Sir Michael Gambon was born in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland, to Mary (Hoare),
a seamstress, and Edward Gambon, an engineer. After joining the
National Theatre, under the Artistic Directorship of Sir
Laurence Olivier, Gambon went on to
appear in a number of leading roles in plays written by
Alan Ayckbourn. His career was catapulted
in 1980 when he took the lead role in
John Dexter's production of
"Galileo". Since then, Gambon has regularly appeared at the Royal
National Theatre and the RSC. Roles include, King Lear, Othello, Mark
Anthony and Volpone. He was described by the late Sir
Ralph Richardson as being "The
Great Gambon" and he is now considered to be one of the British
theatre's leading lights. He was made a CBE in 1992.
