THE MAGNIFICENT TRICKSTER (REMEMBERING SIR MICHAEL GAMBON)

As tributes poured in for Michael Gambon, one stood out from the Irish actress Fiona Shaw.

The Cork born actress dubbed her fellow countryman a "magnificent trickster" which in some ways was apt for an actor known for his mischievous sense of humour.

But it was also a perfect way to describe his acting style.

Whether he was on stage or onscreen, Gambon's languid voice often lulled audiences into a false sense of security - only for them to be shocked by his ability to switch emotion.

Born in Cabra in Dublin in 1940, his mother Mary was a seamstress and his father Edward was an engineering operative during the Second World War.

Uprooting the family, Edward took them to London where he found work helping rebuild the city after the Blitz.

Raised in Mornington Crescent near Camden, Michael was a Catholic who attended St Aloysius Boys School in Somers Town and St Aloysius College in Highgate.

Moving to North End in Kent, he switched to Crayford Secondary School but left at 15 with no qualifications.

He found work as an apprentice toolmaker and by the time he was 21 he was a qualified engineering technician.

During these years he developed a passion for collecting antique guns, clocks, watches and classic cars.

Yet he also had a hankering to act - a passion fuelled by a love of cinema and he turned to his homeland to pursue this passion.

Writing to the Irish theatrical legend Micheal Mac Liammor, Gambon sent an embellished CV to Dublin's Gate Theatre about his acting prowess that included a false claim that he had acted in a George Bernard Shaw play in London.

Hired as a junior member, he made his professional debut as the "Second Gentleman" in a 1962 Gate Theatre production of 'Othello' which toured Europe the following year.

Not long afterwards he caught the eye of Laurence Olivier, auditioning for the newly formed National Theatre and soon found himself in minor roles on the London stage at the Old Vic alongside other promising young actors like Derek Jacobi and Frank Finlay.

Olivier directed him in 'Hamlet' with Peter O'Toole in the lead and there were other parts in George Farquhar's Restoration comedy 'The Recruiting Officer' and Peter Shaffer's 'The Royal Hunt of the Sun' where his co-srars included Robert Stephens, Colin Blakeley, Derek Jacobi, Anthony Hopkins and John McEnery.

On Olivier's advice, Gambon gained experience in provincial repertory theatre, joining the Birmingham Rep and taking on major Shakespearean roles in 'Macbeth,' 'Othello' and 'Coriolanus'.

In 1965, he made his film debut in Olivier's film of 'Othello' with Maggie Smith, Derek Jacobi and Frank Findlay.

And just as he acquired vital experience in minor roles as a stage actor, Gambon learned his trade onscreen.

There was an appearance in an 1967 episode of the 'Z Cars' spin-off 'Softly Softly' with Stratford Johns and as a Watchman in a BBC production of 'Much Ado About Nothing' with many of his National Theatre contemporaries like Maggie Smith, Robert Stephens, Frank Findlay, John McEnery, Derek Jacobi and Ronald Pickup.

There were also various appearances in productions on the BBC's 'Play of the Month' anthology show and in episodes of ITV's 'The Public Eye'.

As he continued to build a career in the theatre, he landed his first substantial TV role as David Ker in the swashbuckling series 'The Borderers' set in 16th Century Scotland and England, which co-starred Ian Cutherbertson and Edith MacArthur ran for two series.

On the strength of this performance, Cubby Broccoli asked him to audition for James Bond for 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' but he was unconvinced that he was the right actor to take over from Sean Connery, telling the legendary producer he was balding and fat.

Onstage, Gambon continued to build a reputation in the 1970s as a versatile actor in more substantial lead roles.

He received good reviews for his performance as a melancholic vet in Alan Ayckbourn's comedy 'The Norman Conquests' in a 1974 production which transferred to the West End.

Returning to the National Theatre where Sir Peter Hall had taken over, he earned acclaim and an Olivier Award Best Actor nomination in 1978 for his performance as Jerry in Harold Pinter's lauded extra-marital affair drams 'Betrayal' opposite Penelope Wilton and Daniel Massey.

During the 1970s there were TV roles in a BBC miniseries adaptation of Aldous Huxley's 'Eyeless in Gaza,' a Canadian show 'The Challengers' on CBC, an ITV drama 'Kate,' the BBC's 'A Picture With Katherine Mansfield' with Vanessa Redgrave, ITV's historical adventure 'Arthur of the Britons' with Oliver Tobias and its courtroom show 'Six Days of Justice'.

In 1973 he was cast as a police inspector in Peter Daddy's British horror film 'Nothing But The Night' starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Keith Barron, Fulton Mackay and Diana Dors but the critically panned movie was a commercial failure at the domestic box office.

A year later, he appeared in Paul Annette's werewolf movie 'The Beast Must Die' with Peter Cushing, Calvin Lockhart and Ciaran Madden.

Gambon turned up in the 1970s on ITV's 'Orson Welles' Great Mysteries,' the US espionage series 'Masquerade' on ABC with Rod Taylor, three editions of the BBC's 'Play for Today,' two episodes of 'ITV Sunday Night Drama' and a guest appearance on the same channel on the Michael Crawford sitcom 'Chalk and Cheese'.

In 1977, he teamed up with Richard Briers for the Bob Larbey and John Esmonde BBC1 sitcom 'The Other One' about two Englishmen who forge a friendship in Spain - one a gullible man played by Gambon and the other a party animal.

It received mixed reviews, with many believing Briers was miscast and ran for two series, with the last episode airing in 1979.

In the 1980s, there were other notable stage performances at the National in Berthold Brecht's 'The Life of Galileo' at the National in the 1980, in the lead role of 'King Lear' for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982, as Anthony in 'Anthony and Cleopatra' for the RSC opposite Helen Mirren and in 1985 as an amateur theatre director in Alan Ayckbourn's comedy 'A Chorus of Disapproval' at the National with Bob Peck, Gemma Craven and Imelda Staunton.

He also earned rave reviews as Eddie in a 1987 revival of Arthur Miller's 'A View From The Bridge' directed by Alan Ayckbourn.

A year later he starred as a brutal Sergeant opposite Miranda Richardson in a production of Harold Pinter's 'Mountain Language'.

On the small screen, in the first half of the 1980s he guested on ITV's 'Tales of the Unexpected,' on a 1985 BBC production of Alan Ayckbourn's comedy 'Absurd Person Singular' with Prunella Scales, Maureen Lipman and Geoffrey Palmer and played Oscar Wilde in a three part BBC2 miniseries 'Oscar'.

John Irvin directed him in his first movie for 11 years in the 1985 film 'Turtle Diary' in which he played a rogue zookeeper who agreed to smuggle turtles out with Maggie Smith and Ben Kingsley's characters.

With a screenplay by Harold Pinter, the indie film attracted decent reviews.

In 1986, Gambon landed his best known TV role as a writer with psoriasis hallucinating in hospital in Dennis Potter's acclaimed but controversial surreal musical miniseries 'The Singing Detective' with Janet Suzman, Alison Steadman, Patrick Malahide, Joanne Whalley, Imelda Staunton and Bill Paterson.

Ranked 20th on the British Film Institute's 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, it won a Peabody award in the US and earned him a Best Actor BAFTA.

After 'The Singing Detective,' there was a guest appearance in 1987 on the popular BBC1 detective series 'Bergerac'.

However there was also an appearance alongside Fiona Shaw, Kenneth Branagh, Natasha Richardson, Freddie Jones and Judi Dench in a much admited TV version of Henrik Ibsen's 'Ghosts' for BBC2's 'Theatre Night'.

David Hare directed him, Charlotte Rampling, Iain Glen, Jane Asher, Robert Hardy and Niamh Cusack in the 1998 movie 'Paris By Night' in which he played an ambitious politician in a marriage gone stale.

Gambon joined Patricia Hodge and Michael York in a 1989 Harold Pinter adaptation of Elizabeth Bowen's novel 'The Heat of the Day' which was directed by Christopher Morahan.

There was also a role in the pilot episode of Maureen Lipman's ITV sitcom 'About Face' as the boyfriend she dumps after her character becomes obsessed with flamenco dancing.

In Damian Harris' 1989 movie 'The Rachel Papers,' Gambon joined Dexter Fletcher, Ione Skye, Jonathan Pryce, Jared Harris and James Spader in an adaptation of a Martin Amis novel which received mixed reviews.

He was a magistrate in Euzhan Palcy's well received Apartheid drama 'A Dry White Season' with Donald Sutherland, Jürgen Prochnow, Janet Suzman, Zakes Mokae, Susan Sarandon and Marlon Brando.

1989 saw Gambon turn in one of the most memorable movie performances of his career as a London gangster in Peter Greenaway's acclaimed arthouse film 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover' with Helen Mirren, Richard Bohringer, Tim Roth, Ciaran Hinds, Liz Smith and Ian Dury.

In the 1990s, there were well received stage performances in Harold Pinter's 'Old Times' and a 1995 National Theatre production of Ben Jonson's 'Volpone' opposite Simon Russell Beale.

He finally made his Broadway debut in 1996 alongside Lia Williams in David Hare's 'Skylight' which had premiered at the Cottlesoe Theatre on London's West End a year earlier.

As well as earning him a Best Actor Olivier Award nomination, the cast won the Best Ensemble award and he was also nominated in the US for a Tony.

On the big screen, Gambon went to Hollywood to play the gangster Little Caesar in Michael Karbelnikoff's disappointing 1991 movie 'Mobsters' with Christian Slater, Patrick Dempsey, Lara Flynn Boyle, F Murray Abraham and Anthony Quinn.

The following year he played an American General obsessed with making war toys in Barry Levinson's disappointing fantasy comedy 'Toys' with Robin Williams, Joan Cusack, Robin Wright and LL Cool J which failed to perform at the box office.

On TV, he landed in 1992 the title role of the French detective 'Maigret' in a short-lived but well received ITV adaptation that ran for two seasons which drew enthusiastic reviews in the US.

A year before that, he had guest starred in an episode of ITV's London widebody comedy drama 'Minder' with Dennis Waterman and George Cole.

Billie Whitelaw, Helen McCrory and Bill Owen joined him in a BBC2 production of John Osborne's 'The Entertainer' for the channel's 'Performance' strand in which he played Archie Rice - a role his mentor Laurence Olivier had made famous.

In the two-part 1994 ITV political thriller 'Faith' with John Hannah, Susannah Harker, Connie Booth, Keith Allen and the former GLC leader Ken Livingstone playing himself, he played a high ranking government official whose affair is leaked to the media.

He returned to his native city of Dublin for Suri Krishnamma's whimsical 1994 comedy 'A Man of No Importance' in which he played an amateur acting butcher opposite Albert Finney's gay bus driver, Brenda Fricker, Tara Fitzgerald and Rufus Sewell which earned decent reviews.

There was another hoodlum role in Mick Jackson's poorly received box office flop 'Clean Slate' with Dana Carvey, Valeria Golino, James Earl Jones, Kevin Pollak and Bryan Cranston.

Another box office flop followed with Xavier Koller's historical action adventure 'Squanto - A Warriors Tale' in which he played a ship owner with Adam Beach and Irene Bedard which was lambasted by critics and performed poorly.

He joined Albert Finney again in Mike Figgis' well received movie remake of Terence Rattigan's public school drama 'The Browning Version' with Greta Scaachi, Julian Sands and Matthew Modine.

Gambon provided the voice of Badger in a 1995 animated TV version of 'The Wind In The Willows' with Michael Palin, Alan Bennett, Rik Mayall and Vanessa Redgrave as the narrator.

In the US, he was cast as the Hebrew King Hanun in a Nicholas Roeg directed TNT TV movie of 'Sansom and Delilah' with Elizabeth Hurley, Eric Thai, Dennis Hopper and Diana Rigg.

There were two TV movies in 1995 featuring Michael Caine's spy Harry Palmer - George Mihalka's 'Bullet to Beijing' and Douglas Jackson's 'Midnight in St Petersburg' where he played another gangster Alexei Alexeyevich.

Nicolas Roeg directed him, Sonja Braga and Patrick Malahide in the Romanian revolution drama 'Two Deaths' which did not get much of a release.

Gambon played a vengeful Belfast loyalist paramilitary leader in Thaddeus O'Sullivan's much respected Northern Ireland Troubles drama 'Nothing Personal' with James Drain, John Lynch and Ian Hart.

The following year, Stephen Frears directed him, Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, Glenn Close, Michael Sheen, Ciaran Hinds and Bronagh Gallagher in the Jekyll and Hyde gothic horror film 'Mary Reilly' which stuttered at the box office after poor reviews.

In Scott Michell's limp thriller 'The Innocent Sleep' he joined Rupert Graves, John Hannah and Franco Nero, playing a Detective Inspector in a tale about a homeless man witnessing a gangland killing.

Gambon got to play the legendary Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky in Károly Makk's 'The Gambler' in 1997 with Johdi May and Polly Walker about the writing of 'The Gambler'.

He was typically excellent as Helena Bonham Carter's character's father in Iain Softley's gripping adaptation of Henry James' love triangle novel 'The Wings of The Dove' with Linus Roaches, Alison Elliott and Elizabeth McGovern.

The following year he played an eccentric priest back from the African missions in Pat O'Connor's handsome, well received adaptation of Brian Friel's award winning Co Donegal drama 'Dancing At Lughnasa' with Meryl Street, Brid Brennan, Kathy Burke, Catherine McCormack, Sophie Thompson, Rhys Ifans and Lorcan Cranitch.

Ridley Scott's son Jake directed him in the rollicking 18th Century highwaymen adventure 'Plunkett and MacLaine' with Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller, Liv Tyler and Ken Stott in which he played a pillar of the Establishment.

The film was battered by critics and underperformed at the US box office but has since gained a cult following.

In 1998 he also starred alongside Eileen Atkins in a well received Royal Shakespeare Company production of Yasmin Reza's 'The Unexpected Man' at the Duchess Theatre which was set on the Paris to Frankfurt train.

In 1999, he appeared in four movies including providing a voice in the English language version of Jean-Francois Laguionie's animated feature 'A Monkey's Tale' where he was joined by John Hurt, Rik Mayall, Sally Anne Marsh and Michael York.

Deborah Warner cast him as an Anglo Irish landowner during the Irish War of Independence in the workmanlike screen adaptation of John Banville's 'The Last September' with Maggie Smith, Keeley Hawes, David Tennant, Lambert Wilson and Fiona Shaw but it received mixed reviews and struggled to draw audiences.

Michael Mann directed him in the enthusiastically received Oscar nominated tobacco industry whistleblower drama 'The Insider' with Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora and Philip Baker Hall in which he played the CEO of a cigarette company.

There was another high profile movie role as a wealthy businessman in Tim Burton's gothic supernatural horror comedy 'Sleepy Hollow' with Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Christopher Lee and Jeffrey Jones.

Receiving positive reviews, it was a box office success.

Gambon also ended the decade with a BAFTA Best Actor winning performance as Squire Hamley in Andrew Davies' adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskill's 1864 novel 'Wives and Daughters' with Keeley Hawes, Justine Waddell, Bill Paterson, Francesca Annis, Tom Hollander and Iain Glen.

He followed that up the following year with another BAFTA winning performance as the clockmaker John Harrison in Charles Sturridge's dazzling Channel 4, Granada Television and A&E miniseries 'Longitude' with Jeremy Irons, Ian Hart, Nigel Davenport, Andrew Scott, Stephen Fry and Anna Chancellor.

In 2000, Gambon played Serge in a role he never performed onstage in Yasmin's Reza's 'Art' in a radio production for the BBC alongside Alan Bates and Simon Russell Beale which was directed by Christopher Morahan.

Patrick Marber directed him in a 2001 London revival of Pinter's 'The Caretaker' alongside Rupert Graves and Douglas Hodge but he was unhappy with his performance.

Gambon won a third consecutive BAFTA for his lead performance in Stephen Poliakoff's acclaimed BBC2 family drama miniseries 'Perfect Strangers' alongside Matthew Macfadyen, Jill Baker, Lindsay Duncan, Claire Skinner, Timothy Spall and Robert Stephens.

The legendary American maverick director Robert Altman directed him and a star studded cast in the Julian Fellowes scripted stately home murder mystery 'Gosford Park'.

In what was an Oscar nominated 'Downton Abbey' prototype, Gambon played a wealthy businessman who hosts a shooting party on the estate and earned positive reviews for his performance alongside a cast that included Kristin Scott Thomas, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban, Clive Owen, Kelly Macdonald, Richard E Grant, Maggie Smith, Charles Dance, Alan Bates, Eileen Atkins, Derek Jacobi, Stephen Fry, Tom Hollander and Laurence Fox.

In Gillian Armstrong's Second World War French occupation movie 'Charlotte Gray' with Cate Blanchett, James Friend, Rupert Penry Jones and Billy Crudup, he received praise for his supporting performance and a Frenchman who is hiding Jewish boys from the Nazis.

However the film was panned and it failed to connect with audiences.

There were poor reviews for another film in which he played another gangster, the action comedy 'High Heels and Low Lifes' with Minnie Driver, Mary McCormack, Kevin McNally, Danny Dyer and Mark Williams which barely made a dent in cinemas.

In Jimmy T Murakami's live action and animated version of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol,' he joined Simon Callow, Kate Winslet, Nicolas Cage, Juliet Stevenson, Jane Horrocks and Rhys Ifans as the voice of the Ghost of Christmas Present but the quality of the animation took a bit of a pasting.

There were rave reviews in 2002 for his performance alongside Daniel Craig in Caryl Churchill's 'A Number' at the Royal Court Theatre in London.

John Frankenheimer directed Gambon in the lead role of US President Lyndon B Johnson in the HBO Vietnam War political drama 'Path To War' with Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, Felicity Huffman, Philip Baker Hall, Sarah Paulson and Frederic Forrest which drew impressive reviews including one from The Washington Post that raved about his performance.

He played the British Prime Minister in Mark Mylod's hit comedy vehicle for Sacha Baron Cohen 'Ali G Indahouse' which received mixed reviews.

In 2002, he also famously appeared as a guest driver on the BBC2 motor show 'Top Gear' driving around a racing track in a Suzuki Liana with Jeremy Clarkson.

Part of the track was subsequently named Gambon Corner because of the speed with which he turned it, almost flipping the car.

He made another guest appearance on the show in 2006.

There was an appearance in 2003 as King Edward VII in Stephen Poliakoff's hugely admired Royal miniseries 'The Lost Prince' which also featured Miranda Richardson, Tom Hollander, Frank Finlay, Ron Cook, John Sessions and Bill Nighy.

Mike Nichols directed him that year in the star studded HBO miniseries adaptation of Tony Kushner's acclaimed HIV play 'Angels In America' with Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Patrick Wilson, Emma Thompson, Jeffrey Wright, James Cromwell, Simon Callow and Mary-Louise Parker.

The Irish playwright Conor MacPherson directed him, Michael Caine, Dylan Moran, Lena Headley and Miranda Richardson on the big screen in the Dublin theatre troupe comedy 'The Actors' which received mixed reviews.

Gambon was on song as the main villain in the enthusiastically received hit Kevin Costner Western 'Open Range' with Robert Duvall, Annette Bening, Michael Jeter and Diego Luna.

He narrated the critically acclaimed documentary 'Deep Blue' and featured among the cast in the Sylvia Plath biopic 'Sylvia' with Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Blythe Danner and Jared Harris which was met with critical indifference.

In 2004, he took on the role of Hamm opposite the comedian Lee Evans in Matthew Warchus' production of Samuel Beckett's 'Endgame' in London's Albery Theatre.

He had previously appeared in a 2000 TV film of Beckett's play opposite David Thewlis directed by the writer Conor McPherson as part of Channel 4 and RTE's 'Beckett On Film' project in conjunction with the Gate Theatre in Dublin and the Irish Film Board.

The Hungarian director Istvan Szabo cast him as a theatrical manager and mentor to Annette Bening's actress in the well received comedy drama 'Julia' with Jeremy Irons, Lucy Punch, Juliet Stevenson, Miriam Margoyles, Bruce Greenwood, Tom Sturbridge and Rita Tushingham.

In Kerry Conran's science fiction action adventure 'Sky Captain and the Captain of Tomorrow,' he joined Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Omid Djalili and Giovanni Riblisi but it faltered at the box office.

Gambon played another London East End gangster in Matthew Vaughn's critically and commercially successful crime film 'Layer Cake' with Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller, Colm Meaney and Kenneth Cranham.

Wes Anderson directed him for the first time as the producer of Bill Murray's oceanographer's films in 'The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou' in which his co-stars included Owen Wilson, Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum and Bud Cort.

Following the death of Richard Harris, 2004 would see Gambon take on what would undoubtedly be his best known movie role, inheriting the part of Professor Albus Dumbledore in Alfonso Cuaron's third installment of JK Rowling Harry Potter franchise 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.

He would appear in five more of the blockbuster films between 2055 and 2011 alongside Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and a who's who of leading British and Irish acting talent like Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Julie Walters, Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, Helena Bonham Carter, Imelda Staunton, Timothy Spall, Emma Thompson and Jason Isaacs.

An ambition to play Falstaff onstage was fulfilled in 2005, when Gambon joined Matthew Macfadyen in a National Theatre production of 'Henry IV, Parts I and II' directed by Nicholas Hytner.

In Dublin, he played Lambert in a Gate Theatre production of Pinter's 'Celebration'.

Atom Egoyan directed him at the Gate Theatre a year later in an acclaimed production of Samuel Beckett's 'Eh Joe' that featured Penelope Wilton as The Voice and used video projection.

Transferring to the West End, Gambon performed it twice a night at the Duke of York Theatre.

Plans for him to perform it at a Beckett Festival in Sydney were pulled, however, with Charles Dance replacing him but he would revive it in 2013 at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh and the following year at the Schiller Theatre in Berlin.

The actor Stephen Rea directed him in 2006 for a BBC Radio 3 production of Samuel Beckett's 'Embers' and a year later, he appeared on the same station in a production of Harold Pinter's 'The Homecoming' alongside Pinter, Gina McKee, Rupert Graves and Samuel West.

Irish director John Crowley directed him, James Bowlam, Julia Mackenzie, Colin Firth, Stephen Rea, Penelope Wilton, Sophie Okenodo, James Fox and Jamie Dee in Harold Pinter's 'Celebration' on More 4 - a play about three couples in a restaurant.

On the big screen, another Irishman John Moore directed him in the hit 2006 reboot of the supernatural horror franchise 'The Omen' which starred Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, Pete Postlethwaite, David Thewlis and Mia Farrow and in which he played an adviser on how to kill Damian, the Devil's son.

Robert de Niro directed him in the CIA drama 'The Good Shepherd' with Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, de Niro, William Hurt, Billy Crudup, Alec Baldwin, Joe Pesci, John Sessions and John Turturro, casting him as a British intelligence operative.

The movie drew audiences despite some critics labelling it tedious and slow.

Gambon played the 18th Century Liberal English Parliamentarian Charles James Fox in Michael Apted's positively received 2006 abolitionist film 'Amazing Grace' with Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ciaran Hinds, Rufus Sewell, Albert Finney and Youssou N'Dour.

He joined Martin Freeman, Penelope Cruz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Simon Pegg and Danny de Vito in Jake Paltrow's little seen 2007 fantasy comedy drama 'The Good Night' which struggled to find an audience after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.

There were poor reviews too for Gareth Lewis' Welsh comedy crime thriller 'The Baker' with Damian Lewis, Kate Ashfield and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

Gambon was directed again by Stephen Poliakoff in 'Joe's Palace' for BBC2 in 2007 with Danny Lee Wynter, Rupert Penry Jones, Kelly Reilly and Rebecca Hall in which he played an agoraphobic billionaire.

That year he was the farmer Thomas Holbrook in Heidi Thomas' Emmy and BAFTA winning BBC1 and PBS miniseries of Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Cranford' with Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, Imelda Staunton, Julia Mackenzie, Philip Glenister, Rory Kinnear, Lesley Manville and Barbara Flynn.

He took on the role of Lord Marchmain in Julian Jarrold's 2008 movie of Evelyn Waugh's 'Brideshead Revisited' with Ben Whishaw, Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell, Emma Thompson, Patrick Malahide and Greta Scaachi which got decent reviews but struggled to.makr its £20 million budget back.

Because of his strong association with Harold Pinter, he was personally chosen by the playwright to read Hurst's monologue from 'No Man's Land' at his funeral in 2008.

There was an Emmy nomination for his performance as Mr Woodhouse in the four part 2009 BBC1 adaptation of Jane Austen novel 'Emma' with Romola Garai, Jonny Lee Miller, Johdi May and Tamsin Greig.

That year Wes Anderson asked him to provide the voice of the villainous farmer Frank Bean in his superb stop-motion animated comedy feature of Ronald Dahl's 'The Fantastic Mr Fox' with George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Helen McCrory, Brian Cox and Jarvis Cocker which was a hit with audiences and critics.

In 2010, Gambon continued his association with the Gate Theatre in Dublin, taking on Samuel Beckett's legendary monologue, 'Krapp's Last Tape' in a limited run which also transferred to the West End.

On the small screen, he played a Charles Dickens inspired character in an episode of the BBC1 science fiction series 'Doctor Who' with Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Katherine Jenkins.

Gambon played a cannibal in the Hughes Brothers' 2010 post Apocalyptic neo Western 'The Book of Eli' with Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Jessica Biel, Frances de la Tour and Ray Stevenson which did well at the box office despite mixed reviews.

He also popped up briefly as King George VI in Tom Hooper's Best Picture Oscar winner 'The King's Speech' with Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Claire Bloom and Derek Jacobi.

The playwright David Hare directed Gambon in his critically lauded 2011 BBC political thriller 'Page Eight' with Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Ralph Fiennes, Judy Davis, Ewen Bremner and Saskia Reeves in which he played the head of MI5.

He played the recurring character of Mike Smythe, a crime boss in the 2012 HBO racing drama 'Luck' with Dustin Hoffman, Ian Hart, Dennis Farina, Jill Hennessy, Kevin Dunn, Kerry Condon and Nick Nolte.

Despite executive producer Michael Mann directing the pilot and the show earning good reviews, it was axed after one season following concerns about animal safety.

Hoffman directed him as a cantankerous retirement home resident in the well received 2012 movie 'Quartet' with Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins, Billy Connolly, Andrew Sachs and Sheridan Smith.

Edward Hall directed him, Hayley Atwell, Michelle Dockery and Charlotte Rampling in BBC1's acclaimed adaptation of William Boyd's wartime espionage drama 'Restless' in which he played the older version of Rufus Sewell's character.

Gambon teamed up once more with Eileen Atkins in a 2012 stage production by Trevor Nunn of Samuel Beckett's radio play 'All That Fall' at the Jermyn Theatre in London that transferred to the 59E59 Theatres in New York.

In 2013 he was cast as the older version of Rufus Wright's character John Burke in the well received two part ITV real life tale 'Lucan' with Rory Kinnear as Lord Lucan as the Earl suspected of murder, Christopher Eccleston, Catherine McCormack and Paul Freeman.

His performance of 'Eh Joe' in Berlin in 2014 would be his last onstage.

Gambon played a judge in 'Quirke,' the three part BBC1 and RTE co-production of John Banville's crime novels starring Gabriel Byrne, Nick Dunning, Aisling Francis, Brian Gleeson and Stanley Townsend.

There was another performance as a judge in Jimmy McGovern's typically stirring BBC1 crime drama TV movie 'Common' with Nico Mirallego, Michelle Fairley, Robert Pugh and Johdi May about joint enterprise criminal prosecutions in England and Wales.

He provided the voice of Uncle Pastuzo in Paul King's hit family film 'Paddington' with Ben Whishaw as the famous bear and Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Nicole Kidman, Peter Capaldi and Julie Walters among the cast.

He reprised the role in the 2017 hit sequel.

In 2015, Gambon reluctantly announced his retirement from performing on the stage because of the length of time it was taking to memorise his lines.

Three years later he did, however, provide a voice for the part of The Guard in a 2018 production of Harold Pinter's 'Pinter One' in London's Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End.

In 2015, he played a snob in JK Rowling's Middle England BBC1 drama 'The Casual Vacancy' which also starred Keeley Hawes, Monica Dolan, Rory Kinnear, Julia McKenzie and Simon McBurney.

There were mixed reviews, although some critics thought the drama was better than Rowling's novel.

2016 saw him take on the role of Winston Churchill in ITV's 'Churchill's Secret' about the Conservative politician suffering and recovering from a stroke towards the end of his tenure as Prime Minister.

Gambon received huge acclaim for his performance alongside Lindsay Duncan, Romola Garai, Bill Paterson, Tara Fitzgerald and Alex Jennings.

He also played that year Sir Edward Mortimer, the Earl of Ulster in Henry VI Part I as part of BBC2's 'The Hollow Crown' with Tom Sturbridge, Sophie Okenodo, Anton Lesser, Sally Hawkins and Adrian Dunbar.

He was the narrator in the Coen Brothers' Hollywood comedy 'Hail Caesar!' with George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill and Frances McDormand which was a modest hit with audiences and critics.

Gambon also brilliantly channeled the spirit of Arthur Ridley by stepping into his shoes as the doddery but sweet natured Private Godfrey in the big screen version of the BBC Home Guard wartime sitcom 'Dads Army' with Toby Jones, Bill Night, Catherine Zeta Jones, Tom Courtenay, Bill Paterson, Blake Harrison and Daniel Mays.

In 2017, Gambon joined Helen McCrory, Wunmi Mosaku and Jack Shepherd in Patrick Harbinson's ITV thriller 'Fearless' in which he played a former civil servant.

He also that year played Laurie's grandfather Mr Laurence in Heidi Thomas's much admired three part BBC1 adaptation of 'Little Women' with Emily Watson, Maya Hawke, Dylan Baker and Angela Lansbury.

Gurinder Chadha directed him, Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson, Om Puri, Manish Dayal and Huma Quereshi in the historical drama 'The Viceroy's House' about Lord Mountbatten in India in which he portrayed the British politician and diplomat, Lord Lionel 'Pug' Ismay in a movie that didn't set the box office alight but got positive reviews.

There was another role in an Indian historical movie as Robert Gascoyne Cecil, the Third Marquess of Salisbury in Stephen Frears' popular 'Victoria and Abdul' with Dame Judi Dench, Ali Fazal, Adeel Akhtar, Eddie Izzard, Paul Higgins and Tim Piggott-Smith.

Both Gambon and Gabriel Byrne earned enthusiastic reviews as patients of David Tennant's in Robert Mullan's 'Mad To Be Normal' with Elisabeth Moss and David Bamber which premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival but did not get a wide release.

In Matthew Vaughn's so so but stylish 2017 espionage action comedy sequel 'Kingsman: The Golden Circle,' he joined Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Pedro Pascal and Elton John, playing the leader of the secret British spy agency.

His last TV acting appearance came in 2018 when he reprised three years later the role of an elderly photographer Henry Tyson in the Sky Atlantic psychological horror Arctic thriller 'Fortitude' with Richard Dormer, Sofie Grabol, Luke Treadway, Darren Boyd and Parminder Nagra.

On the big screen, Gambon appeared in a British Polish thriller 'The Last Witness' with Alex Pettyfer, Tallulah Reilly and Robert Wieckiewicz which failed to secure a widespread release.

James Marsh directed him, Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay, Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone, Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Cox in 'King of Thieves' - a heist film based on the Hatton Garden robbery which underperformed with audiences and critics.

He was Agent Five in David Kerr's spy comedy sequel 'Johnny English Strikes Again' with Rowan Atkinson, Ben Miller, Olga Kurlyenko, Emma Thompson and Jake Lacy which did well in cinemas despite iffy reviews.

Xavier Dolan directed him in a minor role alongside Kit Harrington, Jacob Tremblay, Natalie Portman, Kathy Bates, Susan Sarandon, and Thandiwe Newton in the Canadian film 'The Death and Life of John F Newton' but the film was slated.

His last two movie roles were in 2019 in Rupert Goold's Judy Garland biopic 'Judy' with Renee Zellweger, Jessie Buckley and Rufus Sewell in which he played the legendary English theatrical impresario Bernard Delfont and as an elderly neighbour in Adrian Shergold's psychological thriller 'Cordelia' with Antonia Campbell-Hughes and Johnny Flynn.

Following the death of his friend and co-star in 'The Life of Gailieo,' the actor Simon Cowell raved about Gambon's vivid personality, his penchant for mischievous humour, his abilities as a raconteur and his considerable stage and screen presence.

Gambon had all these qualities and it is why his fellow actors adored him.

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