Sir Ben Kingsley CBE | |
|---|---|
 Kingsley at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival | |
| Born | Krishna Pandit Bhanji 31 December 1943 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Spouse(s) | Angela Morant (1966–1972) Alison Sutcliffe (1978–1992) Alexandra Christmann (2003–2005) Daniela Lavender (2007–present) |
| Children | 4 |
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji;[1] Gujarati:કૃષ્ણા પંડિત ભાણજી; 31 December 1943) is an English actor who has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He is also known for his performances in the films Schindler's List (1993), Sexy Beast (2000), and Hugo (2011).
Early life
Kingsley was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji in Snainton, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, the son of Anna Lyna Mary (née Goodman), an actor and model, and Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, a medical doctor.[2]
Kingsley's father, born in Kenya, was of Gujarati Indian descent, and from a Nizari Ismaili Muslim background.[3] Kingsley's paternal grandfather was a spice trader who had moved from India to Zanzibar, where Kingsley's father lived until moving to Britain at the age of 14.[4][5][6] Kingsley's mother was British; she was born out of wedlock, and "loath to speak of her background".[7][8] Kingsley's maternal grandfather was believed by the family to have been a Russian or German Jew, while Kingsley's maternal grandmother was English and worked in the garment district of East London.[9][10][11]
Kingsley grew up in Pendlebury, near Manchester. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School, where one of his classmates was the actor Robert Powell.[12]
Early career
Kingsley studied at the University of Salford and at Pendleton College, which later became home to the Ben Kingsley Theatre.
Whilst at college he became involved in amateur dramatics in Manchester, making his professional debut on graduation, aged 23. In 1967 he made his first London appearance at the Aldwych Theatre. Later spotted by music producer and manager Dick James, he offered to mould Kingsley into a pop star, but Kinglsey choose to join the Royal Shakespeare Company after an audition in front of Trevor Nunn. Devoting himself almost exclusively to stage work for the next 15 years, he made his Broadway debut in 1971 with the RSC.
Film and television career
Kingsley began his acting career on stage, but made a transition to film roles early on. Despite this focus on film, he continued to act on the stage, playing Mosca in Peter Hall's 1977 production of Ben Jonson's Volpone for the Royal National Theatre, and in Peter Brook's acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. At about this time, he changed his name from Krishna Pandit Bhanji to Ben Kingsley, fearing that a foreign name would hamper his career;[13][14] he took his stage surname from his paternal grandfather's nickname, "King Clove".[11] He starred in the role of Willy Loman in a 1982 production of Death of a Salesman in Sydney opposite Mel Gibson.
Kingsley's first film role was a supporting turn in Fear Is the Key, released in 1972. Kingsley continued starring in bit roles in both film and television, including a role as Ron Jenkins on the soap opera Coronation Street from 1966 to 1967 and regular appearances as a defence counsel in the long-running British legal programme Crown Court. In 1975, he starred as Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the BBCs historical drama The Love School. He found fame only years later, starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the Academy Award-winning film Gandhi in 1982, his best-known role to date.[13] The audience agreed with the critics, and Gandhi was a box-office success. Kingsley won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal.[13]
Kingsley has since appeared in a variety of roles. His credits included the films Turtle Diary, Maurice, Pascali's Island, Without a Clue (as Dr. Watson alongside Michael Caine's Sherlock Holmes), Suspect Zero, Bugsy (nominated for Best Supporting Actor), Sneakers, Dave, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Schindler's List, Silas Marner, Death and the Maiden, Sexy Beast, for which he received another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and House of Sand and Fog, which led to an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He won a Crystal Globe award for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2001.
In 1997, he provided voice talent for the video game Ceremony of Innocence. In 1998, he was the head of the jury at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.[15]
In July 2006, he received an Emmy nomination for his performance in the made-for-TV film Mrs. Harris, in which he played famed cardiologist Herman Tarnower, who was murdered by his jilted lover, Jean Harris. Later that year, Kingsley appeared in an episode of The Sopranos entitled "Luxury Lounge", playing himself. In the show, Christopher Moltisanti and Carmine Lupertazzi offer him a role in the fictional slasher film Cleaver, which he turns down. Lupertazzi offers him the role on the basis of Kingsley's real-life performance in Sexy Beast.
In 2007, Kingsley appeared as a Polish American mobster in the Mafia comedy You Kill Me, and a hitman in War, Inc. In 2010, Kingsley has worked voicing a character named Sabine in Lionhead Studios game Fable III, and starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese. He appeared in Scorsese's next film, Hugo, and has signed up to appear in the new feature by Neil Jordan and John Boorman entitled Broken Dream.[16]
Kingsley's SBK-Pictures has been planning to bring the story of the Native American Conley sisters to the big screen in Whispers Like Thunder, with Kingsley playing the role of Charles Curtis, the first part-Native American to become vice-president of the United States.[17]
Honours
Kingsley was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000. He was made a knight bachelor in the 2002 New Year Honours[18] (the award was announced on 31 December 2001, which happened to be Kingsley's 58th birthday).[19] His demand to be called 'Sir' was documented by the BBC, to some criticism.[20] Since then, Kingsley appears to have altered his stance; credits for his latest films refer to him as Ben Kingsley. Co-star Penélope Cruz was reportedly unsure what to call him during the filming of Elegy as someone had told her she needed to refer to him as "Sir Ben". One day it slipped out as such, and she called him that for the remainder of the shoot.[21]
In 1984, he won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word or Nonmusical Recording for The Words of Gandhi. He was awarded the Indian civilian honour Padma Shri in 1984.[22]
In May 2010, Kingsley was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[23]
Personal life
Kingsley has been married four times and has four children: Thomas Bhanji and artist Jasmin Bhanji, with actress Angela Morant, and Edmund Kingsley and Ferdinand Kingsley, both of whom became actors, with theatrical director Alison Sutcliffe. In 2005, he divorced German-born Alexandra Christmann, having been "deeply, deeply shocked" after pictures of her kissing another man surfaced on the Internet.[24] On 3 September 2007, Kingsley married Daniela Lavender, a Brazilian actress, in North Leigh, Oxfordshire.[25]
He currently lives in Spelsbury, Oxfordshire, England, where he has resided for more than ten years.[26]
Filmography
Video games
| Year | Video game | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Fable III | Sabine |
References
- ^ Johnston, Sheila (4 April 2009). "Ben Kingsley interview: dark soul of the knight". The Daily Telegraph (Review). pp. 10–11..
- ^ Film Reference.com Biography
- ^ BBC:Sir Ben Kingsley's gold turban
- ^ Bennetts, Leslie. Ben Kingsley’s Journey From Hamlet to Gandhi. New York Times: Best Pictures. 13 December 1982.
- ^ von Busack, Richard. Sexy Beast. Metroactive movies. March 2005.
- ^ Pathak, Rujul. Ben Kingsley's Chameleon Characters. Little India.com. 15 June 2005.
- ^ Pfefferman, Naomi. Shoah dramas continue to compel actor Ben Kingsley. L.A. Jewish Journal. 18 May 2001.
- ^ Tugend, Tom. Incidental Intelligence. JewishJournal.com. 13 April 2001.
- ^ Krieger, Hilary Leila (10 April 2005). "'Gandhi' brings his 'truth-force' to Palestinian audiences". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 9 December 2007.: "The grandmother of the knighted Royal Shakespeare Company alum spoke Yiddish she picked up while a garment worker in London's East End a century ago. "She was violently opposed to talking about this, so my poor mother was at the receiving end of a rage attack every time my grandmother was asked about her husband, her lover, whoever it was, but it's believed that he was a Russian Jew or a German Jew called Goodman", Kingsley told The Jerusalem Post".
- ^ Pollack, Joe (3 March 1994). "He's No Stranger to Holocaust". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
I'm not Jewish," he said, "and though there might be some Russian-Jewish heritage way back on my mother's side, the thread is so fine there's no real evidence...
((cite news)): Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b Moreton, Cole (15 May 2010). "The dark family secret that drove Ben Kingsley to success". The Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 18 May 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2010.
((cite news)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Walsh, John (6 March 2010). "Sir Ben Kingsley: 'I was blessed by being a very popular child". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
((cite news)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio
- ^ "Sir Ben's Sexy honour", BBC News. 31 December 2001.
- ^ "Berlinale: 1998 Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ "Ben Kinglsey & John Hurt for Neil Jordan–John Boorman film 'Broken Dream'". IFTN. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
- ^ "Ben Kingsley's SBK announces slate", Variety, 17 November 2008]
- ^ "No. 56430". The London Gazette (invalid
|supp=(help)). 31 December 2001. - ^ The Guardian, 31 December 2001
- ^ "Lord Puttnam dubs Sir Ben 'barmy'". BBC News. 20 February 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ Cruz Baffled By Kingley's Title (WENN News) at IMDb
- ^ "Padma Awards". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
- ^ Sir Ben Kingsley gets star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, BBC News. Retrieved 20 June 2010
- ^ "Kingsley Admits Devastation at Adulterous Wife Photos". Contact Music News. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
- ^ "Kingsley weds Brazilian actress". BBC. 7 September 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ Johnson, Richard. "Dear Sir", Sunday Telegraph. 15 August 2007
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160905/fullcredits
- ^ Reynolds, Simon (3 June 2008). "Molina, Kingsley join 'Prince Of Persia'". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
((cite web)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Siegel, Tatiana (17 November 2008). "Ben Kingsley's SBK announces slate". Variety. Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
((cite web)): Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)
External links
- Ben Kingsley at IMDb
- "Ben Kingsley's SBK announces slate", by Tatiana Siegel, Monday, 17 November 2008
- Interview, Cinema Confidential, 27 September 2005
- Interview, 9/22/05, Dark Horizons
- Interview, 7/28/04, IGN Films
- Interview Charlie Rose, 16 December 1993 (Kingsley talks about his experience making "Schindler's List" with director Steven Spielberg)
- Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Sir Ben Kingsley from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
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