Daniel Radcliffe has had a very successful acting career post-Harry Potter. More recently, not only has the British actor’s Broadway show, Merrily We Roll Along, made tons of money, but he’s got a new NBC show with Tracy Morgan, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. Regardless of how far he's come, though, Radcliffe still fondly reflects on his time making the Wizarding World movies. To that point, the actor recently revealed the co-star who would crack him up on set.
There’s no doubt Radcliffe got to work with some incredible veteran actors who made up the Harry Potter cast. From Dame Maggie Smith to Alan Rickman, the former child star sure had plenty of talented people to learn from. During his appearance on Hot Ones, the Primetime Emmy nominee spoke about the one actor who always made him laugh on set, and this is such a great pick:
Michael Gambon, may he rest in peace, incredible man…. He fucked around all the time. Like he would never stop until action had been said sometimes, he would be like, trying to make me laugh or doing something.
Michael Gambon replaced the late Richard Harris in the role of Albus Dumbledore starting with Prisoner of Azkaban, and he truly brought a commanding presence to the role. What was also great about Gambon’s performance as the Hogwarts headmaster was the subtle moments of humor he conveyed, like Dumbledore admitting he loves knitting patterns or being confused when Harry and Hermione came back from time-traveling.
While Dumbledore mostly had to be a serious sage of a wizard, it sounds like the actor who portrayed him was a goofball in real life. To that point, there was even a time when Gambon pranked Daniel Radcliffe with a farting machine on set. Radcliffe also gave a hilarious example of one way Gambon would serve as a troll on set:
Some actors love to like dress the whole process up in mystique and being an enigma. Michael Gambon, you'd get to set and he'd be like 'What's the shot?' And you'd be like, ‘Oh it's cameras here, Michael, so you're there in front of it but you're looking that way,’ and he'd say, 'Oh what is this BOHNAR? I was like, 'Sorry what's that?' And he's like, 'Back of head, no acting required?' And it's like, ‘Yes, yes, it is.’
That's a wild acronym if there ever was one, and Gambon apparently had an affinity for such jokey puns even when filming serious scenes. In Half-Blood Prince, there's an intense, third-act sequence that sees Harry and Dumbledore embarking on a dangerous mission to obtain a Horcrux. The actual vibe on set, however, was apparently quite different, according to Radcliffe:
When we were doing the sixth film, me and him were doing the final sequence and we were in this boat. I can't remember the details, but we're in this little boat going over to this island surrounded by bad stuff. And he'd be like, 'What's this, TTIAB?' I was like what? 'Two twats in a boat?' ‘Yes, Michael it is.’
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall to hear the Irish-English actor dropping such quips. If you ask me, the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou alum sounds just as delightful as Dumbledore himself.
Michael Gambon passed away in 2023 and, at that time, Daniel Radcliffe paid tribute to the Shakespearean actor, calling him “silly, irreverent and hilarious.” Interestingly enough, one of the fascinating tidbits the Swiss Army Man actor shared on Reddit years ago was the fact that Gambon hilariously showed him how to shoot a dueling pistol while he held a cup of coffee in his other hand. In short, Gambon was a legend if there ever was one
While it's been well over a decade since production wrapped on the Potter film series, I still love hearing behind-the-scenes stories. These tidbits help shed light on the filmmaking process but also help humanize the people in front of and behind the camera. Michael Gambon's work won't be forgotten and, with Daniel Radcliffe and others continue to reminisce about him, his good humor will surely also be remembered.
Check out Gambon's work in the Harry Potter films by streaming them with an HBO Max subscription or a Peacock subscription.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
