Harry Potter stars pay tribute to late Michael Gambon

A host of Harry Potter stars including Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint have paid tribute to the late Michael Gambon.

On Thursday it was announced that the beloved actor had passed away, aged 82, following a bout of pneumonia.

Gambon played the role of eccentric Hogwarts headmaster Professor Albus Dumbledore in six of the Harry Potter movies.

Radcliffe has described his late co-star as one of the “most brilliant, effortless” actors he ever worked with.

“Despite his immense talent, the thing I will remember most about him is how much fun he had doing his job,” Radcliffe said in a statement. “He was silly, irreverent and hilarious.”

Grint shared he was “so sad” to hear about the death of his former co-star, who he viewed as a role model.

“He brought so much warmth and mischief to every day on set,” the star said on Instagram. “He captivated me as a kid and became a personal role model of mine for finding the fun and eccentricities in life.”

The official Harry Potter Instagram account posted a series of black and white shots of Gambon to mark his passing.

“We will forever hold his memory in our hearts,” read a message to accompany the photos.

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling revealed it was a personal pleasure to see Gambon cast in the role of Dumbledore.

“The first time I ever laid eyes on him was in King Lear, in 1982,” she recalled in a statement released on Twitter/X. “And if you'd told me then that brilliant actor would appear in anything I'd written, I'd have thought you were insane.”

Gambon enjoyed a hugely successful career and appeared in a series of hit TV shows and movies, including Maigret, The King’s Speech, Gosford Park and Layer Cake.

The Dublin-born actor is survived by his wife, Lady Gambon and their son Fergus, as well as his two children with Philippa Hart.