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[maxcriden]

Quite sad. Very talented actor. Glad he'll still be doing film, though it's gotta be hard for a classic actor like this to give up the stage.

Michael Gambon has announced his retirement from theater acting after admitting that he can’t remember lines anymore.

In an interview with the Sunday Times Magazine, Gambon, 74, revealed that learning scripts takes him longer and that he quickly forgets them. “It’s a horrible thing to admit, but I can’t do it. It breaks my heart. It’s when the script’s in front of me and it takes forever to learn. It’s frightening,” he said.

The actor, who played Dumbledore in six Harry Potter films, admitted that he had recently resorted to using ear pieces to feed him lines. But his forgetfulness had become so pronounced that he realized six months ago it was time to bring down the curtain on a five-decade career in the theater.

Gambon put his forgetfulness down to his age and worried that it was a sign of Alzheimer’s, but his doctors have given him the all-clear. This isn’t the first occasion Gambon has struggled with his memory. In 2009, he was taken to the hospital twice with panic attacks brought on by the stress of forgetting his lines during rehearsals at the National Theatre in London.

Though he may never grace the stage again, Gambon will continue with this film and TV career where the stress of remembering is significantly less and he can be fed his lines. Gambon will next appear in the BBC adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy as well in the Dad’s Army big-screen remake.

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/harry-potter-star-michael-gambon-retires-from-110547043267.html

 

[Snaku]

Glad he doesn't have A, but this is still a sad day. Hope he can continue to work in film for as long as he desires to.

 

[marrec]

At least it's not Alzheimer's. You're 74 man and you've probably done some amazing things, take it easy for awhile.

 

[Deleted member 231381]

I struggle to imagine many things more terrifying than memory loss and struggling to remember basic things. Would make you feel like you are losing who you are. I hope he ends up stabilizing.

 

[Frog-fu]

This is sad.

 

[Sapiens]

Love this guy, the superior dumbledore. Sad to hear and hopefully, by the time we're all geezers, they like this memory degradation thing.

 

[Theecliff]

Poor guy

Glad it isn't Alzheimer's tho, such a horrible thing for anyone to go through

 

[Savitar]

It's always terrible when someone can not do what they love doing for whatever reason.

It can be the most destructive thing to a person.

 

[Matt_]

Must be unbelievably frustrating for him
Thank God it's not Alz though

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

Good it isn't Alzheimer's, though.

 

[cheststrongwell]

Age is a son of a bitch.

 

[Weapxn]

Dude has had a respectable career, and theatre is hard. Glad to see he'll still do screen projects.

 

[Joni]

Mister Gambon, you're 74. You don't need to stress out, you have the right to forget lines in long-ass scripts and you have the right to do it calmer.

 

[shuri]

Losing your memory is incredibly scary. This affects him in every aspect of his life, not just his theater work.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

Sad news. Loved Gambon as Maigret back in the day. At least he'll still be doing filmwork.

 

[Pagusas]

The dude really loves what he does. Very ssd he has to give it up. I hope when I'm 75 i can be so in love with my work that I feel the way he does.

 

[sirap]

I hated his portrayal of Dumbledore, but he's an incredible actor it's terrible to have age take that away from him.

 

[Spiritwalker]

I loved his portrayal of Dumbledore. Sad news.

 

[so1337]

Oh, so the final corner on the Top Gear test track is named after this guy. I had no idea.

I can't even imagine having to give up the thing that you love most.

 

[AlteredForms]

Elder Scrolls Online will miss you Such a shame nobody will miss it.

 

[18-Volt]

Everybody knows him from HP, but my favourite Gambon character is the Colonel from Toys (robin Williams flick). He has a terrific voice.

 

[backflip10019]

sad news, but I guess that's aging.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

He's good in Layer Cake

 

[The Lamonster]

Scary, but glad to hear it's not Alzheimer's.

 

[Currygan]

Legendary actor, had so many brilliant roles. Great loss for Britain's acting, but at least had a Top Gear corner named after him

 

[MJPIA]

Damn.
I hope he doesn't get too depressed, nothing you can really do but go with the flow while hoping your doctor can figure something out.

I know all to well how terrifying memory loss can be, I deal with it on a day to day basis.
I could probably give you a basic breakdown of what I did at work yesterday but I wouldn't be able to tell you any specific details of the work done and I wouldn't be able to tell you what I did three days ago let alone a week.
This one time I suddenly couldn't remember if my first name was spelled Michael or micheal was scary.
I live off checklists, I write down things that need to be done and check them off when they are done.

 

[Yen]

Oh, so the final corner on the Top Gear test track is named after this guy. I had no idea.

I can't even imagine having to give up the thing that you love most.

He had the car on two wheels going round the last corner.

 

[TheZink]

It’s sad. I watched a Harry Potter Celebration Q&A last week and you could tell he was having a hard time remembering things from the movies. I actually thought to myself that I couldn’t believe his reps let him do the Q&A. It was a little awkward and the other cast members just kind of smiled it off. I felt bad for him.

 

[sixteen-bit]

thanks for the memories, Mike

 

[Archer]

Such a tragedy.

Welcome to the Layer Cake, son.

 

[Ban Puncher]

 

[Oersted]

Everybody knows him from HP, but my favourite Gambon character is the Colonel from Toys (robin Williams flick). He has a terrific voice.

As recently proven in Paddington as Uncle Pastuzo.

 

[Saintguine]

Very respectable filmography, Harry Potter is just a part of it.

Hope he does well and has an easy life.

 

[Broken Joystick]

50 years in the theater, massive respect.