Ben Kingsley
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| Ben Kingsley | |||||||||||||||
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 Kingsley at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival |
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| Born | Krishna Bhanji December 31, 1943 Scarborough, Yorkshire, England |
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| Spouse(s) | Angela Morant (1966-1972) Alison Sutcliffe (1978-1992) Alexandra Christmann (2003-2005) Daniela Barbosa de Carneiro (m. 2007) |
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Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE (born December 31, 1943) is a British actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Mohandas Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's 1982 film Gandhi, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor and the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, the son of Anna Lyna 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.[3][4][5] 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.[6][7][8][9]
Kingsley grew up in Pendlebury, Salford, where he studied at University of Salford. He then moved to Lancashire, 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.[10][9]
[edit] 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 "Luxury Lounge", an episode on the HBO original series The Sopranos, playing himself getting an offer from Christopher Moltisanti and Carmine Lupertazzi into being casted on the fictional slasher film, Cleaver, which he turned down. In 2007, Kingsley appeared as a Polish American mobster in the Mafia comedy You Kill Me, and was also slated to act out a Middle East oil minister to be assassinated in War, Inc.. An Indian Express story reported that Kingsley would appear as the "love guru" Osho in a film, of then-unknown title, due to be released in 2008.[11]
[edit] 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. 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.
[edit] 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.[12] He currently lives in Spelsbury, England, where he has lived for over ten years.[13]
On September 3, 2007, Kingsley married Daniela Barbosa de Carneiro, a Brazilian actress, in North Leigh, Oxfordshire.[14]
According to Quakernet.org, Kingsley is a member of the Religious Society of Friends.[15]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Gandhi | Mohandas Gandhi | Academy Award Win for Best Actor |
| 1983 | Betrayal | Robert | the film version of Harold Pinter's play |
| 1985 | Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe | Silas Marner | |
| Harem | Selim | ||
| 1986 | Turtle Diary | William Snow | screenplay by Harold Pinter |
| 1987 | The Secret of the Sahara (TV) | Sholomon | |
| Maurice | Lasker-Jones | ||
| 1988 | Pascali's Island | Basil Pascali | |
| Without a Clue | Dr. John Watson | ||
| Testimony - The Story of Shostakovich | Dmitri Shostakovich | ||
| 1989 | Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story | Simon Wiesenthal | |
| 1990 | The 5th Monkey | Cunda | |
| 1991 | Bugsy | Meyer Lansky | Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor |
| 1992 | Sneakers | Cosmo | |
| Freddie as F.R.O.7 | Freddie The Frog | Voice | |
| 1993 | Searching for Bobby Fischer | Bruce Pandolfini | |
| Dave | Vice President Gary Nance | ||
| Schindler's List | Itzhak Stern | ||
| 1994 | Death and the Maiden | Dr. Roberto Miranda | |
| 1995 | Species | Xavier Fitch | |
| Joseph | Potiphar | ||
| 1996 | Twelfth Night | Feste | from the play by William Shakespeare |
| 1997 | Weapons of Mass Distraction (TV) | Julian Messenger | |
| The Assignment | Amos | ||
| 1998 | The Tale of Sweeney Todd (TV) | Sweeney Todd | Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Best Actor |
| 1999 | Alice in Wonderland (TV) | Major Caterpillar | |
| The Confession | Harry Fertig | ||
| 2000 | What Planet Are YOU From? | Graydon | |
| Rules of Engagement | Ambassador Mourain | ||
| Islam: Empire of Faith | Narrator | voice only | |
| 2001 | Anne Frank: The Whole Story | Otto Frank | |
| Sexy Beast | Don Logan | Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor | |
| AI: Artificial Intelligence | Specialist | voice | |
| 2002 | The Triumph of Love | Hermocrates | Marivaux's play |
| Tuck Everlasting | Man in the Yellow Suit | ||
| 2003 | House of Sand and Fog | Mr. Behrani | Academy Award nomination for Best Actor |
| 2004 | Thunderbirds | "The Hood" | loosely based on the super-marionation programme created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson |
| Suspect Zero | Benjamin O'Ryan | ||
| 2005 | A Sound of Thunder | Charles Hatton | |
| Oliver Twist | Fagin | ||
| Mrs. Harris | Herman Tarnower | ||
| BloodRayne | Kagan | ||
| 2006 | The Sopranos | Appearance as himself | Installment 72 - "Luxury Lounge" |
| Lucky Number Slevin | The Rabbi | ||
| 2007 | You Kill Me | Frank Falenczyk | |
| The Last Legion | Ambrosinus | ||
| The Ten Commandments | Narrator (voice) | ||
| 2008 | War, Inc. | Walken |
[edit] Upcoming films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Elegy | David Kepesh | awaiting release |
| Transsiberian | Grinko | awaiting release | |
| The Wackness | Dr. Squires | awaiting release | |
| The Love Guru | Guru Tugginmypudha | awaiting release | |
| Noah's Ark: The New Beginning | Narrator (voice) | post-production | |
| Fifty Dead Men Walking | Martin McGartland | post-production | |
| 2009 | Ashecliffe | Dr. John Cawley | filming;[16] |
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time[17] | Nizam [18] | pre-production |
[edit] 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. "'Gandhi' brings his 'truth-force' to Palestinian audiences", The Jerusalem Post, 2005-04-10. Retrieved on 2007-12-09.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Vashisht, Dinker. Gandhi will return as Rajneesh, via Chandigarh. Indian Express. 4 August 2007.
- ^ 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. "Kingsley signs on to 'Shutter Island'", Variety, 2007-12-03. Retrieved on 2008-01-08.
- ^ Reynolds, Simon (2008-06-03). Molina, Kingsley join 'Prince Of Persia'. Digital Spy. Retrieved on 2008-06-03.
- ^ "Kingsley is Persia Baddie", IGN, 2008-06-06. Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
[edit] External links
- Ben Kingsley at the Internet Movie Database
- Ben Kingsley at TV.com
- Interview, 9/27/05, Cinema Confidential
- Interview, 9/22/05, Dark Horizons
- Interview, 7/28/04, IGN Films
- Interview, 12/03, About.com
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Henry Fonda for On Golden Pond |
Academy Award for Best Actor 1982 for Gandhi |
Succeeded by Robert Duvall for Tender Mercies |
| Preceded by William Warfield for Copland: A Lincoln Portrait |
Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording 1985 for The Words of Gandhi |
Succeeded by Original Broadway cast of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kingsley, Ben |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bhanji, Krishna |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 31, 1943 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Scarborough, Yorkshire, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
