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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

© Jasper Rees 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026