Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Bhanji on December 31, 1943) is an English actor.
Kingsley was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire. His father, Harji Bhanji, was a Kenya-born medical doctor of Indian (Gujarati) descent, and his mother, Anna Lyna Mary, was a fashion model and actress; one of his maternal grandparents was a Jewish immigrant from Russia.
Young ‘Kingsley’ began his acting career on the stage at Manchester Grammar School alongside Robert Powell, but made a transition to film roles early on. It was at this point that he changed his name, fearing a foreign name would hamper his career.
Kingsley’s first film role was a supporting turn in Fear is the Key (1972). Kingsley continued starring in bit roles in both film and television. He found fame only years later, starring as Mahatma Gandhi in the Academy Award-winning film Gandhi in 1982. Kingsley was critically acclaimed and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role.
Kingsley has avoided stereotyping and has been cast in a variety of roles. His credits include the films Turtle Diary, Maurice, Pascali’s Island, Without a Clue (as Dr. Watson opposite Michael Caine’s Sherlock Holmes), Bugsy (Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor), Sneakers, Dave, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Schindler’s List, 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 (Oscar nomination for Best Actor). He has 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 acting for the video game Ceremony of Innocence.
Kingsley was awarded a knighthood in the 2001 New Years Honours list. He is famous for being one of the few actors to insist his title be used.
