Name
Ben Kingsley
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1943-12-31 (83 years old)
Place of Birth
Snainton, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK
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).
Known For
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- 2006 Lucky Number Slevin as The Rabbi
- 2005 Oliver Twist as Fagin
- 1993 Schindler's List as Itzhak Stern
- 2001 A.I. Artificial Intelligence as Specialist (voice)
- 1982 Gandhi as Mahatma Gandhi
- 1994 Death and the Maiden as Dr. Roberto Miranda
- 1992 Sneakers as Cosmo
- 1985 To Be Hamlet as Self
- 2005 A Sound of Thunder as Charles Hatton
- 1995 Joseph as Potiphar
- 2006 C.S. Lewis: Dreamer of Narnia as Self
- 1991 Bugsy as Meyer Lansky
- 2000 What Planet Are You From? as Graydon
- 1988 Lenin: The Train as Lenin
- 2000 Rules of Engagement as Ambassador Mourain
- 2003 House of Sand and Fog as Behrani
- 1999 The Confession as Harry Fertig
- 1993 Dave as Vice-President Nance
- 2010 Shutter Island as Dr. Cawley
- 2007 The Ten Commandments as Narrator (voice)
- 1989 Slipstream as Avatar
- 2008 TransSiberian as Grinko
- 1999 Alice in Wonderland as Major Caterpillar
- 2001 Sexy Beast as Don Logan
- 2004 Suspect Zero as Benjamin O'Ryan
- 2007 You Kill Me as Frank Falenczyk
- 2008 Elegy as David Kepesh
- 1972 Fear Is the Key as Royale
- 2008 The Love Guru as Guru Tugginmypuddha
- 1987 Maurice as Lasker-Jones
- 1988 Without a Clue as Dr. John Watson
- 2010 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time as Nizam
- 2008 War, Inc. as Walken / The Viceroy
- 1995 Species as Xavier Fitch
- 1985 Harem as Selim
- 2007 The Last Legion as Ambrosinus
- 2010 Teen Patti as Perci Trachtenberg
- 2026 Desert Warrior as Emperor Kisra II
- 2001 The Triumph of Love as Hermocrates
- 2002 Tuck Everlasting as Man in the Yellow Suit
- 2008 The Wackness as Dr. Squires
- 1993 Searching for Bobby Fischer as Bruce Pandolfini
- 2023 Jules as Milton Robinson
- 2004 Thunderbirds as The Hood
- 1990 The Children as Martin Boyne
- 2006 50 Films to See Before You Die as Self
- 1996 Twelfth Night as Feste
- 2011 Hugo as Georges Méliès
- 2023 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar as Imdad Khan / Croupier
- 2008 Fifty Dead Men Walking as Fergus
- 2001 Islam: Empire of Faith as Self - Narrator
- 1997 The Assignment as Amos
- 2013 Iron Man 3 as Trevor Slattery
- 2013 Ender's Game as Mazer Rackham
- 2024 The Killer's Game as Zvi Rabinowitz
- 2012 The Dictator as Tamir
- 1999 A Force More Powerful as Narator
- 2005 Mrs. Harris as Herman Tarnower
- 1985 Silas Marner as Silas Marner
- 2011 The Desert of Forbidden Art as Voice
- 2004 Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust as Self
- 1985 Turtle Diary as William Snow
- 1999 Parting Shots as Renzo Locatelli
- 2013 A Common Man as The Man
- 1992 Freddie As F.R.O.7. as Freddie (voice)
- 2012 It Is No Dream: The Life Of Theodor Herzl as Narrator
- 2002 Spooky House as The Great Zamboni
- 1988 Testimony as Dmitri Shostakovich
- 2004 No Strings Attached: The Making of Thunderbirds as Self
- 1988 Pascali's Island as Basil Pascali
- 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
- 1998 The Tale of Sweeney Todd as Sweeney Todd
- 1983 Betrayal as Robert
- 2014 Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb as Merenkahre
- 1984 Camille as Duval
- 2013 The Physician as Ibn Sina
- 2006 BloodRayne as Kagan
- 2010 Aral, the Lost Sea
- 2014 The Boxtrolls as Snatcher (voice)
- 2013 A Birder's Guide to Everything as Lawrence Konrad
- 2003 The Many Lives of Richard Attenborough
- 1989 Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story as Simon Wiesenthal
- 2023 Poison as Dr. Ganderbai
- 1994 Liberation as Narrator (voice)
- 2013 Muse of Fire as Self
- 1979 Every Good Boy Deserves Favour as Ivanov
- 2015 Self/less as Damian
- 2014 Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King as Trevor Slattery / The Mandarin
- 2015 Robot Overlords as Robin Smythe
- 2014 War Story as Albert
- 1975 Antony and Cleopatra as Thidias
- 2003 Unlikely Heroes as Narrator
- 2014 Walking with the Enemy as Regent Miklos Horthy
- 2014 Exodus: Gods and Kings as Nun
- 2025 William Tell as King Albrecht
- 1997 Photographing Fairies as Rev. Templeton
- 2009 Journey to Mecca as Narrator
- 2016 The Jungle Book as Bagheera (voice)
- 2014 Learning to Drive as Darwan
- 1990 The Fifth Monkey as Cunda
- 2014 Stonehearst Asylum as Silas Lamb
- 2022 Robin Williams: Laugh Until You Cry as Self
- 2015 The Walk as Papa Rudy
- 2015 Life as Jack Warner
- 1997 Weapons of Mass Distraction as Julian Messenger
- 2005 Peace Is Every Step as Narrator
- 2026 Deep Water as Rich
- 2016 Collide as Geran
- 2015 Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse as Drago (Voice)
- 2014 Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film as Self
- 2005 Nos Bastidores de Hollywood as Self (archive footage)
- 2003 The Making of ‘Sneakers’ as Self
- 1998 Crime and Punishment as Magistrate Porfiry
- 2006 Mais Bastidores de Hollywood as Self
- 2015 Unity as Narrator (voice)
- 2010 Winston Churchill: Walking with Destiny as Narrator
- 2024 The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More as Imdad Khan / The Dealer / Dr. Ganderbai (archive footage)
- 2015 Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC as Self (archive footage)
- 2025 The Thursday Murder Club as Ibrahim
- 2015 Knight of Cups as Storyteller (voice)
- 1991 Necessary Love
- 2001 The Making of Sexy Beast as Self
- 1991 The War That Never Ends as Pericles
- 2025 The King of Kings as High Priest Caiaphas (voice)
- 1990 Cellini: A Violent Life as Governor
- 2017 An Ordinary Man as The General
- 2016 Of Dogs and Men as The Caller (voice)
- 2017 War Machine as President Karzai
- 2017 The Ottoman Lieutenant as Woodruff
- 1973 Hard Labour as Naseem
- 2019 Night Hunter as Cooper
- Soon Mary as King Herod
- 2017 Security as Charlie
- 2019 The Red Sea Diving Resort as Ethan Levin
- 2018 Backstabbing for Beginners as Pasha
- 2017 Spielberg as Self
- 2018 Intrigo: Death of an Author as Henderson
- 2018 Operation Finale as Adolf Eichmann
- 2019 Spider in the Web as Adereth
- 2022 Dalíland as Dalí
- 1990 Romeo.Juliet as Father Capulet (voice)
- 2018 Who Killed British Cinema? as Self
- 2012 Falls the Shadow: The Life and Times of Athol Fugard as Self
- 1982 The Merry Wives of Windsor as Frank Ford
- 2018 Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché as Self
- 2018 Inside the Operation as Self
- 2010 1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets as Al-Jazari / Librarian
- 2007 I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life & Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal as Self
- 2021 Locked Down as Malcolm
- Soon The Way of the Wind
- 2019 The Medicine Buddha as Narrator (voice)
- 1983 Mr. Attenborough and Mr. Gandhi as Self
- 2006 The Life and Faith of CS Lewis
- 2006 The Road to Damascus: The Reinvention of Bugsy Siegel as Self
- 2021 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as Trevor Slattery
- 1994 Michael Caine: Breaking the Mold as Self
- 1991 Rabbit Ears - The Tiger and the Brahmin as Narrator (voice)
- 1991 Rabbit Ears - Moses the Lawgiver as Narrator (voice)
- 2003 Helena: First Pilgrim to the Holy Land as Narrator
- 1989 The Making of Slipstream
- 2026 Young Washington as Robert Dinwiddie
- 2018 An Oral History of: Schindler's List as Self (archive footage)
- Soon Fortitude
- 2027 Sonic the Hedgehog 4 as (voice)
- 2001 Ben Kingsley Talks About "Gandhi" as Self - Interviewee
- 1978 Thank You, Comrades as Roberto Cibrario
- 1993 The King and I: Recording a Hollywood Dream as Self / The King (voice)
- Soon Faith as Sheikh Usman
- 1972 Pebble Mill at One ( 1 episode )
- 1951 Hallmark Hall of Fame ( 1 episode ) as Duval
- 1972 The Adventurer ( 1 episode ) as Pierre
- 1988 The Secret of the Sahara ( 4 episodes ) as Sholomon
- 2001 Islam: Empire of Faith ( 3 episodes ) as Narrator
- 1984 Oxbridge Blues ( 1 episode ) as Geoff Craven
- 2021 Marvel Studios Legends ( 1 episode ) as Trevor Slattery / The Mandarin (archive footage)
- 2015 Tut ( 3 episodes ) as Ay
- 2021 Marvel Studios Assembled ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1981 Wetten, dass..? ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2005 The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 1999 Rove ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 2014 Late Night with Seth Meyers ( 1 episode ) as Self - Guest
- 2018 Watership Down ( 2 episodes ) as General Woundwort (voice)
- 1995 Joseph ( 2 episodes ) as Potiphar
- 1999 CNN Millennium ( 10 episodes ) as Narrator
- 1988 Lenin... The Train ( 2 episodes ) as Wladimir Iljitsch Lenin
- 2001 Anne Frank: The Whole Story ( 2 episodes ) as Otto Frank
- 2015 Lip Sync Battle ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1984 Playing Shakespeare ( 9 episodes )
- 2018 All or Nothing: Manchester City ( 8 episodes ) as Narrator (voice)
- 2004 Religion of the World ( 13 episodes ) as Narrator
- 2019 Perpetual Grace LTD ( 10 episodes ) as Pastor Byron 'Pa' Brown
- 1984 Goldene Kamera ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1948 Bambi ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1953 The Oscars ( 1 episode ) as Self - Presenter
- 1981 Entertainment Tonight ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1996 Moses ( 2 episodes ) as Moses
- 1994 Inside the Actors Studio ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1999 The Sopranos ( 1 episode ) as Ben Kingsley
- 2014 Garfunkel and Oates ( 1 episode ) as Ben Kingsley
- 1987 Seitenblicke ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1944 Golden Globe Awards ( 3 episodes ) as Self - Nominee
- 1998 Religions of the World ( 13 episodes ) as Narrator
- 1944 Golden Globe Awards ( 1 episode ) as Self - Audience Member
- 1974 Playhouse ( 1 episode ) as Ivanov
- 1976 Dickens of London ( 2 episodes ) as Dr. John Elliotson
- 1975 The Love School ( 5 episodes ) as Dante Gabriel Rossetti
- 1987 Dispatches ( 1 episode )
- 1973 Wessex Tales ( 1 episode ) as Lord Uplandtowers
- 1997 HARDtalk ( 1 episode )
- 1963 World in Action ( 1 episode ) as Re-enactment
- 2014 Der Medicus ( 2 episodes ) as Ibn Sina
- 2026 The Old Stories: Moses ( 3 episodes ) as Moses
- 1977 The Velvet Glove ( 1 episode ) as Chakravarti
- 1978 The BBC Television Shakespeare ( 1 episode ) as Frank Ford
- 1971 Film '72 ( 1 episode ) as Self
- 1996 TFI Friday ( 1 episode )
- 2026 Wonder Man ( 8 episodes ) as Trevor Slattery
- 1972 Crown Court ( 3 episodes ) as Jeremy Leigh
