Richard St John Francis Harris was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous accolades including the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, and a Grammy Award. In 2020, he was listed at number 3 on The Irish Times's list of Ireland's greatest film actors.
Harris received two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his performances in This Sporting Life, and The Field. Other notable roles include in The Guns of Navarone, Red Desert, A Man Called Horse, Cromwell, Unforgiven, Gladiator, and The Count of Monte Cristo. He gained cross generational acclaim for his role as Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the latter of which was his final film role.
He portrayed King Arthur in the 1967 film Camelot based on the Lerner and Loewe musical of the same name. For his performance he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He reprised the role in the 1981 Broadway musical revival.