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Michael Gambon
  • Published: 3 November 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529963335
  • Imprint: Century
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 592
  • RRP: $55.00

Michael Gambon

The Authorised Biography

Formats & editions
Hardback
3 Nov 2026
EBook
29 Oct 2026
Audiobook
29 Oct 2026
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A major and definitive portrait of Sir Michael Gambon, one of the greatest actors of the last fifty years who died in 2023.

The definitive and only authorised biography of Sir Michael Gambon, the Olivier and BAFTA Award-winning actor, featuring exclusive access to his family and personal archive alongside never-before-seen images.

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, with a remarkable career spanning theatre, television and film.

From his years in Laurence Olivier’s newly-formed National Theatre to acclaimed performances in The Life of Galileo, A View from the Bridge and Skylight; from his work with Harold Pinter and Alan Ayckbourn to The Singing Detective and his iconic role as Professor Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films, Gambon’s career spanned some of the defining productions of the last fifty years.

Jasper Rees, arts journalist and Sunday Times bestselling biographer, interviewed Gambon more than any other living journalist. With exclusive access to his family and personal archive, Rees now tells the extraordinary story of Gambon’s life, career and enduring legacy.

Intensely private, mischievous and renowned for spinning outrageous tall tales, Gambon was as surprising offstage as he was mesmerising in performance. Featuring never-before-seen images and drawing on 150 interviews with actors, writers, directors and friends, this intimate portrait separates the man from the myths and offers new insight into one of Britain’s most revered performers.

Funny, moving and revelatory, Michael Gambon is the definitive biography of an extraordinary life and a remarkable legacy in British theatre, television and film.
  • Published: 3 November 2026
  • ISBN: 9781529963335
  • Imprint: Century
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 592
  • RRP: $55.00
Categories:

About the author

Jasper Rees

Jasper Rees is an arts journalist and author who has written for the Daily Telegraph, Sunday Times and theartsdesk.com, which he co-founded. His previous books include I Found My Horn and Bred of Heaven, both of which were abridged for Radio 4, and a biography of Florence Foster Jenkins. In 2020, Rees published Let’s Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood, which became a Sunday Times bestseller. He also edited Victoria Wood Unseen on TV and wrote and presented ‘Loose Chippings’, an episode of Archive on 4 featuring unheard audio from Victoria Wood’s archive.
JR

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Praise for Michael Gambon

Press reviews for Jasper Rees's Let's Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood

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‘Let’s Do It is a biography that feels as unflinching and true as it is entertaining and affectionate. Rees pulls off the trick of writing a brilliant tribute while also – somehow, almost – bringing Victoria Wood back to life in all her complicated glory’

Guardian

‘You can almost feel him riffling files, rewinding tapes, so carefully is it pieced together. Yet the reward is a 360-degree biography that transforms a beloved entertainer into a real human being’

Sunday Times

‘This superb biography ensures we can’t forget how revolutionary she was’

Oldie

‘Impeccable’

Daily Telegraph

‘A joyous read’

Mail on Sunday

‘Joyous and revealing... If you're a diehard Wood fan (as I am) you'll find this account of her life wholly engrossing, and it also stands as a wonderful tribute to a pioneering entertainer and her exacting comic genius’

Bookseller

‘A joy. It paints a rounded portrait of a genuinely nice and kind woman who could also be difficult, scathing, even ruthless’

Daily Mail

‘Rees’s research is wide-ranging and detailed... his analysis is acute and often beautifully articulated’

i Newspaper

‘An immersive, authoritative book’

Spectator

‘A smashing biography’

Sunday Express

‘Packed with enlightening anecdotes and revealing interviews with her family and closest friends. A real treat’

Independent

‘This biographer is the safest of hands... It does not feel intrusive because it is so richly fed with the memories of those who properly loved her’

The Times

‘Impeccable’

Daily Telegraph

Praise from friends and fans of Victoria Wood:

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‘This utterly absorbing and beautiful book, written with such insight and kindness, moved me hugely’

Julie Walters

‘I would love people to read this beautiful book about the woman I will be forever grateful for in leading the way for me and other women in comedy and for making my life a jollier one’

Miranda Hart

‘Jasper Rees has found the perfect words to convey Victoria's brilliance, in this meticulously researched, immersive and entertaining biography'

Alison Steadman

‘This book is absolutely brilliant. So meticulously researched but also full of warmth and fun’

Lucy Porter