Sir Michael Gambon was born in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland, to Mary (Hoare),a seamstress, and Edward Gambon, an engineer. After joining theNational Theatre, under the Artistic Directorship of SirLaurence Olivier, Gambon went on toappear in a number of leading roles in plays written byAlan Ayckbourn. His career was catapultedin 1980 when he took the lead role inJohn Dexter's production of"Galileo". Since then, Gambon has regularly appeared at the RoyalNational Theatre and the RSC. Roles include, King Lear, Othello, MarkAnthony and Volpone. He was described by the late SirRalph Richardson as being "TheGreat Gambon" and he is now considered to be one of the Britishtheatre's leading lights. He was made a CBE in 1992.