‘I laughed so hard my Tampax fell out’: Michael Gambon’s pranks revealed by the stars he cracked up
He made Daniel Radcliffe’s Harry Potter fart, left Judi Dench unable to control herself and told a fry-up fantasy about Helen Mirren. A new biography details the star’s mischief
TL;DR
- Lia Williams couldn't stop laughing during a play due to Gambon's accents and "speaking in tongues," once to the point her Tampax fell out.
- During a BBC TV adaptation of Ibsen's Ghosts, Gambon's request for "the usual eight" potatoes caused Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh to corpse.
- Gambon and Alan Rickman pranked Daniel Radcliffe on the Harry Potter set using a fart machine during filming.
- While playing King Lear, Gambon reportedly taunted Antony Sher's Fool character with profanity during a storm scene.
- Gambon allegedly wrote fake admiring notes from Robert De Niro to himself.
- In a 1960s Christmas show, Gambon wrote "fuck off" on his eyelids and blinked it at co-star Anthony Higgins.
- Gambon once hid chocolate cake in his trousers during a performance of The Caretaker, causing Rupert Graves to wet himself.
- Gambon told journalists a fabricated story about Helen Mirren performing a mime of cooking breakfast for him.