Gambon, Michael (1940- )

Irish-born stage and screen actor. He won widespread recognition for his performance in Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective (1986). An imposing and versatile performer, he played the gluttonous gangster in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (1989) and the subtle eponymous detective in the television series Maigret (1992).

He went on to do starring work in a number of diverse films, including A Man of No Importance (1994), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999), and Robert Altman's Gosford Park (2001); in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) he took on the role of Albus Dumbledore. His other credits include the television series The Borderers (1968-69) and the miniseries Angels in America (2003), and the films The Browning Version (1994), The Wings of the Dove (1997), and Sylvia (2003).

Gambon joined the National Theatre in 1963 after being personally selected by Laurence Olivier. He quickly became particularly well known for his work in a number of Alan Ayckbourn plays. After 1980 he became a regular player with both the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. He received particular acclaim for his work in A View from the Bridge, for which he won all of the major drama awards in 1987, and Volpone, for which he won the 1995 Evening Standard Award. He was knighted in 1998.