Robert Altman

Sir Michael Gambon has died in hospital aged 82.

Sir Michael was born in 1940 in Dublin, educated in London and served a seven-year engineering apprenticeship before being selected by Sir Laurence Olivier for Britain's National Theatre in 1963.

He quickly became well-known for his work in A Number of Alan Ayckbourn plays.

Despite making his screen debut in Olivier's 1965 Film Adaptation of Othello, he concentrated On Stage work.

He went on to appear regularly at the National Theatre and The Royal Shakespeare Company in roles including King Lear , Othello, Mark Anthony and Volpone.

His lead role in John Dexter 's production 1980 of Galileo led to much greater recognition of his talents, but it was to be a 1986 TV series which made him a household name.

Dennis Potter 's menacing and imaginative TV series The Singing Detective cast Sir Michael in The Lead role, A Man crippled with psoriasis who has a Fantasy Life as a Private Eye .

The series brought huge acclaim for his Performance - as well as a Bafta for Best Actor , his first of four.

His film career began in earnest with Peter Greenaway 's The Cook , The Thief , His Wife and Her Lover (1989), which cast him in a sadistic role opposite Helen Mirren and Tim Roth .

He went on to work in a wide variety of films, including A Man of No Importance (1994), The Browning Version (1994), Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), and Tim Burton 's Sleepy Hollow (1999).

In 2001 he appeared in Robert Altman 's highly-rated Gosford Park , which won an Oscar for best screenplay and an ensemble acting award from the Screen Actors Guild.

He received a TV Bafta in 2000 for The Bbc One drama Wives & Daughters, and repeated the feat The Following year for his work in Channel 4 's Longitude.

2002's award for his Performance in Bbc Two 's Perfect Strangers was, remarkably, his third win in as many years.

Gambon amassed a legion of new fans for his Performance as Professor Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban - a role he inherited following the death of Richard Harris in 2002.

He was to continue in The Role , starring in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix , Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and The Final two films of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

His TV and film roles continued, notably appearing in the 2010 Christmas Special of Doctor Who , A Christmas Carol .

In early 2015, Sir Michael announced he was no longer able to play roles On Stage due to problems remembering lines.

Sir Michael also played Henry Tyson in Sky Atlantic 's Fortitude. It was to be one of his final screen performances.

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Source of news: bbc.com