As much as we Potterheads love to learn about the intricate details from JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, we are also keen to know about behind-the-scenes stories from the film sets. So we are back with another round of backstage information from Tom Felton, surrounding the late actor Michael Gambon’s character – Dumbledore.
Pulling out sections from Tom Felton’s mémoire Beyond the Wand and cross-checking them with Michael Gambon’s interview with Irish Independent, we learned about fun smoke breaks in between shoots. According to Felton, the smoke breaks with Gambon could happen at any time, since the actor was known for hiding a secret stash of cigarettes in his long Dumbledore beard.
Tom Felton’s Smoke Breaks With Michael Gambon
Looking back at his time on the Harry Potter sets, Tom Felton relieved the moments while penning down his memories through his book Beyond the Wand. Dropping his mémoire in 2022, the actor’s share of the delightful journey finally made its way into the hands of eager Potterheads.
In his mémoire, Tom Felton spoke about several things, from the shooting schedules to his friendship, and from the backstage smoke breaks with Daniel Radcliffe and Michael Gambon to his personality getting shaped by Emma Watson. Among the intricate details shared by Felton, what stuck with fans was his way of exposing Gambon’s one particular habit.
According to Tom Felton’s mémoire, Michael Gambon used to annoy costume staff by getting food in Dumbledore’s beard. Well, precisely, the actor used to stuff his character’s long and lustrous beard with two things, cigarettes and a lighter. As per Felton, Gambon had turned Dumbledore’s beard into a stash bag.
Michael Gambon Used Dumbledore’s Beard as a Stash Bag
Tom Felton’s exposing mémoire about Michael Gambon’s habits came way after the late actor personally noted his habit during an interview with Irish Independent. Speaking with the outlet in 2011, Gambon had touched upon his habit of turning Dumbledore’s beard into his stash bag, particularly for cigarettes and a lighter.
According to the screen legend, who had portrayed Professor Albus Dumbledore in the wizarding film series Harry Potter, he kept his cigarettes and lighter in a secret compartment within Dumbledore’s beard. Not only that, but Gambon also turned his beard messy by getting food items stuck in it.
“I had a little bag I’d made myself to keep my fags and lighter in, inside my costume… I had a very long white beard – when I would have my sausage and chips for lunch, she [the costume designer] wouldn’t take the beard off, which annoyed me, so I used to feed the chips through it.”
Although Michael Gambon’s idea worked just fine for him, his particular habit seemingly annoyed the costume department, as he often got the fake beard messy with food. So it seems Tom Felton was right about the late actor’s habit and secret stash of cigarettes and a lighter.
