Michael Gambon: The Authorised Biography

Jasper Rees, interviewed by Nick Ahad Jasper Rees, interviewed by Nick Ahad A rare glimpse behind the curtain of one of Britain’s greatest acting legends. Award-winning arts journalist Jasper Rees spent years uncovering the extraordinary life and career of Michael Gambon for Michael Gambon: The Authorised Biography. Following his acclaimed Sunday Times bestseller Let’s Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood, Rees was granted exclusive access to Gambon’s personal archives and interviewed hundreds of the actors, writers and directors who knew and worked with him—including Dame Judi Dench, Brian Cox and Sir Alan Ayckbourn. From his early days at Laurence Olivier’s National Theatre to landmark roles in The Singing Detective, Gosford Park and the Harry Potter films, Gambon’s career was defined by a magnetic presence both on and off stage. This deeply personal, moving and revealing biography captures the wit, brilliance and contradictions of a performer who was as elusive and hilarious in private as he was mesmerising in front of an audience. Jasper will be joined in conversation by Nick Ahad, the award-winning writer, journalist and broadcaster. A former Yorkshire Post Arts Editor and now the paper’s theatre correspondent, Nick is also a regular presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Front Row and has interviewed leading figures from the worlds of theatre, film, television and culture. His live interviews have included Sir Patrick Stewart, Dawn French, Ruth Jones, Irvine Welsh and Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. Together, Jasper and Nick will explore Gambon’s remarkable career, the stories behind some of his greatest performances, and the challenge of capturing on the page a famously complex, mischievous and intensely private man. An unmissable conversation about craft, charisma and the life of a truly iconic actor.