Michael Gambon

A major and definitive biography of the beloved actor, drawing on 150 exclusive interviews with stars including Daniel Radcliffe, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Helen Mirren, Alan Ayckbourn, Brian Cox, Bill Nighy and Jeremy Clarkson. 'Tremendous' Spectator ‘The amazing life of Michael Gambon — by those who knew him best’ The Sunday Times ‘Michael Gambon was perfection . . . he was like the internet, because some things on the internet are true, but most of it isn't true. That's broadly speaking what I thought it was like talking to Michael.’ Jeremy Clarkson ‘This book reveals the wonderful man behind some of the greatest roles on stage and screen.’ Daniel Radcliffe ‘He was sublime as an actor.’ Dame Judi Dench ‘He was a great, great man. We all loved him very much.’ Dame Helen Mirren The son of working-class Irish immigrants, Michael Gambon left school with no qualifications and began his working life as an apprentice toolmaker. He went on to become one of the greatest actors of his generation, captivating audiences across stage and screen. Jasper Rees, Sunday Times bestselling author of Let’s Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood, interviewed Gambon more than any other living journalist. With exclusive access to the Gambon archive and his family, and drawing on more than 150 interviews with actors, writers, directors and friends, Rees tells the extraordinary story of the man behind the performances. From Laurence Olivier’s fledgling National Theatre to The Life of Galileo, A View from the Bridge and Skylight; from collaborations with Harold Pinter and Alan Ayckbourn to The Singing Detective and the Harry Potter films, Gambon’s career spanned some of the defining productions of the last fifty years. But behind the performances was a complicated, intensely private and mischievous man, famous for his tall tales and as surprising offstage as he was mesmerising on it. Funny, moving and revelatory, Jasper Rees’s masterful and definitive biography peels back the layers of Gambon’s myth to reveal the humanity of an acting colossus. Praise for Sir Michael Gambon: ‘He was a remarkable stage performer . . . You couldn't really term it acting – more an act of spontaneous combustion.’ Sir Alan Ayckbourn ‘He could be utterly committed and believable and truly “in” the scene and yet there was a part of him standing aside going, “no you idiot, what do you think you're doing?” . . . He was a great, great man. We all loved him very much.’ Dame Helen Mirren