At the news of “Harry Potter” alum Michael Gambon’s death, his castmates have taken to social media to memorialize his performance as Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight films adapted from J.K. Rowling’s book series.
The author wrote about her first memory of Gambon, which involved his performance in “King Lear” in 1982.
“If you’d told me then that brilliant actor would appear in anything I’d written, I’d have thought you were insane. Michael was a wonderful man in additional to being an outstanding actor,” Rowling wrote. “I absolutely loved working with him, not only on Potter but also The Casual Vacancy. My deepest condolences go to Michael’s family and everyone who loved him.”
Gambon replaced Richard Harris as the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after Harris died following his portrayal of Dumbledore in the first two “Harry Potter” films, adapted from “The Sorcerer’s Stone” and “The Chamber of Secrets.”
“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,” “Harry Potter” star Danielle Radcliffe said in a statement to Variety. “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’s co-star James Phelps, who portrayed Fred Weasley in all seven films, also recalled working with Gambon on the sixth film — “Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince” (2009).
“Whilst shooting HP6 I worked on the AD department for the whole shoot (apart from the days I was acting). And for that reason I spent many hours with Michael during the shoot,” Phelps wrote on Instagram. “One day we were shooting Dumbledore’s final clock tower scene, obviously quite an intense scene. In between set ups Michael asked what I was up to that weekend […] We spent what should have been his downtime going over my weekend gig.”
Phelps captioned his post with “[Gambon] was, on and off the camera, a legend.”
Bonnie Wright, who portrayed Ginny Weasley in all seven films, wrote that she “was forever in awe of Michael’s presence and performance” on Instagram.
“His deep mischievous voice between scenes would vibrate through the Great Hall,” she added. “He was Dumbledore through and through a constant, warm and guiding figure. Rest in peace Michael. Sending love to your family ❤️”
Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, called Gambon a personal role model “for finding the fun and eccentricities in life.”
“He brought so much warmth and mischief to every day on set,” Grint wrote on Instagram. “He captivated me as a kid.”
Fiona Shaw, who portrayed Harry Potter’s muggle Aunt Petunia Dursley, recalled fond memories of her costar in an interview with BBC Radio 4, according to Deadline.
“I will think of him as a trickster, just brilliant, magnificent trickster,” she said. “There was nothing like him, he could do anything.”
Read the full tributes below, including Jason Isaacs’ who played Lucius Malfoy:
And lastly, a photo of Michael and costar Robbie Coltrane, who also recently passed:
