{"product_id":"michael-gambon-the-authorised-biography-hardcover","title":"Michael Gambon: The Authorised Biography (Hardcover)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e*AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW* \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA major and definitive biography of the beloved actor, drawing on 150 exclusive interviews with stars including Daniel Radcliffe, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Helen Mirren, Alan Ayckbourn, Brian Cox, Bill Nighy and Jeremy Clarkson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'This book reveals the wonderful man behind some of the greatest roles on stage and screen.' Daniel Radcliffe\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'He was sublime as an actor.' Dame Judi Dench\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'He was a remarkable stage performer . . . You couldn't really term it acting - more an act of spontaneous combustion.' Sir Alan Ayckbourn\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'He was a great, great man. We all loved him very much.' Dame Helen Mirren\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe son of working-class Irish immigrants, Michael Gambon left school with no qualifications and began his working life as an apprentice toolmaker. He went on to become one of the greatest actors of his generation, captivating audiences across stage and screen.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJasper Rees, \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eLet's Do It: The Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood\u003c\/i\u003e, interviewed Gambon more than any other living journalist. With exclusive access to the Gambon archive and his family, and drawing on more than 150 interviews with actors, writers, directors and friends, Rees tells the extraordinary story of the man behind the performances.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Laurence Olivier's fledgling National Theatre to \u003ci\u003eThe Life of Galileo\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eA View from the Bridge\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSkylight\u003c\/i\u003e; from collaborations with Harold Pinter and Alan Ayckbourn to \u003ci\u003eThe Singing Detective\u003c\/i\u003e and the \u003ci\u003eHarry Potter\u003c\/i\u003e films, Gambon's career spanned some of the defining productions of the last fifty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut behind the performances was a complicated, intensely private and mischievous man, famous for his tall tales and as surprising offstage as he was mesmerising on it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFunny, moving and revelatory, Jasper Rees's masterful and definitive biography peels back the layers of Gambon's myth to reveal the humanity of an acting colossus.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for Sir Michael Gambon:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Michael Gambon was perfection . . . he was like the internet, because some things on the internet are true, but most of it isn't true. That's broadly speaking what I thought it was like talking to Michael.' Jeremy Clarkson\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'He could be utterly committed and believable and truly \"in\" the scene and yet there was a part of him standing aside going, \"no you idiot, what do you think you're doing?\" . . . He was a great, great man. We all loved him very much.' Dame Helen Mirren\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jasper Rees","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67653055185074,"sku":"9781529963335","price":800.0,"currency_code":"ZAR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0562\/9191\/8002\/files\/9781529963335.jpg?v=1791424423","url":"https:\/\/www.wordsworth.co.za\/products\/michael-gambon-the-authorised-biography-hardcover","provider":"Wordsworth Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}