Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE (born 31 December, 1943) is an English actor. One of the country's most acclaimed and well-known performers, he is one of few men to have won all four major motion picture acting awards, with Oscar-, BAFTA-, Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild wins throughout his career.
Biography
Early life
Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji in Snainton, near Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, the son of Annalyna Mary (née Goodman), an actress and model, and Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, a medical doctor.1 Kingsley's father, an Ismaili Muslim,2 was born in Kenya of Indian Khoja Gujarati descent, as Kingsley's paternal grandfather was a spice trader who had moved from India to Zanzibar, where Kingsley's father lived until moving to England at the age of fourteen.345 Kingsley's mother, born out of wedlock, was "loath to speak of her background"; she was the daughter of an English East London garment worker mother and a father who was believed by the family to have been a Russian or German Jew.6789
Kingsley grew up in Pendlebury, Salford, where he studied at University of Salford. He then moved to Manchester, where he studied at Pendleton College, which later became home to the Ben Kingsley Theatre. Kingsley began his acting career on the stage at Manchester Grammar School, alongside Robert Powell, but made a transition to film roles early on.9 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. It was at this time in his life that he changed his name from Krishna Bhanji to Ben Kingsley, fearing that a foreign name would hamper his career.109
Film and television career
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 1966-1967 and regular appearances as a defence counsel in the long-running British legal programme Crown Court. 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.9 The audience also agreed with the critics, and Gandhi was a box-office success. Kingsley won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal.9
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--which led to an 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, which led to yet another 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 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. The character of Lupertazzi offers him the fictional role on the basis of Kingsley's real-life performance as mobster Don Logan in "Sexy Beast" . In 2007, Kingsley appeared as a Polish American mobster in the Mafia comedy You Kill Me, and was also slated to play a Middle East oil minister to be assassinated in War, Inc..
Kingsley announced SBK-Pictures with producing partners Simone Sheffield and Valerie Hoffman are bringing the story of the Native American Conley Sisters to the big screen in Whispers Like Thunder. Kingsley will be playing the role of Charles Curtis, the first and only Native American to become vice-president of the United States.11
Honours
Kingsley was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000. He was knighted in the 2001 New Years Honours list. On promotional material for the 2006 film Lucky Number Slevin, Kingsley was referred to as "Sir Ben Kingsley." At first, the actor was singled out for some criticism, as such titles had generally come to be omitted from professional credits by that time. It was claimed that the inclusion of "Sir" was a mistake by a studio executive.
His demand to be called 'Sir' was documented by the BBC,12 and contrasted with (Sir) David Puttnam's happiness with 'David Puttnam' and the rather more eminent Lord Olivier (Laurence Olivier) actually choosing to ignore people calling him 'Sir Laurence' or 'Lord Olivier' as opposed to his preferred 'Larry'. Kingsley appears to have altered his stance. Credits for his latest films refer to him only as 'Ben Kingsley'.
In addition, in 2008, Kingsley was awarded the "Cinema for Peace Honorary Award", for the portrayal of the humanitarian role-models Simon Wiesenthal, Itzhak Stern and Gandhi.
Personal life
Kingsley had four children as of the summer of 2007: Thomas Bhanji and artist Jasmin Bhanji by actress Angela Morant, and Edmund Kingsley and Ferdinand Kingsley, both of whom became actors, by theatrical director Alison Sutcliffe. In 2005 he divorced German-born Alexandra Christmann, after pictures of her kissing another lover surfaced on the internet.13 He currently lives in Spelsbury, Oxfordshire, England, where he has lived for over ten years.14
On 3 September 2007, Kingsley married Daniela Barbosa de Carneiro, a Brazilian actress, in North Leigh, Oxfordshire.15
According to Quakernet.org, Kingsley is a member of the Religious Society of Friends.16
Filmography
Upcoming films
References
- ^ Film Reference.com Biography
- ^ Ben Kingsley Gut wie böse - Kultur - sueddeutsche.de
- ^ 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.
- ^ Krieger, Hilary Leila (2005-04-10). "'Gandhi' brings his 'truth-force' to Palestinian audiences", The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved on 9 December 2007.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio
- ^ Sir Ben's Sexy honour. BBC News. 31 December 2001.
- ^ Ben Kingsley's SBK announces slate-Variety Nov 17, 2008
- ^ "Lord Puttnam dubs Sir Ben 'barmy'".
- ^ "Kingsley Admits Devastation at Adulterous Wife Photos" (ContactMusic News). Retrieved on 2007-08-15.)
- ^ Johnson, Richard. Dear Sir. Sunday Telegraph. 15 August 2007.
- ^ "Kingsley weds Brazilian actress".
- ^ Matz, Terry. Did You Know? Quakers and the Oscars. Quakernet.org.
- ^ Tatiana Siegel (2007-12-03). "Kingsley signs on to 'Shutter Island'", Variety. Retrieved on 8 January 2008.
- ^ Reynolds, Simon (2008-06-03). "Molina, Kingsley join 'Prince Of Persia'". Digital Spy. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
- ^ Siegal, Tatiana (2008-11-17). "Ben Kingsley's SBK announces slate". Variety. Retrieved on 2008-11-17.
External links
- Ben Kingsley at the Internet Movie Database
- Ben Kingsley at TV.com
- Ben Kingsley's SBK announces slate, By TATIANA SIEGEL, Mon., Nov. 17, 2008
- Interview, 9/27/05, Cinema Confidential
- Interview, 9/22/05, Dark Horizons
- Interview, 7/28/04, IGN Films
- Interview, 12/03, About.com
- Interview, 12/16/93, Charlie Rose (Kingsley talks about his profound experience making "Schindler's List" with director Steven Spielberg).
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