- Michael Gambon has died at the age of 82.
- The actor was best known for playing Professor Dumbledore in the "Harry Potter" movies.
The role of Albus Dumbledore has been played by a number of actors in the "Harry Potter" movies and its Wizarding World spinoffs.
The late Richard Harris was first cast in the role and starred as Dumbledore in the first two movies, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." However, Harris died in 2002 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer.
Michael Gambon, who died this week at the age of 82, then took over the role and played the character in the remaining six films in the "Harry Potter" series.
Meanwhile, in the "Fantastic Beasts" prequel series, a younger Dumbledore is played by Jude Law.
Here's how the late Gambon won the role — and how he made it his own.
Michael Gambon was not the only actor considered to play Dumbledore
After Harris' death, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" producer Chris Columbus and director Alfonso Cuarón started the search for a new actor.
Columbus told TheWrap in 2021 that Peter O'Toole was considered for the part but rejected it due to his friendship with Harris.
"Lord of the Rings" star Christopher Lee also said in 2002 that he wouldn't take the role because he thought it was in poor taste. His costar Ian McKellen told the BBC in 2017 that he turned down the role because Harris didn't approve of his acting.
The role ultimately went to Gambon.
Gambon has said in the past that he didn't have to audition for the role.
He told the "Today" show in 2009: "They rang me up and said, 'Will you do it?' Like any other job, I said, 'Sure.' Then you find yourself in the middle of this thing."
He also told The Herald in 2004 that he was quite surprised he was considered for the role.
"Maybe there's a shortage of guys of my age, I don't know," Gambon said. "An English actor of my age, a stage actor I tend to play heavyweight parts. I think they might be a bit thin on the ground. That could be a reason.''
Michael Gambon did not want to imitate Harris' performance
Gambon played a more fiery version of Dumbledore, which was noticeable to fans.
In a Q&A with Oxford University's Oxford Union society in 2016, the actor said he had no qualms about making the role his own.
"My first entrance as Dumbledore, I went up a staircase and I ran up. And the director came up and said, 'You mustn't do that.' I said, 'What?' He said, 'Run up.' I said, 'Well I want to run up.' And he said, 'No, our other actor didn't run up,'" Gambon said. "So I said, 'I'm going to run up.'"
He then joked: "So I ran up and then he never spoke to me again."
Gambon told The Telegraph in 2009 that he had never read any of the books the series is based on, and focused solely on the script for his performance.
The Dumbledore actor also said during the Oxford Union Q&A that J.K. Rowling, the author of the "Harry Potter" books, told him that his character was gay three years after he was cast.
In response, Gambon said he tried to change his performance in later films to incorporate this new piece of information, but was told by the director to stick to what he had done before.
While Gambon's changes were not initially approved by fans, the actor did win them over in time.
Michael Gambon learned that the role was bigger than just another job
While Gambon initially saw the role as just another job, the "Harry Potter" series was extremely popular and only grew in popularity with each new movie.
In a promotional interview for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," Gambon said that he initially took the role for granted.
"I turn up, do my job, go home. And the night before last in London when we premiered it, I got out of the limo in Leicester Square, there were 4,000 children screaming and then suddenly you become aware of how big this thing is," Gambon said.
"I was frightened. The noise was deafening. Screaming and it was raining and all the kids were soaked through and their little autographed books were wet and our pencils wouldn't work for the autographs and I've suddenly felt overwhelming compassion for everybody," he added.
Gambon seemed to like the role so much that in 2016 he told the Daily Express newspaper that he wanted to return as Dumbledore in the "Fantastic Beasts" movies.
"They've got a Dumbledore. They'll have a young Dumbledore, won't they? But I could be his dad. They could flashback to me," the actor said.