UPDATE, with Radcliffe statement: Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe added his voice to the tributes for his late Potter castmate Michael Gambon.
In a press statement, Radcliffe said, “With the loss of Michael Gambon the world just became considerably less fun. 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. 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.”
JK Rowling and Harry Potter actors also recalled memories jof Gambon following his death on Thursday at the age of 82.
The Irish-English actor replaced the late Richard Harris as Professor Albus Dumbledore in 2003 and went on to star in six of the eight Harry Potter films.
Harry Potter author Rowling led tributes to Gambon, telling her followers on Twitter (now known as X) that she could not believe that he was embodying one of her characters.
“The first time I ever laid eyes on him was in King Lear, in 1982, and if you’d told me then that brilliant actor would appear in anything I’d written, I’d have thought you were insane,” she said. “Michael was a wonderful man in additional to being an outstanding actor, and I absolutely loved working with him.”
Ruper Grint, who played Ron Weasley, said Gambon became a personal role model during their time working together, fondly remembering his “warmth and mischief.”
Jason Isaacs, the actor behind Lucius Malfoy, said Gambon’s “complex, vulnerable and utterly human” performance in The Singing Detective helped him appreciate the craft of acting. He recalled his “fearless, filthy” sense of fun.
James Phelps, who starred as Fred Weasley, described Gambon as a “legend” and recalled how the actor had helped him with a weekend performing job during a filming break.
Fiona Shaw, who played Harry Potter’s Aunt Petunia Dursley, spoke of her fondness for Gambon during an interview with BBC Radio 4.
“I will think of him as a trickster, just brilliant, magnificent trickster,” she said. “There was nothing like him, he could do anything.”
