Harry Potter Stars Mourn Death of Michael Gambon, Dumbledore Actor Dead at 82

On Thursday, Gambon's publicist announced the Irish-British actor had passed away at the age of 82 after a bout with pneumonia, according to TMZ. The rep said he died in a hospital surrounded by his wife Anne and son Fergus.

Following the sad news of Gambon's passing, several of Gambon's Harry Potter costars -- as well as many fans -- took to social media to pay tribute.

The official Harry Potter social media accounts posted a statement that read: "We are incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Sir Michael Gambon. He brought immeasurable joy to Harry Potter fans from all over the world with his humour, kindness and grace. We will forever hold his memory in our hearts."

Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter himself, released a lengthy statement which began, "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 continued. "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. 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."

He concluded: "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."

J.K. Rowling -- who, of course, wrote the Harry Potter series the films are based on -- took to X (formerly Twitter) to react to Gambon's death, writing, "I've just heard the awful news about Michael Gambon. The first time I ever laid eyes on him was in King Lear, in 1982, and if you'd told me then that brilliant actor would appear in anything I'd written, I'd have thought you were insane. Michael was a wonderful man in additional to being an outstanding actor, and I absolutely loved working with him, not only on Potter but also The Casual Vacancy. My deepest condolences go to Michael's family and everyone who loved him."

Rupert Grint -- who played Ron Weasely in the movies -- shared a touching tribute to Gambon on his Instagram, posting a photo of Gambon as Dumbledore.

"So sad to hear about Michael," he captioned his post. "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, Rupert."

James Phelps -- who starred as Fred Weasely in the Harry Potter films -- honored Gambon on social media, recalling a heartfelt memory from working with Gambon on the sixth installment of the fantasy franchise: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

"Whilst shooting HP6 I worked on the AD department for the whole shoot (apart from the days I was acting)," he wrote in a post, which he shared on Instagram and X. "And for that reason I spent many hours with Michael during the shoot. He was always very funny and very welcoming to share any knowledge he had."

'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."

James said Gambon asked if he had the script with him, and he told him he did, to which Gambon said, "I've done that, let's go through it and if you like I can give some notes."

"So we spent what should have been his downtime going over my weekend gig," James added. "It is a memory I've always had as one of the highlights of my HP days."

The actor captioned his post, "I'm very sorry to hear about the passing of Michael Gambon. He was, on and off the camera, a legend. Just a little memory of Michael."

Meanwhile, Jason Isaacs -- who portrayed Lucius Malfoy in the film franchise -- also paid tribute to Gambon, writing, "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 he knew my name and shared his fearless, filthy sense of fun with me."

Fiona Shaw -- who starred as Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter movies -- reacted to Gambon's death while speaking to BBC Radio 4's The World at One.

"I will think of him as a trickster, just brilliant, magnificent trickster, but with text, there was nothing like him, he could do anything," she said, per Daily Mail. "He varied his career remarkably and never judged what he was doing, he just played."

Gambon -- who played Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore for six films -- joined the Harry Potter film franchise for the third installment, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, following the death of Richard Harris, who portrayed Dumbledore in the first two movies.

Harris' son, Jared, paid tribute to Gambon on X, writing, "Hilarious! 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 over took Brando as my father's favourite actor."

It wasn't just stars from the world of Harry Potter who honored Gambon on social media. Several of Gambon's former costars and fellow celebrities also shared heartfelt tributes online.

See more tributes in the posts, below.