Ben Kingsley
Acting • Born 1943-12-31
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).
Filmography
211 credits
Lucky Number Slevin
Movie • 2006
The Rabbi
Oliver Twist
Movie • 2005
Fagin
Schindler's List
Movie • 1993
Itzhak Stern
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Movie • 2001
Specialist (voice)
Gandhi
Movie • 1982
Mahatma Gandhi
Death and the Maiden
Movie • 1994
Dr. Roberto Miranda
Sneakers
Movie • 1992
Cosmo
To Be Hamlet
Movie • 1985
Self
A Sound of Thunder
Movie • 2005
Charles Hatton
Joseph
Movie • 1995
Potifar
C.S. Lewis: Dreamer of Narnia
Movie • 2006
Self
Bugsy
Movie • 1991
Meyer Lansky
What Planet Are You From?
Movie • 2000
Graydon
Lenin: The Train
Movie • 1990
Lenin
Rules of Engagement
Movie • 2000
Ambassador Mourain
House of Sand and Fog
Movie • 2003
Behrani
The Confession
Movie • 1999
Harry Fertig
Dave
Movie • 1993
Vice-President Nance
Shutter Island
Movie • 2010
Dr. Cawley
The Ten Commandments
Movie • 2007
Narrator (voice)
Slipstream
Movie • 1989
Avatar
TransSiberian
Movie • 2008
Grinko
Sexy Beast
Movie • 2001
Don Logan
Alice in Wonderland
Movie • 1999
Major Caterpillar
Suspect Zero
Movie • 2004
Benjamin O'Ryan
You Kill Me
Movie • 2007
Frank Falenczyk
Elegy
Movie • 2008
David Kepesh
Fear Is the Key
Movie • 1972
Royale
The Love Guru
Movie • 2008
Guru Tugginmypuddha
Maurice
Movie • 1987
Lasker-Jones
Without a Clue
Movie • 1988
Dr. John Watson
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Movie • 2010
Nizam
War, Inc.
Movie • 2008
Walken / The Viceroy
Species
Movie • 1995
Xavier Fitch
Harem
Movie • 1985
Selim
The Last Legion
Movie • 2007
Ambrosinus
Teen Patti
Movie • 2010
Perci Trachtenberg
Desert Warrior
Movie • 2026
Emperor Kisra
The Triumph of Love
Movie • 2001
Hermocrates
Tuck Everlasting
Movie • 2002
Man in the Yellow Suit
The Wackness
Movie • 2008
Dr. Squires
Searching for Bobby Fischer
Movie • 1993
Bruce Pandolfini
Jules
Movie • 2023
Milton Robinson
Thunderbirds
Movie • 2004
The Hood
The Children
Movie • 1990
Martin Boyne
50 Films to See Before You Die
Movie • 2006
Self
Twelfth Night
Movie • 1996
Feste
Hugo
Movie • 2011
Georges Méliès
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Movie • 2023
Imdad Khan / Croupier
Fifty Dead Men Walking
Movie • 2008
Fergus
Islam: Empire of Faith
Movie • 2001
Self - Narrator
The Assignment
Movie • 1997
Amos
Iron Man 3
Movie • 2013
Trevor Slattery
Ender's Game
Movie • 2013
Mazer Rackham
The Killer's Game
Movie • 2024
Zvi Rabinowitz
The Dictator
Movie • 2012
Tamir
A Force More Powerful
Movie • 1999
Narator
Mrs. Harris
Movie • 2006
Herman Tarnower
Silas Marner
Movie • 1985
Silas Marner
The Desert of Forbidden Art
Movie • 2011
Voice
Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust
Movie • 2004
Self
Turtle Diary
Movie • 1985
William Snow
Parting Shots
Movie • 1999
Renzo Locatelli
A Common Man
Movie • 2013
The Man
Freddie As F.R.O.7.
Movie • 1992
Freddie (voice)
It Is No Dream: The Life Of Theodor Herzl
Movie • 2012
Narrator
Spooky House
Movie • 2002
The Great Zamboni
Testimony
Movie • 1988
Dmitri Shostakovich
No Strings Attached: The Making of Thunderbirds
Movie • 2004
Self
Pascali's Island
Movie • 1988
Basil Pascali
The Mechanical Man at the Heart of 'Hugo'
Movie • 2012
Self
Shoot the Moon: The Making of 'Hugo'
Movie • 2012
Self
The Cinemagician, Georges Méliès
Movie • 2012
Self
Sacha Baron Cohen: Role of a Lifetime
Movie • 2012
Self
The Tale of Sweeney Todd
Movie • 1998
Sweeney Todd
Betrayal
Movie • 1983
Robert
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
Movie • 2014
Merenkahre
Camille
Movie • 1984
Duval
The Physician
Movie • 2013
Ibn Sina (Avicenna)
BloodRayne
Movie • 2005
Kagan
Aral, the Lost Sea
Movie • 2010
The Boxtrolls
Movie • 2014
Snatcher (voice)
A Birder's Guide to Everything
Movie • 2013
Lawrence Konrad
The Many Lives of Richard Attenborough
Movie • 2003
Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story
Movie • 1989
Simon Wiesenthal
Poison
Movie • 2023
Dr. Ganderbai
Liberation
Movie • 1994
Narrator
Muse of Fire
Movie • 2013
Self
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Movie • 1979
Ivanov
Self/less
Movie • 2015
Damian
Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King
Movie • 2014
Trevor Slattery / The Mandarin
Robot Overlords
Movie • 2015
Robin Smythe
War Story
Movie • 2014
Albert
Antony and Cleopatra
Movie • 1975
Thidias
Unlikely Heroes
Movie • 2003
Narrator
Walking with the Enemy
Movie • 2014
Regent Miklos Horthy
Exodus: Gods and Kings
Movie • 2014
Nun
William Tell
Movie • 2025
King Albrecht
Photographing Fairies
Movie • 1997
Rev. Templeton
Journey to Mecca
Movie • 2009
Narrator
The Jungle Book
Movie • 2016
Bagheera (voice)
Learning to Drive
Movie • 2014
Darwan
The Fifth Monkey
Movie • 1990
Cunda
Stonehearst Asylum
Movie • 2014
Silas Lamb
Robin Williams: Laugh Until You Cry
Movie • 2022
Self
The Walk
Movie • 2015
Papa Rudy
Life
Movie • 2015
Jack Warner
Weapons of Mass Distraction
Movie • 1997
Julian Messenger
Peace Is Every Step
Movie • 2005
Narrator
Deep Water
Movie • 2026
Collide
Movie • 2016
Geran
Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse
Movie • 2015
Drago (Voice)
Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film
Movie • 2014
Self
Nos Bastidores de Hollywood
Movie • 2005
Self (archive footage)
The Making of ‘Sneakers’
Movie • 2003
Self
Crime and Punishment
Movie • 1998
Magistrate Porfiry
Mais Bastidores de Hollywood
Movie • 2006
Self
Unity
Movie • 2015
Narrator (voice)
Winston Churchill: Walking with Destiny
Movie • 2010
Narrator
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More
Movie • 2024
Imdad Khan / The Dealer / Dr. Ganderbai (archive footage)
Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC
Movie • 2015
Self (archive footage)
The Thursday Murder Club
Movie • 2025
Ibrahim
Knight of Cups
Movie • 2015
Storyteller (voice)
Necessary Love
Movie • 1991
The Making of Sexy Beast
Movie • 2001
Self
The War That Never Ends
Movie • 1991
Pericles
The King of Kings
Movie • 2025
High Priest Caiaphas (voice)
Cellini: A Violent Life
Movie • 1990
Governor
An Ordinary Man
Movie • 2017
The General
Of Dogs and Men
Movie • 2016
The Caller (voice)
War Machine
Movie • 2017
President Karzai
The Ottoman Lieutenant
Movie • 2017
Woodruff
Hard Labour
Movie • 1973
Naseem
Night Hunter
Movie • 2019
Cooper
Mary
Movie
King Herod
Security
Movie • 2017
Charlie
The Red Sea Diving Resort
Movie • 2019
Ethan Levin
Backstabbing for Beginners
Movie • 2018
Pasha
Spielberg
Movie • 2017
Self
Intrigo: Death of an Author
Movie • 2018
Henderson
Operation Finale
Movie • 2018
Adolf Eichmann
Spider in the Web
Movie • 2019
Adereth
Dalíland
Movie • 2022
Dalí
Romeo.Juliet
Movie • 1990
Father Capulet (voice)
Who Killed British Cinema?
Movie • 2018
Self
Falls the Shadow: The Life and Times of Athol Fugard
Movie • 2012
Self
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Movie • 1982
Frank Ford
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché
Movie • 2018
Self
Inside the Operation
Movie • 2018
Self
1001 Inventions and the Library of Secrets
Movie • 2010
Al-Jazari / Librarian
I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life & Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal
Movie • 2007
Self
Locked Down
Movie • 2021
Malcolm
The Way of the Wind
Movie
The Medicine Buddha
Movie • 2019
Narrator (voice)
Mr. Attenborough and Mr. Gandhi
Movie • 1983
Self
The Life and Faith of CS Lewis
Movie • 2006
The Road to Damascus: The Reinvention of Bugsy Siegel
Movie • 2006
Self
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Movie • 2021
Trevor Slattery
Michael Caine: Breaking the Mold
Movie • 1994
Self
Rabbit Ears - The Tiger and the Brahmin
Movie • 1991
Narrator (voice)
Rabbit Ears - Moses the Lawgiver
Movie • 1991
Narrator (voice)
Helena: First Pilgrim to the Holy Land
Movie • 2003
Narrator
The Making of Slipstream
Movie • 1989
Schindler's List: 25 Years Later
Movie • 2018
Self
Young Washington
Movie • 2026
Robert Dinwiddie
Moses
Movie • 1995
Moses
An Oral History of: Schindler's List
Movie • 2018
Self (archive footage)
Fortitude
Movie
Sonic the Hedgehog 4
Movie • 2027
Pebble Mill at One
TV • 1972
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Duval
The Adventurer
TV • 1972
Pierre
The Secret of the Sahara
TV • 1988
Sholomon
Islam: Empire of Faith
TV • 2001
Narrator
Oxbridge Blues
TV • 1984
Geoff Craven
Marvel Studios Legends
TV • 2021
Trevor Slattery / The Mandarin (archive footage)
Tut
TV • 2015
Ay
Marvel Studios Assembled
TV • 2021
Self
Wetten, dass..?
TV • 1981
Self
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
TV • 2005
Self - Guest
Rove
TV • 1999
Self
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self - Guest
Watership Down
TV • 2018
General Woundwort (voice)
Joseph
TV • 1995
Potiphar
CNN Millennium
TV • 1999
Narrator
Lenin... The Train
TV • 1988
Wladimir Iljitsch Lenin
Anne Frank: The Whole Story
TV • 2001
Otto Frank
Lip Sync Battle
TV • 2015
Self
Playing Shakespeare
TV • 1984
All or Nothing: Manchester City
TV • 2018
Narrator (voice)
Religion of the World
TV • 2004
Narrator
Perpetual Grace LTD
TV • 2019
Pastor Byron 'Pa' Brown
Goldene Kamera
TV • 1984
Self
Bambi
TV • 1948
Self
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self - Presenter
Entertainment Tonight
TV • 1981
Self
Moses
TV • 1996
Moses
Inside the Actors Studio
TV • 1994
Self
The Sopranos
TV • 1999
Ben Kingsley
Garfunkel and Oates
TV • 2014
Ben Kingsley
Seitenblicke
TV • 1987
Self
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Nominee
Religions of the World
TV • 1998
Narrator
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Audience Member
Playhouse
TV • 1974
Ivanov
Dickens of London
TV • 1976
Dr. John Elliotson
The Love School
TV • 1975
Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Wonder Man
TV • 2026
Trevor Slattery
Dispatches
TV • 1987
Wessex Tales
TV • 1973
Lord Uplandtowers
HARDtalk
TV • 1997