Michael Gambon Fell Asleep During One Of Harry Potter's Most Emotional Moments

The late, great Michael Gambon and the also late (and equally great) Richard Harris had very different interpretations of Albus Dumbledore in the "Harry Potter" films. In Harris' hands, the Hogwarts Headmaster tended to play things close to the chest, rarely revealing what he was thinking beyond a faint narrowing of the eyes or an upturn of the lips. Gambon, on the other hand, was like a quirky, eccentric uncle, speaking in riddles whenever it suited him, only for his emotions to abruptly burst to the surface (much to the consternation of those taken aback by the actor's lack of fidelity to the source material).

The thing is, Harris and Gambon were both excellent in the role. When we meet Dumbledore in the "Harry Potter" films, he's mostly an enigma to the young and impressionable Boy Who Lived, so it made sense for Harris to lean into that quality. As the narrative progresses, however, the character's mask is slowly peeled away to reveal the insecure wizard who's haunted by his past while passing himself off as an all-knowing sage — one who has totally thought through his plan for defeating the malevolent Lord Voldemort and isn't just winging it by relying on a pack of kids to save the day. 

By the time "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" rolls around, Dumbledore is treating Harry (who, let's not forget, is still a friggin' teenager at this juncture) like a confidant. Yet, even then, he's incapable of being completely open about his schemes with the increasingly-overburdened Harry, right up until he's killed by Severus Snape (Alan Rickman). One suspects Daniel Radcliffe could relate to his character's frustrations when he was acting his heart out in the aftermath of Dumbledore's death ... only to realize Gambon was asleep.

The reality of what it's like shooting a scene for a movie or TV show is often hilariously different from what you see on screen. Sex scenes tend to be anything but "sexy" to act out; laugh-out-loud moments are frequently the result of countless attempts to nail down the timing, by which point all concerned parties are generally too exhausted to find them funny; and scenes where people are meant to be grieving the loss of a loved one can be amusingly awkward, especially when it turns out one of the cast members isn't quite as emotionally invested as those around them.

So it was during the filming of a key moment from "Half-Blood Prince," as Radcliffe recounted to the Los Angeles Times in 2009:

"Dumbledore dies, and I had to do a scene lamenting over his body. Michael is the most respected actor I have ever worked with, so I had to really pull out the stops to convey the emotion. But after the fourth take, I looked down and saw that he had dozed off. I had to prod him to wake up. So much for impressing someone with your skills!"

In his defense, you can't entirely accuse Gambon of breaking character, what with Dumbledore being dead and all (nor is he the only actor to catch up on some shuteye while playing someone who's ventured to the grave). For that matter, one could even describe this as the ultimate form of method-acting. Much like Dumbledore has only just left Harry up a creek without a paddle in his battle against Voldemort, it appears Gambon wasn't so concerned about pulling his younger costar out of the moment as to deny himself a cozy nap. 

Now that's a true acting legend.