Harry Potter Stars Pay Tribute to Dumbledore Actor Sir Michael Gambon

Harry Potter actors are posting tributes to late actor Sir Michael Gambon all across social media and news outlets. Gambon died at the age of 82 after “a bout of pneumonia.” In a statement to the AP,  Gambon’s family said “We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon. Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside.” As implied in the statement, Gambon is survived by his wife Anne and three children. 

Michael Gambon joined the Harry Potter series in the third film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, taking over the role of Dumbledore after the death of actor Richard Harris. The six Harry Potter movies that Gambon starred in, (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2) were easily the biggest breakout success of his career. That’s really saying something about a career that spanned from 1962-Present. 

Harry Potter Actors Pay Tribute to Michael Gambon

“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,” Petunia Dursley actress Fiona Shaw explained to BBC Radio 4.”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 loved the precariousness of reality and unreality and, of course, that made him a very great actor.”

Richard Harris’s son, actor Jared Harris (Madmen, Cheyrnobol) also honored Gambon, for taking over his father’s legacy as Dumbledore and doing great things with the performance: 

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

Fred Weasley actor James Phelps posted that he was “Very sorry to hear about the passing of Michael Gambon. He was, on and off the camera, a legend.” To prove that latter point, Phelps shared a screenshot a longer written anecdote, in which he described how Gambon once took his own personal time in between shooting a Harry Potter film to coach James and his twin brother Oliver (George Weasley) for a performance of “Peter and the Wolf with the Manchester Halle Orchestra: 

“We spent what should have been his downtime going over my weekend gig,” Phelps wrote. “It is a memory that I’ve always had as one of the highlights of my [Harry Potter] days.” 

Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) posted that “Magnificent Michael Gambon has died. I learned what acting could be from Michael in The Singing Detective – complex, vulnerable and utterly human. The greatest thrill of being in the Potter films was that he knew my name and shared his fearless, filthy sense of fun with me”.

We offer our condolences to Michael Gambon’s family, fans, and friends in their time of grief. You can re-watch his performances as Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies streaming on Max. The Harry Potter franchise will also be getting a TV reboot, also streaming on Max.