In a new interview with the Irish Times Michael Gambon talks a bit about Harry Potter and Dumbledore.

He did, however, grace the big screen in The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover , alongside his long-time friend, Helen Mirren, and in numerous other films, including Gosford Park, Dancing at Lughnasa, Sleepy Hollow and the latter six of the eight Harry Potter films, in which he took over from the late Richard Harris as Professor Albus Dumbledore. “I enjoyed it!” he says proudly of his Dumbledore days, though he admits the role may not have stretched him particularly as an actor. “There’s no character really, it’s just me! Me dressed up in a costume! I’m essentially playing myself, that’s all I’m doing.”

Still, he misses the Harry Potter films. “It’s fun laughing all the time, and I know all the other actors, I’ve known them for years. It’s like being with friends.”