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Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE (born Krishna Bhanji on December 31, 1943) is an Academy Award-winning British actor.

Biography

Early life

Kingsley was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, and grew up in Pendlebury, Salford, then in Lancashire. His father, Harji Bhanji, was a Kenyan-born medical doctor of Indian (Gujarati Hindu) descent, and his mother, Anna Lyna Mary, was a fashion model and actress; one of his maternal grandparents was a Jewish immigrant from Russia.The Jewish Journal: Acting Unimaginable He began his acting career on the stage at Manchester Grammar School alongside Robert Powell, but made a transition to film roles early on. However, he continued to act on the stage despite his focus on films, playing (for instance) Mosca in Peter Hall's 1977 production of Ben Jonson's Volpone for the Royal National Theatre. It was at this point that he changed his name, fearing a foreign name would hamper his career.

Film career

Kingsley's first film role was a supporting turn in Fear Is the Key (1972). Kingsley continued starring in bit roles in both film and television (including a bit part on the soap opera Coronation Street). He found fame only years later, starring as Mahatma Gandhi in the Academy Award-winning film Gandhi in 1982. Kingsley was critically acclaimed and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role.

Kingsley has avoided stereotyping and has been cast in a variety of roles. His credits include the films Turtle Diary, Maurice, Pascali's Island, Without a Clue (as Dr. Watson opposite Michael Caine's Sherlock Holmes), Bugsy (Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor), Sneakers, Dave, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Schindler's List, Silas Marner, Death and the Maiden, Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story, Sexy Beast (for which he received another Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor) and House of Sand and Fog (Oscar nomination for Best Actor). He has 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 acting for the video game Ceremony of Innocence.

In July 2006, he received an Emmy nomination for his performance in the TV movie Mrs. Harris (film), in which he played famed cardiologist Herman Tarnower who was murdered by his jilted lover, Jean Harris.

Sometime in 2007, Ben Kingsley will appear as an American mobster in his next film, the Mafia Comedy You Kill Me.

Knighthood

Kingsley was awarded a knighthood in the 2001 New Years Honours list.

Trivia

Kingsley is the only performer of Indian descent to be nominated for, or win, an Academy Award in the category of Best Actor.

Private life

Kingsley has four children: Thomas and Jasmine Bhanji (with actress Angela Morant) and Edmund and Ferdinand Kingsley, both of whom are actors (with theatrical director Alison Sutcliffe). He recently divorced German-born Alexandra Christmann and lives in Spelsbury, England.

Selected filmography

Interviews

• interview, 9/27/05, Cinema Confidential
• interview, 9/22/05, Dark Horizons
• interview, 7/28/04, IGN Films
• interview, 12/03, About.com
• interview, 4/02, About.com
• interview, 6/01, PopMatters
• interview, 1/02/01, The Guardian UK
• interview, 1996, Performance

References

External links

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