Harry Potter Star Daniel Radcliffe Pays Tribute to Late Michael Gambon

Last week, actor Michael Gambon who brought Albus Dumbledore to life in six of the eight Harry Potter films, died at the age of 82 after a bout with pneumonia. Now, Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe is paying tribute to the actor, remembering Gambon as someone he didn’t talk acting with who had a passion for restoring antique pistols.

“The wonderful thing about Michael is that he wasn’t an actor you talked about acting with,” Radcliffe told Variety. “His true passion was restoring 19th-century Italian dueling pistols.”

He also spoke about how playful the actor was on set and his ability to quickly get into character when the cameras started rolling.

“He knows he’s at his best when he’s at his most playful,” Radcliffe said. “His ability to switch on was second to none.”

Gambon initially joined the Harry Potter franchise in the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, taking over the role of Dumbledore following the death of actor Richard Harris. Fiona Shaw, who played Petunia Dursley in the films, remembered Gambon’s work mimicking Harris’ accent when he took over the role.

“He took over from Richard Harris and of course, he began to mimic Richard Harris, who had recently died, and he would do his accent, the slight Irish accent,” she said. “Which of course he always loved having an excuse to do because his family had come from Ireland and gone to live in Camden. He just love the precariousness of reality and unreality and, of course, that made him a very great actor.”

Harris’ son, Jared, also remembered Gambon with praise, even noting that Gambon had been his father’s favorite actor.

“A brilliant actor,” he wrote on social media. “I saw him on stage several times, and he lives unforgettably in my memory. He took over Dumbledore from my father, which was fitting as he overtook Brando as my father’s favourite actor.”

In addition to his role as Dumbledore, Gambon had an extensive career which first began in 1962 at Gate Theatre’s 1962 production of Othello. He made his film debut with Othello in 1965. Some of his more notable film credits include The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), The Wings of the Dove (1997), The Insider (1999), Gosford Park (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Amazing Grace (2006), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The King’s Speech (2010), Quartet (2012), and Victoria & Abdul (2017). 

Outside of film, the actor received four BAFTA Awards for his work in television, and specifically on the following shows: The Singing Detective (1986), Wives and Daughters (1999), Longitude (2000), and Perfect Strangers (2001).