Sir Michael John Gambon (born 19 October 1940) is an Irish-English actor. Having trained under Laurence Olivier, he started his career on stage at the Royal National Theatre, and went on to receive a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play for his work in David Hare's Skylight on Broadway.Gambon is, perhaps, most famous for portraying Professor Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series, starting from the third film after the death of original actor Richard Harris. His other films include The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), The Wings of the Dove (1997), The Insider (1999), Gosford Park (2001), Amazing Grace (2006) and The King's Speech (2010). Gambon has also appeared in the Wes Anderson films The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009). He has starred in various television programmes, including The Singing Detective (1986), Wives and Daughters (1999), Path to War (2002), Cranford (2007), Emma (2009), The Casual Vacancy (2015), Churchill's Secret (2016), and Little Women (2017).Gambon was knighted in 1998 for services to drama. He has received four BAFTA TV Awards, three Olivier Awards (a thirteen-time nominee), and the 2017 Irish Film & Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2020, he was listed at No. 28 on The Irish Times' list of Ireland's greatest film actors. He retired from stage acting in 2015 due to memory loss, but continues to act on screen.