Michael Gambon, the acclaimed actor known for playing Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films, believed he was still going to work years after retiring, due to dementia, a new authorised biography reveals. Gambon died in September 2023 at the age of 84, having spent his final months in a care home.
Family recalls Gambon's belief he was still working
The biography, written by Jasper Rees, includes testimony from Gambon's family, who recall how he regularly believed he was going off to work in the mornings, long after he finished acting. The final chapter of the book is titled 'I'm Off On A Job'.
Gambon's wife, Anne, recalled: "He'd start standing up and say 'It's time I got dressed, the car's coming in half an hour'. Luckily because I've always dealt with agents about what time he'd got to go and all that he believed me when I said 'No…It's not today, maybe tomorrow'."
Diagnosis and later years
Gambon had been diagnosed with dementia several years before his retirement, despite public denials. His son Fergus described accompanying his father to St Thomas' hospital, where a geriatrician asked him to draw a clock face. Fergus said: "He started with twelve O'clock at about two O'clock and by the time he got to eight O'clock he'd run out of numbers." A brain scan also showed "black bits" where parts of his brain were no longer working.
Gambon had to stop driving in 2017 after police found him driving the wrong way up a one-way street. By 2019, he spent most days watching television, eating and sleeping, but would "sometimes remember what he had been".
Help from Harry Potter co-stars
Towards the end of making the Harry Potter films, dementia was already affecting Gambon's memory. Imelda Staunton recalled: "He was struggling with his lines and that was a shock to me. I thought that's the man who played all these big parts, and it'll happen to all of us."
Daniel Radcliffe helped by sitting behind dialogue boards during scenes. Radcliffe said: "I would sit behind idiot boards for a lot of scenes and just hold them. He would be apologetic, because the board has to be in front of my face. I loved Michael, so I didn't give a s***. It was also an amazing lesson in that he's still so f***ing captivating."
The biography features testimony from more than 150 actors. Dame Penelope Wilton, who visited Gambon in Kent after his retirement, said he had "the best timing of anybody". She recalled that after she reminded him they had starred in a Pinter play together in 1978, he asked "did we have a nice time?". "Yes," she replied. "We really did have a nice time."
