Daniel Radcliffe & ‘Harry Potter’ Castmates Remember Dumbledore Actor Michael Gambon

Michael Gambon, who portrayed Dumbledore in six of the eight “Harry Potter” movies, died Thursday at 82.

Now, his castmates from the franchise are remembering Gambon in the wake of his passing.

Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe told Variety in a statement, “With the loss of Michael Gambon the world just became considerably less fun. Michael Gambon was one of the most brilliant, effortless actors I’ve ever had the privilege of working with, but despite his immense talent, the thing I will remember most about him is how much fun he had doing his job. He was silly, irreverent and hilarious. He loved his job, but never seemed defined by it. He was an incredible story and joke teller and his habit of blurring the lines of fact and fiction when talking to journalists meant that he was also one of the most entertaining people with whom you could ever wish to do a press junket.”

Radcliffe continued, “The sixth film was where I got to spend the most time working with Michael and he made the hours spent in front of a green screen together more memorable and joyous than they had any right to be. I’m so sad to hear he has passed, but I am so grateful for the fact that I am one of the lucky people who got to work with him.”

Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, shared on Instagram, “So sad to hear about Michael. He brought so much warmth and mischief to every day on set. He captivated me as a kid and became a personal role model of mine for finding the fun and eccentricities in life. Sending all my love to his family.”

James Phelps aka Fred Weasley posted on Twitter, “Very sorry to hear about the passing of Michael Gambon. He was, on and off the camera, a legend.”

He also shared this memory from the sixth film: “One day we were shooting Dumbledore’s final clock tower scene, obviously quite an intense scene. In between set ups Michael asked what I was up to that weekend. As it happened my brother and I were reading Peter and the Wolf with the Manchester Halle orchestra. “Do you have the script with you?” He asked, I did, ‘I’ve done that, let’s go through it and if you like I can give you some notes.’ So we spent what should have been his downtime going over my weekend gig. It is a memory I’ve always had as one of the highlights of my HP days.”

Jason Isaacs, known as Lucius Malfoy, tweeted, “Magnificent Michael Gambon has died. I learned what acting could be from Michael in 'The Singing Detective' - complex, vulnerable and utterly human. The greatest thrill of being in the Potter films was that [Gambon] knew my name and shared his fearless, filthy sense of fun with me.”

Gambon took over the role of Dumbledore from Richard Harris, who passed away in 2002. Richard’s son Jared Harris paid tribute to Michael on Twitter, writing, “A brilliant actor. I saw him on stage several times, and he lives unforgettably in my memory. He took over Dumbledore from my father, which was fitting as he overtook Brando as my father’s favorite actor.”