Ben Kingsley

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).

Known For

Shutter Island Not in library

Shutter Island

2010

Iron Man 3 Not in library

Iron Man 3

2013

Schindler's List Not in library

Schindler's List

1993

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Not in library

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

2021

The Jungle Book Not in library

The Jungle Book

2016

Hugo Not in library

Hugo

2011

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Not in library

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

2010

A.I. Artificial Intelligence Not in library

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

2001

The Dictator Not in library

The Dictator

2012

Ender's Game Not in library

Ender's Game

2013

Acting

2027 Sonic the Hedgehog 4 as (voice)
2026 Desert Warrior as Emperor Kisra In Library
2026 Deep Water
2026 Young Washington as Robert Dinwiddie
2026 Wonder Man as Trevor Slattery (8 episodes)
2025 William Tell as King Albrecht
2025 The Thursday Murder Club as Ibrahim
2025 The King of Kings as High Priest Caiaphas (voice)
2024 The Killer's Game as Zvi Rabinowitz
2024 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More as Imdad Khan / The Dealer / Dr. Ganderbai (archive footage)
2023 Jules as Milton Robinson
2023 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar as Imdad Khan / Croupier
2023 Poison as Dr. Ganderbai
2022 Robin Williams: Laugh Until You Cry as Self
2022 Dalíland as Dalí
2021 Locked Down as Malcolm
2021 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as Trevor Slattery
2021 Marvel Studios Legends as Trevor Slattery / The Mandarin (archive footage) (1 episode)
2021 Marvel Studios Assembled as Self (1 episode)
2019 Night Hunter as Cooper
2019 The Red Sea Diving Resort as Ethan Levin
2019 Spider in the Web as Adereth
2019 The Medicine Buddha as Narrator (voice)
2019 Perpetual Grace LTD as Pastor Byron 'Pa' Brown (10 episodes)
2018 Backstabbing for Beginners as Pasha
2018 Intrigo: Death of an Author as Henderson
2018 Operation Finale as Adolf Eichmann
2018 Who Killed British Cinema? as Self
2018 Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché as Self
2018 Inside the Operation as Self
2018 Schindler's List: 25 Years Later as Self
2018 An Oral History of: Schindler's List as Self (archive footage)
2018 Watership Down as General Woundwort (voice) (2 episodes)
2018 All or Nothing: Manchester City as Narrator (voice) (8 episodes)
2017 An Ordinary Man as The General
2017 War Machine as President Karzai
2017 The Ottoman Lieutenant as Woodruff
2017 Security as Charlie
2017 Spielberg as Self
2016 The Jungle Book as Bagheera (voice)
2016 Collide as Geran
2016 Of Dogs and Men as The Caller (voice)
2015 Self/less as Damian
2015 Robot Overlords as Robin Smythe
2015 The Walk as Papa Rudy
2015 Life as Jack Warner
2015 Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse as Drago (Voice)
2015 Unity as Narrator (voice)
2015 Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC as Self (archive footage)
2015 Knight of Cups as Storyteller (voice)
2015 Tut as Ay (3 episodes)
2015 Lip Sync Battle as Self (1 episode)
2014 Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb as Merenkahre
2014 The Boxtrolls as Snatcher (voice)
2014 Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King as Trevor Slattery / The Mandarin
2014 War Story as Albert
2014 Walking with the Enemy as Regent Miklos Horthy
2014 Exodus: Gods and Kings as Nun
2014 Learning to Drive as Darwan
2014 Stonehearst Asylum as Silas Lamb
2014 Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film as Self
2014 Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self - Guest (1 episode)
2014 Garfunkel and Oates as Ben Kingsley (1 episode)
2013 Iron Man 3 as Trevor Slattery
2013 Ender's Game as Mazer Rackham
2013 A Common Man as The Man
2013 The Physician as Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
2013 A Birder's Guide to Everything as Lawrence Konrad
2013 Muse of Fire as Self
2012 The Dictator as Tamir
2012 It Is No Dream: The Life Of Theodor Herzl as Narrator
2012 The Mechanical Man at the Heart of 'Hugo' as Self
2012 Shoot the Moon: The Making of 'Hugo' as Self
2012 The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès as Self
2012 Sacha Baron Cohen: Role of a Lifetime as Self
2012 Falls the Shadow: The Life and Times of Athol Fugard as Self
2011 Hugo as Georges Méliès
2011 The Desert of Forbidden Art as Voice
2010 Shutter Island as Dr. Cawley
2010 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time as Nizam
2010 Teen Patti as Perci Trachtenberg
2010 Aral, the Lost Sea
2010 Winston Churchill: Walking with Destiny as Narrator
2010 1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets as Al-Jazari / Librarian
2009 Journey to Mecca as Narrator
2008 TransSiberian as Grinko
2008 Elegy as David Kepesh
2008 The Love Guru as Guru Tugginmypuddha
2008 War, Inc. as Walken / The Viceroy
2008 The Wackness as Dr. Squires
2008 Fifty Dead Men Walking as Fergus
2007 The Ten Commandments as Narrator (voice)
2007 You Kill Me as Frank Falenczyk
2007 The Last Legion as Ambrosinus
2007 I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life & Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal as Self
2006 Lucky Number Slevin as The Rabbi
2006 C.S. Lewis: Dreamer of Narnia as Self
2006 50 Films to See Before You Die as Self
2006 Mrs. Harris as Herman Tarnower
2006 Mais Bastidores de Hollywood as Self
2006 The Life and Faith of CS Lewis
2006 The Road to Damascus: The Reinvention of Bugsy Siegel as Self
2005 Oliver Twist as Fagin
2005 A Sound of Thunder as Charles Hatton
2005 BloodRayne as Kagan
2005 Peace Is Every Step as Narrator
2005 Nos Bastidores de Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
2005 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as Self - Guest (1 episode)
2004 Suspect Zero as Benjamin O'Ryan
2004 Thunderbirds as The Hood
2004 Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust as Self
2004 No Strings Attached: The Making of Thunderbirds as Self
2004 Religion of the World as Narrator (13 episodes)
2003 House of Sand and Fog as Behrani
2003 The Many Lives of Richard Attenborough
2003 Unlikely Heroes as Narrator
2003 The Making of ‘Sneakers’ as Self
2003 Helena: First Pilgrim to the Holy Land as Narrator
2002 Tuck Everlasting as Man in the Yellow Suit
2002 Spooky House as The Great Zamboni
2001 A.I. Artificial Intelligence as Specialist (voice)
2001 Sexy Beast as Don Logan
2001 The Triumph of Love as Hermocrates
2001 Islam: Empire of Faith as Self - Narrator
2001 The Making of Sexy Beast as Self
2001 Ben Kingsley Talks About "Gandhi" as Self - Interviewee
2001 Islam: Empire of Faith as Narrator (3 episodes)
2001 Anne Frank: The Whole Story as Otto Frank (2 episodes)
2000 What Planet Are You From? as Graydon
2000 Rules of Engagement as Ambassador Mourain
1999 The Confession as Harry Fertig
1999 Alice in Wonderland as Major Caterpillar
1999 A Force More Powerful as Narator
1999 Parting Shots as Renzo Locatelli
1999 Rove as Self (1 episode)
1999 CNN Millennium as Narrator (10 episodes)
1999 The Sopranos as Ben Kingsley (1 episode)
1998 The Tale of Sweeney Todd as Sweeney Todd
1998 Crime and Punishment as Magistrate Porfiry
1998 Religions of the World as Narrator (13 episodes)
1997 The Assignment as Amos
1997 Photographing Fairies as Rev. Templeton
1997 Weapons of Mass Distraction as Julian Messenger
1997 HARDtalk
1996 Twelfth Night as Feste
1996 Moses as Moses (2 episodes)
1995 Joseph as Potiphar
1995 Species as Xavier Fitch
1995 Moses as Moses
1995 Joseph as Potiphar (2 episodes)
1994 Death and the Maiden as Dr. Roberto Miranda
1994 Liberation as Narrator
1994 Michael Caine: Breaking the Mold as Self
1994 Inside the Actors Studio as Self (1 episode)
1993 Schindler's List as Itzhak Stern
1993 Dave as Vice-President Nance
1993 Searching for Bobby Fischer as Bruce Pandolfini
1992 Sneakers as Cosmo
1992 Freddie As F.R.O.7. as Freddie (voice)
1991 Bugsy as Meyer Lansky
1991 Necessary Love
1991 The War That Never Ends as Pericles
1991 Rabbit Ears - The Tiger and the Brahmin as Narrator (voice)
1991 Rabbit Ears - Moses the Lawgiver as Narrator (voice)
1990 The Children as Martin Boyne
1990 The Fifth Monkey as Cunda
1990 Cellini: A Violent Life as Governor
1990 Romeo.Juliet as Father Capulet (voice)
1989 Slipstream as Avatar
1989 Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story as Simon Wiesenthal
1989 The Making of Slipstream
1988 Lenin: The Train as Lenin
1988 Without a Clue as Dr. John Watson
1988 Testimony as Dmitri Shostakovich
1988 Pascali's Island as Basil Pascali
1988 The Secret of the Sahara as Sholomon (4 episodes)
1988 Lenin... The Train as Wladimir Iljitsch Lenin (2 episodes)
1987 Maurice as Lasker-Jones
1987 Seitenblicke as Self (1 episode)
1987 Dispatches
1985 To Be Hamlet as Self
1985 Harem as Selim
1985 Silas Marner as Silas Marner
1985 Turtle Diary as William Snow
1984 Camille as Duval
1984 Oxbridge Blues as Geoff Craven (1 episode)
1984 Playing Shakespeare
1984 Goldene Kamera as Self (1 episode)
1983 Betrayal as Robert
1983 Mr. Attenborough and Mr. Gandhi as Self
1982 Gandhi as Mahatma Gandhi
1982 The Merry Wives of Windsor as Frank Ford
1981 Wetten, dass..? as Self (1 episode)
1981 Entertainment Tonight as Self (1 episode)
1979 Every Good Boy Deserves Favour as Ivanov
1976 Dickens of London as Dr. John Elliotson (2 episodes)
1975 Antony and Cleopatra as Thidias
1975 The Love School as Dante Gabriel Rossetti (5 episodes)
1974 Playhouse as Ivanov (1 episode)
1973 Hard Labour as Naseem
1973 Wessex Tales as Lord Uplandtowers (1 episode)
1972 Fear Is the Key as Royale
1972 Pebble Mill at One
1972 The Adventurer as Pierre (1 episode)
1963 World in Action as Re-enactment (1 episode)
1953 The Oscars as Self - Presenter (1 episode)
1951 Hallmark Hall of Fame as Duval (1 episode)
1948 Bambi as Self (1 episode)
1944 Golden Globe Awards as Self - Nominee (3 episodes)
1944 Golden Globe Awards as Self - Audience Member (1 episode)
Mary as King Herod
The Way of the Wind
Fortitude

Production

2022 Dalíland Executive Producer

Creator

2004 Religion of the World Creator