon has taken it easy. His most recent films, the Judy Garland biopic “Judy” and the thriller “Cordelia,” were both released in 2019.