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