Kingsley, Ben (1943-…), is a British actor who became famous in the title role of the motion picture Gandhi (1982). Kingsley won the 1982 Academy Award as best actor for his performance as the great Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi. Kingsley also played a featured role in the award-winning Steven Spielberg film Schindler’s List (1993).
Kingsley was born on Dec. 31, 1943, in Scarborough, England, to an Indian father and an English mother. His real name was Krishna Bahji. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in London in 1966 and appeared in numerous plays by William Shakespeare and other classical dramatists. Kingsley appeared in the motion picture Fear Is the Key (1972), but Gandhi, his second film, made him a star.
Kingsley has appeared in a number of English and American films, usually in strong character roles. The films include Betrayal (1983); Turtle Diary (1985); Maurice (1987); Bugsy (1991); Sneakers (1992); Dave and Searching for Bobby Fischer (both 1993); Death and the Maiden (1994); Species (1995); Children of the Revolution (1997); Sexy Beast (2000); A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001); House of Sand and Fog (2003); Suspect Zero (2004); Oliver Twist (2005); You Kill Me (2007); Elegy, The Love Guru, Transsiberian, and The Wackness (all 2008); Shutter Island and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (both 2010); Hugo (2011); Ender’s Game (2013); Exodus: Gods and Kings, Learning to Drive, and Stonehearst Asylum (all 2014); and Life, Self/less, and The Walk (all 2015).
Kingsley also narrated the animated feature The Ten Commandments (2007). In addition, he starred as Grand Vizier Ay in the television miniseries Tut (2015). Kingsley also provided his voice for the character of Bagheera the Panther in the Walt Disney adventure film The Jungle Book (2016), a remake of Disney’s classic 1967 animated feature. In 2002, Kingsley was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and became Sir Ben Kingsley.
