Daniel Radcliffe Remembers Sir Michael Gambon Following Dumbledore Actor’s Death

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe paid tribute to Michael Gambon following his passing. According to the actor’s family, in a statement sent to the Associated Press Thursday via his publicist, the actor passed away suddenly after suffering a bout of pneumonia. He was 82 years old.

The Irish actor was most famous for his portrayal of the legendary Hogwarts headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, in six of the franchise’s eight films. In 2002, after the death of his predecessor, Richard Harris, Gambon was cast as the iconic character. Gambon first appeared in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004 and continued the role until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2008.

In the movies, Radcliffe starred alongside Gambon for the entire franchise run as the title character from childhood to young adulthood. “With the loss of Michael Gambon the world just became considerably less fun,” Daniel Radcliffe said in a statement released by his rep on Thursday. “Michael Gambon was one of the most brilliant, effortless actors I’ve ever had the privilege of working with, but despite his immense talent, the thing I will remember most about him is how much fun he had doing his job.

“He was silly, irreverent and hilarious. He loved his job, but never seemed defined by it. He was an incredible story and joke teller and his habit of blurring the lines of fact and fiction when talking to journalists meant that he was also one of the most entertaining people with whom you could ever wish to do a press junket,” Radcliffe said. 

“The sixth film was where I got to spend the most time working with Michael and he made the hours spent in front of a green screen together more memorable and joyous than they had any right to be. I’m so sad to hear he has passed, but I am so grateful for the fact that I am one of the lucky people who got to work with him,” Radcliffe said.

Radcliffe previously recalled a prank the late Gambon played on him, alongside Alan Rickman, almost a decade ago on the set of Azkaban in the film’s DVD extras. Radcliffe shared his memory of the trick with co-stars Rupert Grint and Emma Watson: “There was one time where, in this room actually, Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman, and I think [director Alfonso Cuarón] was co-ordinating it, took the opportunity to play a practical joke on me.”

Watson called the prank “really, really funny,” while Radcliffe added: “For you.” It occurred when the cast was filming a scene in the great hall. Cuarón explained: “It was very good because it was a bunch of sleeping bags and Dan [asked] us to have his sleeping bag next to this particular girl that he fancied.”

In the following clip, Snape (Rickman) and Dumbledore (Gambon) speak from their scripts as the children sleep. Suddenly, a flatulence noise can be heard, causing Rickman and Radcliffe to stifle their laughter as Gambon continues his lines. “We’d just finished a take, it’s taken ages to get it,” Daniel Radcliffe explained to his co-stars. “They had put a fart machine into my sleeping bag, and Michael Gambon had actually been pressing it during the take, I found out.”

Watson said, “This hall echoed.” The footage showed the young cast members laughing loudly. Gambon and Rickman, in particular, roared with laughter.