Kingsley was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji on 31 December 1943, inSnainton, North Riding of Yorkshire.[4][5][6] His mother, Anna Lyna Mary (née Goodman) (1914–2010), was an English actress and model, and she later gave birth to a second son called Sadrudin Bhanji, who later practised as apsychiatrist inDevon.[7] She was born out of wedlock and "was loath to speak of her background".[8][9][10] His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji (1914–1968), was born inZanzibar (now part ofTanzania) to a family originating from theIndian city ofJamnagar, ofKhojaGujarati descent.[11][12]
Kingsley's paternal grandfather, Harji Bhanji, was a successfulspice trader who had moved from India to theSultanate of Zanzibar, where Kingsley's father lived until moving to the United Kingdom at the age of 14.[16][17][18] Kingsley's maternal grandfather was believed by the family to have been of Russian or German-Jewish descent, while his maternal grandmother was English and worked in the garment district ofLondon's East End.[19] Kingsley stated in 1994, "I'm not Jewish, and though there might be some Russian-Jewish heritage way back on my mother's side, the thread is so fine there's no real evidence."[20] In 2016, he suggested that his maternal grandmother was impregnated by a Russian-Jewish immigrant who later abandoned her, which led her to become a "vile anti-Semite."[14]
A turning point in Kingsley's career came with the historical biographical epic drama filmGandhi (1982), directed byRichard Attenborough, in which Kingsley played the titular role of theanti-colonialist activist and peacemakerMahatma Gandhi. The film was a critical and financial success with film criticRoger Ebert ofThe Chicago Sun-Times praising the casting of Kingsley in the lead role writing, "makes the role so completely his own that there is a genuine feeling that the spirit of Gandhi is on the screen. Kingsley's performance is powerful without being loud or histrionic; he is almost always quiet, observant, and soft-spoken on the screen, and yet his performance comes across with such might that we realize, afterward, that the sheer moral force of Gandhi must have been behind the words."[29] Kingsley went on to win numerous accolades for his performance including theAcademy Award for Best Actor, theBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and theGolden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his performance.[23]
In 1985, Kingsley appeared in theJohn Irvin directed British dramaTurtle Diary, which co-starredGlenda Jackson. This film was based on the1975 novel of the same title and was adapted for the screen byHarold Pinter. Sheila Benson ofThe Los Angeles Times praised their performances writing, "No filmic cliches, no swelling musical score; these are no "littul peeple" who melt into each other's arms, but blessedly real people, who get exhausted and don't talk all the time."[32] During that same year, he appeared in theBBC adaptation ofSilas Marner as the titular character.
In 1997, Kingsley provided a voice in the video gameCeremony of Innocence. The following year, he was the head of the jury at the48th Berlin International Film Festival and starred in the family filmSpooky House, saying he had chosen a role in a lighter film after acting in roles that left him feeling traumatised.[36][37]
Kingsley took on the role of Don Logan, a violent psychopath and recruiter for London's underworld, inJonathan Glazer'sSexy Beast (2000), apsychologicalblack comedycrime film acting withRay Winstone andIan McShane.[38] CriticPeter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian praised his performance writing, "The role of Don Logan is perfectly suited to Ben Kingsley's gifts for control and stillness. There is something a little baroque and stylised about his approach – it is arguably a little actorly and unlike the behaviour of any real villain. But it is a very funny, intelligent performance nonetheless, beautifully scripted and acted, and Kingsley tops it off with a bravura show of pure sociopathic cunning".[39] Kingsley's role as Logan earned him another Academy Award nomination forBest Supporting Actor. A year later, he won aCrystal Globe award for having an outstanding artistic contribution toworld cinema at theKarlovy Vary International Film Festival.[40] In 2003 he portrayed Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani in theVadim Perelman directedHouse of Sand and Fog acting oppositeJennifer Connelly andShohreh Aghdashloo. Critic Owen Gleiberman ofEntertainment Weekly wrote of his performance, "Kingsley, carrying his body like armor, sculpting each line into a bitter dart of pride, plays fierceness with a powerful tug of sorrow."[41] For his role he earned nominations for theAcademy Award,Golden Globe Award, andIndependent Spirit Award for Best Actor.[42][43] The following year he played a supporting role as Benjamin O'Ryan in the psychological thrillerSuspect Zero (2004). Although the film received negative reviews from critics, reservations were made for Kingsley's performance.
The years 2010 and 2011 contained several big roles for Kingsley. In 2010, he worked voicing a character named Sabine in theLionhead Studios gameFable III and starred alongsideLeonardo DiCaprio inShutter Island (2010), directed byMartin Scorsese. That same year, Kingsley made hisBollywood debut in the thrillerTeen Patti (2010). The following year he appeared in Scorsese's next film, the children's adventure filmHugo (2011), playing the French illusionistGeorges Méliès. Kingsley's portrayal of Méliès also earned him aSaturn Award for Best Actor. Kingsley also signed on to the sci-fi romance featureBroken Dream. The feature, byNeil Jordan andJohn Boorman, was later scrapped.[48]
Kingsley has been married four times and has four children: Thomas Bhanji and artist Jasmin Bhanji, with his first wife, actressAngela Morant, and Edmund Kingsley andFerdinand Kingsley, both of whom became actors, with his second wife, theatrical directorAlison Sutcliffe.[57] He divorced his third wife Alexandra Christmann in 2005, having been "deeply, deeply shocked" after pictures of her kissing another man surfaced on the internet.[58] On 3 September 2007, Kingsley marriedBrazilian actressDaniela Lavender at Eynsham Hall inNorth Leigh, Oxfordshire.[59]
I told the Queen that winning an Oscar pales into insignificance—this is insurmountable. I'm fascinated by theancient, bymythology, by these islands and their tradition of story telling. I feel that I am a story teller and to receive aknighthood is really recognition of that.[1]
His demand to be called 'Sir' in film and TV show credits was documented by the BBC, to some criticism.[66] Co-starPenélope Cruz was reportedly unsure what to call him during the filming ofElegy as someone had told her she needed to refer to him as "Sir Ben". One day it slipped out as such, and she called him that for the remainder of the shoot.[67] Kingsley has denied accusations that he prefers to be referred to by his title, saying, "If I've ever insisted on being called 'Sir' by colleagues on a film set then I am profoundly sorry. I don't remember ever doing that and I tend not to forget."[68]In May 2010, Kingsley was awarded a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[2] In April 2013, Kingsley was honoured with the Fellowship Award atThe Asian Awards in London.[69]
^Bennetts, Leslie (13 December 1982)."Ben Kingsley's Journey From Hamlet to Gandhi".The New York Times. Retrieved10 April 2022.Although born and raised in England, Mr. Kingsley is half Indian: his mother was an English model and his father, a physician, was Indian.
^"Sir Ben Kingsley's gold turban".A History of the World in 100 Objects.BBC Radio 4. Retrieved27 April 2018....[H]is grandfather (a spice trader) [...] was a prominent member of the Ismaili Koja community in Zanzibar (in the Indian Ocean). Ismaili's are Shi'a Muslims, and followers of the Aga Khan (a descendent of the prophet Muhammad).
^Krieger, Hilary Leila (10 April 2005)."'Gandhi' brings his 'truth-force' to Palestinian audiences".The Jerusalem Post. Archived fromthe original on 5 November 2012.: "The grandmother of the knighted Royal Shakespeare Company alum spoke Yiddish she picked up while a garment worker in London's East End a century ago. "She was violently opposed to talking about this, so my poor mother was at the receiving end of a rage attack every time my grandmother was asked about her husband, her lover, whoever it was, but it's believed that he was a Russian Jew or a German Jew called Goodman", Kingsley toldThe Jerusalem Post".
^Pollack, Joe (3 January 1994)."He's No Stranger to Holocaust".St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved28 November 2011.I'm not Jewish," he said, "and though there might be some Russian-Jewish heritage way back on my mother's side, the thread is so fine there's no real evidence...
^Kingsley, Ben (2020).Spooky House (Extras–Interviews–Ben Kingsley) (DVD-ROM).I was looking at the roles that I've done over the last five, just five years. They include a serial killer, a concentration camp victim, a total tyrant, a lunatic, a man whose child dies in his arms and he takes revenge by killing the three people responsible – so I noticed I was going into some pretty dark areas, and I was pretty well carrying the moral agenda of every film I was in on my own shoulders. And given that I have a fairly wide choice most of my career on what to do next, I decided I had to do something that did not involve me being traumatized to any extent by the role. I would choose to do something much lighter – that doesn't mean any easier, it means lighter, not necessarily have the whole moral agenda of the holocaust, or serial killing, or crime and punishment on my shoulders. Just to do something that was without that particular agenda, that's why I chose this role.
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