Ben Kingsley


Actor
Ben Kingsley

About

Also Known As
Krishna Bhanji, Sir Ben Kingsley
Birth Place
Yorkshire, England, GB
Born
December 31, 1943

Biography

Exuding an air of gravitas in whatever role he played, Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley made a specialty of playing historical characters, ranging from Dmitri Shostakovich in "Testimony" (1987) to mobster Meyer Lansky in "Bugsy" (1991). His most acclaimed performance, however, was in Sir Richard Attenborough's epic biopic "Gandhi" (1982), in which he played the title role of one of ...

Family & Companions

Angela Morant
Wife
Actor. Married in 1966; divorced in 1972; mother of Kingsley's two older children.
Alison Sutcliffe
Wife
Theater director. Born c. 1946; married on July 1, 1978; separated c. 1992; divorced; worked with her on developing his one-man stage show "Edmund Kean"; mother of Kingsley's two younger sons.
Kate Townsend
Companion
Living together since 1993.
Alexandra Christmann
Wife
Model. Born c. 1975; married in Fall 2003.

Biography

Exuding an air of gravitas in whatever role he played, Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley made a specialty of playing historical characters, ranging from Dmitri Shostakovich in "Testimony" (1987) to mobster Meyer Lansky in "Bugsy" (1991). His most acclaimed performance, however, was in Sir Richard Attenborough's epic biopic "Gandhi" (1982), in which he played the title role of one of the 20th Century's most revered and influential figures. Thanks to that Oscar-winning performance, Kingsley went from being a relatively obscure character actor to an international star overnight. In the 1990s, Kingsley dramatically reinvented himself by taking on shadier, more morally ambiguous characters, such as the smarmy bad guy in "Sneakers" (1992), a trusted associate of Oskar Schindler in "Schindler's List" (1993), and the physician-torturer of "Death and the Maiden" (1994). Kingsley later delivered one of the most explosive performances of his career as the uninhibitedly ferocious criminal Don Logan in the British gangster feature "Sexy Beast" (2001), a role that transformed his image while earning a ton of award buzz. He went on to a variety of roles in the dark character drama "House of Sand and Fog" (2003), Roman Polanski's adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" (2005), the high-energy crime thriller "Lucky Number Slevin" (2006), and Martin Scorsese's psychological thriller "Shutter Island" (2010). By the time he co-starred in the fantastical "Hugo" (2011), Kingsley was long established as one of Hollywood's most gifted and esteemed performers.

Born Krishna Bhanji in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England on Dec. 31, 1943, Kingsley was the son of English model-actress Anne Lyna Goodman and her husband, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, a Muslim Indian physician. Raised in Pendlebury, Salford, Kingsley attended Manchester Grammar School and later won admission to the University of Salford. Kingsley began his acting career in 1966, making his London stage debut as the narrator in "A Smashing Day," a musical produced by Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles. Impressed with Kingsley's voice and guitar playing, Epstein introduced the young actor to John Lennon and Ringo Starr, who both urged young Kingsley to pursue a career in music. He chose instead to remain with his first true love, acting. His decision proved to be a savvy one. Within a year, Kingsley was invited to join the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company and a career was officially off and running. Though he continued to go by his birth name of Krishna Bhanji well into the 1970s, Kingsley eventually found his exotic name a liability. Fearful that he would be pigeonholed as a strictly "ethnic actor," Bhanji officially adopted the far more Anglo-sounding "Ben Kingsley" as his stage name while in his mid-thirties. The name was, in part, a homage to his paternal grandfather, a Zanzibar spice trader whose nickname was "The Clove King." Kingsley's first film role was a supporting turn in the thriller "Fear Is the Key" (1972). Based on the 1961 novel by Alistair MacLean, Kingsley's performance earned him positive reviews which opened the door to small television roles. For the most part, however, Kingsley's career chugged along unremarkably and he seemed destined to be a bit player for the rest of his career.

All of that changed, however, in 1980, when acclaimed director Sir Richard Attenborough held a massive casting call for an unknown to play the lead in his sweeping biopic of Mohandas Gandhi. Chosen partly for his ethnic background, Kingsley was, ironically enough, pressured by the filmmakers to go on a worldwide campaign to promote his Indian heritage after having spent years downplaying it. One of the most elaborate productions of its time, "Gandhi" was a relative bargain in terms of Hollywood dollars. Made for an extremely lean $22 million, the film's superb production values suggested a budget at least twice that. Case in point: for the film's climactic funeral scene, the movie employed close to 300,000 Indian extras, most of whom worked for free. Kingsley's decades-spanning performance as the revered Indian leader proved a revelation. Despite its long running time, "Gandhi" lured enough audiences to become a worldwide hit, earning nearly $53 million in the U.S. alone. Critics were equally impressed. For his efforts, Kingsley was justly honored with the 1982 Academy Award for Best Actor.

Unfortunately, "Gandhi" also succeeded in typecasting Kingsley for years to come. Often called upon to carry the moral weight of his films, Kingsley's post-"Gandhi" roles consisted mainly of playing effete intellectuals and non-threatening good guys in such films as "Turtle Diary" (1985), "Harem" (1985) and the Sherlock Holmes reimagination "Without a Clue" (1988). Fortunately, Kingsley would make a welcome return to the mainstream in 1991 with an excellent supporting turn in "Bugsy." Cast as paternal mobster Meyer Lansky, Kingsley served as the film's voice of reason to Warren Beatty's mercurial, hot-headed Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. While his portrayal of Lansky would earn Kingsley his second Oscar nod - this time for Best Supporting Actor - his most impressive performance post-"Gandhi" came in Steven Spielberg's Academy Award-winning Best Picture, "Schindler's List" (1993). Disappearing with subtlety and strength into his role of Itzhak Stern, the clever Jewish accountant who was the brains behind the empire of industrialist, Oskar Schindler, Kingsley's interplay with Liam Neeson as Schindler personified the warmth of a relationship that was a rare point of sanity in an insane world.

Later that year, Kingsley popped up as an ambitious vice president in the Ivan Reitman comedy, "Dave" (1993), and as the chess master Bruce Pandolfini in Steve Zaillian's "Searching for Bobby Fisher" (1993). Kingsley was especially potent the following year in director Roman Polanski's atmospheric and absorbing film "Death and the Maiden" (1994). A three-character story set in an unspecified South American country, the film starred Sigourney Weaver as a former kidnap victim who encounters her torturer (Kingsley) a decade later after he innocently gives her stranded husband a lift home. After a stab at sci-fi in "Species" (1995), Kingsley returned to the classics as Feste in Trevor Nunn's "Twelfth Night" (1996) before helping train Aidan Quinn to pursue Carlos the Jackal (also played by Quinn) in Christian Duguay's "The Assignment" (1997). Unlike most actors of his caliber, Kingsley rarely shied away from the small screen. Calling television an excellent and nurturing environment for the serious British performer, Kingsley debuted on American screens as Armand's crusty father in "Camille" (CBS, 1984) and followed with the acclaimed miniseries "Oxbridge Blues" (A&E, 1986). He also starred in the excellent British import "Silas Marner" which aired on the PBS series, "Great Performances" in 1987. Kingsley's proudest small screen moment, however, was probably his outstanding portrayal of famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal in "Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story" (HBO, 1989).

Although his performances were always admired by critics, audiences, and especially his fellow actors, Kingsley's turn as Don Logan in "Sexy Beast" reintroduced him to a whole new generation of moviegoers. Moving like a stealth panther through every one of his scenes, Kingsley imbued a sense of virile menace to his jewel thief character and especially shone in his scenes opposite co-star Ray Winstone. Kingsley would deliver yet another masterful, career-defining performance in "House of Sand and Fog" (2003), playing an expatriate Iranian colonel who is forced to battle his conscience and the ghosts of his past. The film's tragic twists and turns provided Kingsley with one of his most complex and nuanced film performances, expertly essaying both the flawed and noble characteristics of his character. "House of Sand and Fog" earned Kingsley a wealth of critical acclaim and his second Academy Award nomination as Best Actor, along with Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award nominations.

Few moviegoers turned out to see Kingsley's 2004 follow-up, a live-action adaptation of the puppet-driven sci-fi series from Britain, "Thunderbirds" (1964-66) with Sir Ben as the villainous The Hood. The actor admitted he took the part because he needed a sillier role after the heaviness of "House of Sand and Fog" and had fond memories of watching hours of the cult hit TV show with his children. Next the actor essayed the titular serial killer who murders serial killers in the atmospheric thriller "Suspect Zero" (2004). Kingsley was game for another over-the-top performance in "A Sound of Thunder" (2005), a futuristic thriller about the dangers of using time travel for fun and profit. In a more serious vein, Kingsley reunited with Roman Polanski to play the manipulative street urchin mentor Fagin in an adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, "Oliver Twist" (2005). Of note was the fact that Kingsley's Fagin was a more dimensional depiction than usual; instead of portraying him solely as an out-and-out evil exploiter of homeless children, Kingsley and Polanski delivered a Fagin that, although he was profiting off of the his band of pickpockets, he was also somewhat kind to them and offered them at least some sort of purpose and community that they might otherwise not have known.

Once again reverting to schlocky fare, Kingsley played an evil vampire being hunted by a half-human, half-vampire (Kristanna Loken) in Uwe Boll's "BloodRayne" (2006). In the stylish noir thriller "Lucky Number Slevin" (2006), Kingsley was a New York City crime boss named The Rabbi engaging in a war with a rival, The Boss (Morgan Freeman). Returning to more highly regarded work, Kingsley starred in "Mrs. Harris" (HBO, 2006), playing the real-life Dr. Herman Tarnower, the famed cardiologist and creator of the Scarsdale Diet who was shot to death by his lover, Jean Harris (Annette Bening). Kingsley earned himself a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. Continuing his prolific streak in 2007, Kingsley appeared as a Polish-American gangster in "You Kill Me," a mafia comedy-thriller directed by John Dahl. That same year, Kingsley played dual roles as Ambrosinus and Merlin in the Arthurian epic "The Last Legion."

In a refreshing change of pace, Kingsley's next project had him tackling broad comedy as a wise sex guru named Maharishi Tugginmypudha in Mike Myers' "The Love Guru" (2008). After playing an inquisitive Russian narcotics officer in the international thriller "Transsiberian" (2008), Kingsley was the lead psychiatrist at a hospital for the criminally insane in Martin Scorsese's creepy "Shutter Island" (2010), starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a U.S. Marshal investigating the disappearance of a patient. He next had a supporting role as the uncle of an adopted orphan (Jake Gyllenhaal) in the big-budget "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" (2010), before portraying pioneering silent film director George Méliès in Scorsese's Oscar-nominated family adventure "Hugo" (2011). Kingsley followed that by co-starring with Sacha Baron Cohen in the comedy "The Dictator" (2012), where he played the traitorous uncle of Cohen's titular head of state. The veteran actor clearly had fun playing a multifaceted villain in the superhero blockbuster "Iron Man 3" (2013), and starred in the straight-to-video action movie "A Common Man" (2013) before portraying half-Maori war veteran Mazer Rackham in the sci-fi film "Ender's Game" (2013). Kingsley next co-starred in the indie drama "War Story" (2014) opposite Catherine Kenner, and played a Sikh driving instructor in Manhattan in the romantic drama "Learning To Drive" (2014) opposite Patricia Clarkson. Kingsley returned to lighter fare with a leading voice role in the animated hit "The Boxtrolls" (2014) and a supporting role in "Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb" (2014). The following year, he portrayed studio head Jack Warner in Anton Corbijn's atmospheric period piece "Life" (2015).

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

An Ordinary Man (2018)
The Red Sea Diving Resort (2018)
Operation Finale (2018)
Backstabbing for Beginners (2018)
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)
Himself
Collide (2017)
The Ottoman Lieutenant (2016)
The Jungle Book (2016)
Bagheera
Knight of Cups (2016)
Voice
Self/Less (2015)
The Walk (2015)
Robot Overlords (2015)
Eliza Graves (2014)
Walking with the Enemy (2014)
War Story (2014)
The Physician (2014)
Learning to Drive (2014)
Mary Mother of Christ (2014)
The Boxtrolls (2014)
Voice
Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
A Common Man (2013)
A Birder's Guide to Everything (2013)
Ender's Game (2013)
The Dictator (2012)
It's No Dream: The Life of Theodor Herzl (2012)
Narrator
A Doll's House (2012)
Hugo (2011)
Shutter Island (2010)
The Desert of Forbidden Art (2010)
Voice
Winston Churchill: Walking With Destiny (2010)
Narrator
Teen Patti (2010)
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
War, Inc. (2008)
The Wackness (2008)
Transsiberian (2008)
The Love Guru (2008)
Fifty Dead Men Walking (2008)
China's Stolen Children (2008)
Narrator
Elegy (2008)
Dali and I: The Surreal Story (2007)
The Last Legion (2007)
The Ten Commandments (2007)
I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal (2007)
You Kill Me (2007)
Bloodrayne (2006)
Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
Mrs. Harris (2006)
A Sound of Thunder (2005)
Oliver Twist (2005)
Suspect Zero (2004)
Thunderbirds (2004)
House of Sand and Fog (2003)
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
Spooky House (2002)
The Great Zamboni
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Voice
The Triumph of Love (2001)
Hermocrates--The Philosopher
Sexy Beast (2000)
Don 'Malky' Logan
What Planet Are You From? (2000)
Rules of Engagement (2000)
A Force More Powerful (1999)
Narrator
Alice in Wonderland (1999)
Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" (1998)
Parting Shots (1998)
The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1998)
Weapons of Mass Distraction (1997)
The Assignment (1997)
Amos
Photographing Fairies (1997)
Reverend Templeton
Twelfth Night (1996)
Nazi Hunters: Stalking Evil (1996)
Narrator
Species (1995)
Inside the Academy Awards '95 (1995)
Performer
Death and the Maiden (1994)
Roberto Miranda
Liberation (1994)
Narration
Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
Dave (1993)
Schindler's List (1993)
Itzhak Stern
Sneakers (1992)
Freddie as F.R.O.7 (1992)
Voice
Bugsy (1991)
Michael Caine: Breaking the Mold (1991)
L' Amour Necessaire (1991)
Ernesto
Una Vita Scellerata (1990)
Romeo-Juliet (1990)
Voice Of Father Capulet
The Children (1990)
The Fifth Monkey (1990)
Cunda
Slipstream (1989)
Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989)
Pascali's Island (1988)
Basil Pascali
Without A Clue (1988)
Testimony (1987)
Dimitri Shostakovich
Maurice (1987)
Turtle Diary (1986)
Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe (1985)
Harem (1985)
Sleeps Six (1984)
Geoff Craven
Camille (1984)
Betrayal (1983)
Robert
Gandhi (1982)
Fear Is the Key (1973)
Royale

Producer (Feature Film)

Backstabbing for Beginners (2018)
Executive Producer
An Ordinary Man (2018)
Producer

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)
Other

Cast (Special)

And the Oscar Goes To... (2014)
Himself
The 9th Annual Critics' Choice Awards (2004)
Presenter
17th Annual IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2002)
Presenter
The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002)
Presenter
The 7th Annual Critics' Choice Awards (2002)
Presenter
The 53rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2001)
Presenter
AFI Awards 2001 (2001)
Presenter
Islam: Empire of Faith (2001)
Narrator
A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict (2000)
Narrator
Burning Sands -- The Living Sands (2000)
Narration
The 70th Annual Academy Awards (1998)
Performer
Roman Polanski: The E! True Hollywood Story (1998)
Survivors of the Holocaust (1996)
47th Annual Emmy Awards (1995)
Presenter
The American Film Institute Salute to Steven Spielberg (1995)
Performer
The King and I: Recording a Hollywood Dream (1993)
Living Shakespeare: A Year With the RSC (1992)
Last Images of War (1992)
Narrator
Backstage at Masterpiece Theatre: A 20th Anniversary Special (1991)
Our Finite World India (1985)
Narration

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

Anne Frank (2001)
Otto Frank
The Confession (1999)
Moses (1996)
Joseph (1995)
The Tiger and the Brahmin (1991)
Narration

Life Events

1964

Turned down by Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, accepted into the Children's Theatre

1966

Cast as Ron Jenkins on the British soap opera "Coronation Street" (ITV)

1967

Became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)

1970

Cast in Peter Brook's acclaimed production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

1973

Made film debut in "Fear is the Key"

1975

Appeared in the BBC miniseries "The Love School"

1977

Played Mosca in Peter Hall's production of Ben Jonson's "Volpone" for the Royal National Theatre

1979

Originated the role of Squeers in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of "Nicholas Nickleby"; unable to reprise role on Broadway due to film commitments

1982

Breakthrough role as Mohandas Gandhi in the Academy Award-winning film "Gandhi"

1983

Acted in the film version of Harold Pinter's "Betrayal"

1984

Debuted on Broadway in the one-man show "Edmund Kean"

1984

Starred in first TV-movie, "Camille" (CBS)

1985

Re-teamed with screenwriter Pinter (opposite Glenda Jackson) for John Irvin's "Turtle Diary"

1985

Starred in the title role of "Silas Marner" (PBS)

1987

Starred as Russian composer Dimitri Shostokovitch in "Testimony"

1987

Portrayed a flaky hypnotist in James Ivory's "Maurice"

1988

Acted opposite Helen Mirren in James Dearden's "Pascali's Island"

1988

Starred in first American film, "Without a Clue" playing Dr. Watson to Michael Caine's Sherlock Holmes

1989

Essayed the title role of "Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story" (HBO)

1991

Narrated Showtime's "The Tiger and the Brahmin"

1991

Co-starred as gangster Meyer Lansky in "Bugsy"

1992

Delivered villainous turn as Cosmo in the high-tech thriller "Sneakers"

1993

Played the mentor of a young chess prodigy in "Searching for Bobby Fischer"

1993

Portrayed the trusted associate Itshak Stern to Liam Neeson's Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List"

1994

Portrayed a physician who once tortured Sigourney Weaver in Roman Polanski's "Death and the Maiden"

1995

Cast in the Emmy Award winning TNT miniseries, "Joseph"

1996

Played the title role in the TNT miniseries "Moses"

1997

Appeared as Estragon in a West End stage production of "Waiting for Godot"

1997

Starred as Mossad commander Amos in Christian Duguay's "The Assignment"

1998

Appeared in the NBC telefilm "Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment'" as Magistrate Porfiry

1998

Portrayed the titular Demon Barber in Showtime's "The Tale of Sweeney Todd"

1999

Acted the part of Major Caterpillar in NBC's movie adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland"

2000

Landed supporting role in "What Planet Are You From?"

2000

Appeared as the Yemeni ambassador in "Rules of Engagement"

2000

Delivered a scene-stealing turn as a British gangster in "Sexy Beast"

2001

Played Otto Frank in the ABC miniseries "Anne Frank"; received Emmy nomination

2001

Co-starred with Fiona Shaw and Mira Sorvino in "The Triumph of Love"

2002

Cast in the family drama "Tuck Everlasting"

2003

Portrayed an Iranian immigrant opposite Jennifer Connelly in Vadim Perelman's "House of Sand and Fog"

2004

Cast as The Hood in "Thunderbirds," based on the cult British television show from the 1960s

2004

Starred opposite Aaron Eckhart in the thriller "Suspect Zero"

2005

Cast as pickpocket kingpin Fagin in Roman Polanski's adaptation of "Oliver Twist"

2006

Played famed cardiologist Herman Tarnower who was murdered by his jilted lover Jean Harris (Annette Bening) in the HBO movie "Mrs. Harris"

2006

Played 'The Rabbi,' a crime boss after Josh Hartnett in the thriller "Lucky Number Slevin"

2007

Played an alcoholic hit man in the dark comedy "You Kill Me"

2008

Co-starred with Famke Janssen and Josh Peck in "The Wackness"

2008

Co-starred opposite Penélope Cruz in "Elegy"

2010

Co-starred opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time"

2010

Played the chief physician at a hospital for the criminally insane in Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island"

2011

Cast in the family adventure "Hugo"; again directed by Scorsese

2012

Acted opposite Sacha Baron Cohen in political satire "The Dictator"

2013

Featured in "Iron Man 3"

2013

Appeared in the sci-fi movie "Ender's Game"

2014

Starred opposite Patricia Clarkson in indie drama "Learning to Drive"

2014

Co-starred in Ridley Scott's Biblical epic "Exodus: Gods and Kings"

2014

Starred in animated hit "The Boxtrolls"

2015

Co-starred as studio head Jack Warner in Anton Corbijn's "Life"

Photo Collections

Gandhi - Movie Poster
Here is the American one-sheet movie poster for Gandhi (1982), starring Ben Kingsley. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.

Videos

Movie Clip

Trailer

Promo

Family

Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji
Father
Physician. Of Indian extraction; born in Kenya; while attending college had been nicknamed "Ben"; Kingsley's first name is a tribute to his father.
Anna Lyna Mary Bhanji
Mother
Fashion model, actor. Of English extraction.
Thomas Kingsley
Son
Mother, Angela Morant.
Jasmine Kingsley
Daughter
Mother, Angela Morant.
Edmund Kingsley
Son
Born in July 1982, mother, Alison Sutcliffe; attending RADA as of 2000.
Ferdinand Kingsley
Son
Mother, Alison Sutcliffe.

Companions

Angela Morant
Wife
Actor. Married in 1966; divorced in 1972; mother of Kingsley's two older children.
Alison Sutcliffe
Wife
Theater director. Born c. 1946; married on July 1, 1978; separated c. 1992; divorced; worked with her on developing his one-man stage show "Edmund Kean"; mother of Kingsley's two younger sons.
Kate Townsend
Companion
Living together since 1993.
Alexandra Christmann
Wife
Model. Born c. 1975; married in Fall 2003.

Bibliography