Ben Kingsley

Biography

Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Grammy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. Kingsley was appointed Knight Bachelor in 2002 for services to the British film industry. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010 and received the Britannia Award in 2013.

Born to an English mother and an Indian Gujarati father with roots in Jamnagar, Kingsley began his career in theatre, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967 and spending the next 15 years appearing mainly on stage. His starring roles included productions of As You Like It (his West End debut for the company at the Aldwych Theatre in 1967), Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Also known for his television roles, he received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performances in Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989), Joseph (1995), Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001), and Mrs. Harris (2006).

In film, Kingsley is known for his starring role as Mahatma Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982), for which he subsequently won the Academy Award for Best Actor and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. For his portrayal of Itzhak Stern in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993), he received a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination. He was Oscar-nominated for Bugsy (1990), Sexy Beast (2000), and House of Sand and Fog (2003). His other notable films include Maurice (1987), Sneakers (1992), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), Death and the Maiden (1994), Twelfth Night (1996), Tuck Everlasting (2002), Elegy (2008), Shutter Island (2010), and Hugo (2011).

Kingsley played the character of Trevor Slattery in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Iron Man 3 (2013), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), and the upcoming Disney+ series Wonder Man. He also acted in the blockbusters Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) and Ender's Game (2013). Kingsley lent his voice to the films The Boxtrolls (2014) and The Jungle Book (2016).

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CritifyHub Reviews Featuring Ben Kingsley

A Roaring Reimagining: How The Jungle Book (2016) Redefines Wild Magic

on The Jungle Book | Aug 19, 2025

Why does a boy raised by wolves feel so achingly human in Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book (2016)? This live-action reboot of Disney’s animated classic doesn’t just retell Kipling’s tale it reinvents it ... Read more

Shadows of Ownership: The Unrelenting Tragedy of House of Sand and Fog

on House of Sand and Fog | Jul 19, 2025

In House of Sand and Fog (2003), director Vadim Perelman crafts a haunting meditation on possession, loss, and the fragile boundaries of human desperation. Adapted from Andre Dubus III’s novel, the fi... Read more

"Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire." This profound quote encapsulates the moral core and enduring impact of "Schindler’s List.

on Schindler's List | May 29, 2025

Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List is not merely a historical drama; it is a deeply moving and unflinching testament to the horrors of the Holocaust and the extraordinary capacity for human compassio... Read more