Michael Gambon - The Authorised Biography

*Available for Pre-order now * A major and definitive portrait of Sir Michael Gambon, one of the greatest actors of the last fifty years who died in 2023 Jasper Rees, the acclaimed Sunday Times bestselling author of Let''s Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood , interviewed Gambon more than any other journalist alive, and has been granted exclusive access to Gambon''s personal archive and effects. Rees is in the process of conducting over one hundred interviews with actors, playwrights and directors who across a career that spanned more than half a century were witness to some of Gambon''s most magnificent performances, including Penelope Wilton, Alan Ayckbourn, Brian Cox, Eileen Atkins, David Hare, Judi Dench, Christopher Hampton, Simon Russell Beale, Richard Eyre, Patricia Hodge, Simon Callow, Stephen Poliakoff and his closest friend in theatre, Oliver Cotton. The biography spans Gambon''s epoch-defining roles on stage, television and screen: the early years as a spear-carrier in Laurence Olivier''s newly formed National Theatre, his pre-eminence as an interpreter of Harold Pinter and Alan Ayckbourn, the triumphs in The Life of Galileo and A View from the Bridge , the screen roles that won him global fame, from Philip Marlow in The Singing Detective to Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films. It promises to be a deeply personal, moving and surprising book that will enrich our understanding of an acting legend who was as hilarious and elusive off stage - renowned for spinning mischievously tall tales - as he was mesmerising and chameleon-like on stage. _______________________________________________________________ Praise for Sir Michael Gambon: ''Michael Gambon was one of the most brilliant, effortless actors I''ve ever had the privilege of working with, but despite his immense talent, the thing I will remember most about him is how much fun he had doing his job'' - Daniel Radcliffe ''Michael was a wonderful man in addition to being an outstanding actor, and I absolutely loved working with him, not only on Potter but also The Casual Vacancy . The first time I ever laid eyes on him was in King Lear , in 1982, and if you''d told me then that brilliant actor would appear in anything I''d written, I''d have thought you were insane'' - J.K. Rowling ''He was hugely amusing, and such a tremendous guest, we even named a corner after him'' - Jeremy Clarkson ''He was such a magnificent human being and the impact he had on my life - and that of many others - was profound'' - Daniel Craig ...

About the author

Jasper Rees is an arts journalist and author who has written for the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times and theartsdesk.com, which he co-founded. His previous books include I Found My Horn and Bred of Heaven, both of which were abridged for Radio 4, and a biography of Florence Foster Jenkins. In 2020, Rees published Let’s Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood, which was written with the full cooperation of her family, friends and colleagues, and became a Sunday Times bestseller. He has also edited Victoria Wood Unseen on TV: Sketches, Songs, Stand-up and Other Rarities, and wrote and presented ‘Loose Chippings’, an episode of Archive on 4 featuring unheard audio from Victoria Wood’s archive.

About Sir Michael Gambon

Michael Gambon, born in Dublin in 1940, began acting in amateur theatre before joining Laurence Olivier’s newly launched National Theatre in 1963. His first television lead was in The Borderers in 1968, while theatrical success came in The Norman Conquests in 1974, which inaugurated a long collaboration with Alan Ayckbourn. The first of many appearances in the work of Harold Pinter came in Betrayal in 1978. The Life of Galileo in 1980 established him as a theatrical heavyweight and the great performances followed: King Lear, A View from the Bridge, Volpone, David Hare’s Skylight. His face was truly launched on television in Dennis Potter’s The Singing Detective in 1986. He went on to star in Maigret, then for three successive years won BAFTAs for his performances in Wives and Daughters, Longitude and Stephen Poliakoff’s Perfect Strangers. In cinema, he had his first lead role in Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. Belated recognition from Hollywood came with a scene-stealing cameo in Michael Mann’s The Insider, which led on to Gosford Park and the role of Dumbledore, bringing a new generation of fans. The final phase of his stage career brought major performances in the plays of Samuel Beckett. His last lead role on screen was in Churchill’s Secret in 2016. Michael Gambon was made a CBE in 1990 and knighted in 1998. He died in 2023.

Product details

• Authors: Jasper Rees, Rees Jasper
• Publisher: Century Hutchinson
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 29.10.2026
• EAN: 9781529963335
• ISBN: 978-1-5299-6333-5
• No. of pages: 320
• Subjects: BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Entertainment & Performing Arts, Individual actors & performers, Biography: arts & entertainment, Biography: arts and entertainment, Individual actors and performers