Michael Gambon

This is the first book devoted to the actor who has created a judicious blend of high-definition performances on the British stage and a wide range of award-winning television and film roles. New York Times writer Mel Gussow interviewed Gambon on many occasions, and those conversations comprise the majority of this book. Gussow also draws insights from some of the people who have worked with Gambon. Gambon was named the successor to the late Richard Harris as Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films, making his debut in 2004's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and he will be featured more prominently in the June 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. He can also be seen in Mike Nichols' Emmy Award-winning HBO film of Tony Kushner's Angels in America and a growing number of films, including the recent Being Julia with Annette Bening, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou with Bill Murray.

Acknowledgements

9

(2)

Introduction

11

(16)

"Actors and actresses always required for near-professional productions" (June 12, 1990)

27

(19)

"I think I'm more the carthorse to Ian's racing thoroughbred" (June 13, 1990)

46

(14)

"The tradition of acting is based on copying. It's passed on from one actor to another" (June 15, 1990)

60

(10)

"So I ran over and killed the rabbit" (June 18, 1990)

70

(15)

"I exaggerate every story. I diddle them around the edges, make them much more entertaining and funny" (June 20, 1990)

85

(6)

"It's a charmed bloody career that I've had" (June 28, 1990)

91

(10)

"It's like a compulsion. I have to do it" (July 2, 1990)

101

(7)

"Actors are show-offs, bigheaded bastards, egomaniacs. I can't think of any other reason they act" (July 3, 1990)

108

(10)

"You go over the top, don't you?" (July 5, 1990)

118

(4)

Interlude

122

(7)

"If I had been born again, I'd be a ballet dancer" (November 21, 2002)

129

(43)

"He made me do one scene 32 times - 32 takes. I didn't know what he was after and he wouldn't tell me...I thought maybe he thinks I find acting too easy, and he's going to make me find it difficult" (November 22, 2002)

172

(21)

"When you're acting in a drama on stage, there's a little man in your head talking to you all the time. He's saying, 'That went well. Now bring it up a bit. Now bring it down"' (August 14, 2003)

193

(11)

"I became an actor because I wanted to be behind the curtain. I wanted to be in the secret world of the curtain and the stage door and the backstage and the other world-and with the audience out there. I like to retain the mystery" (August 19, 2003)

204

(11)

Afterword

215

(2)

Conversations about Gambon

217

(8)

Alan Ayckbourn, Harold Pinter, Adrian Noble, Dennis Potter, Peter Hall, Simon Russell Beale, Deborah Warner

Principal Roles

225

(2)

Theatre, Film, Television and Radio

Index

227

What is included with this book?

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Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials