Sir Michael Gambon, CBE (born Michael John Gambon; 19 October 1940) is an Irish-British actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his role as Philip Marlow in acclaimed BBC television serial The Singing Detective and for his role as Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter film series (from The Prisoner of Azkaban onwards, replacing the late actor Richard Harris, who passed away not long after The Chamber of Secrets finished filming). It has recently been announced that he will play a Kazran Sardick in the upcoming Christmas special written by Steven Moffatt.
Karen Gillan calls him a legend, Matt Smith calls him one of his acting heroes [1].