Ben Kingsley on screen and stage

Ben Kingsley on screen and stage

Kingsley at the 2012 Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Sir Ben Kingsley is a British actor known for his extensive career on stage and screen. He has received numerous accolades throughout his career which spans over five decades, including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Grammy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Laurence Olivier Awards.

Kingsley started his career on stage when he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967, where he starred in numerous productions of William Shakespeare including King Lear (1968), Bartholomew Fair (1969), Measure for Measure (1970), The Tempest (1970), Hamlet (1975), The Merry Wives of Windsor (1979), and Othello (1985). He made his Broadway debut playing Demetrius in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1971). He portrayed the title role in Edmund Kean (1983) on both the West End at the Aldwych Theatre and on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater.

He is best known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi (1982), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He expanded his career in film earning acclaim for his performances in Maurice (1987), Bugsy (1990), Schindler's List (1993), Sexy Beast (2000), House of Sand and Fog (2003), Elegy (2008), Shutter Island (2010), and Hugo (2011). Other notable films include Sneakers (1992), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), Dave (1993), Death and the Maiden (1994), Twelfth Night (1996), Tuck Everlasting (2002), and Learning to Drive (2014). He portrayed Trevor Slattery in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, acting in Iron Man 3 (2013), All Hail the King (2014), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), and the Disney+ series Wonder Man (2026). He also acted in the blockbusters Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010), Ender's Game (2013). He voiced roles in The Boxtrolls (2014), and The Jungle Book (2016).

On television, Kingsley has portrayed numerous real life figures including Simon Wiesenthal in the HBO film Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989), Potiphar in the TNT miniseries Joseph (1995), Otto Frank in the ABC miniseries Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001), and Herman Tarnower in the HBO film Mrs. Harris (2005). He also played Sweeney Todd in the TV film The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1997), and Ay, the Grand Vizier in the miniseries Tut (2015).

Filmography

Film

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Role</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1972</td><td>Fear Is the Key</td><td>Royale</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1982</td><td>Gandhi</td><td>Mahatma Gandhi</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1983</td><td>Betrayal</td><td>Robert</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1985</td><td>Harem</td><td>Selim</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1986</td><td>Turtle Diary</td><td>William Snow</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1987</td><td>Maurice</td><td>Lasker-Jones</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1988</td><td>Pascali's Island</td><td>Basil Pascali</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Without a Clue</td><td>Dr. John Watson</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Testimony — The Story of Shostakovich</td><td>Dmitri Shostakovich</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1989</td><td>Slipstream</td><td>Avatar</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1990</td><td>The 5th Monkey</td><td>Cunda</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>A Violent Life</td><td>Governor</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1991</td><td>Bugsy</td><td>Meyer Lansky</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Necessary Love</td><td>Ernesto</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1992</td><td>Sneakers</td><td>Cosmo</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Freddie as F.R.O.7</td><td>Freddie the Frog</td><td>Voice</td></tr><tr><td>1993</td><td>Searching for Bobby Fischer</td><td>Bruce Pandolfini</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Dave</td><td>Vice-President Gary Nance</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Schindler's List</td><td>Itzhak Stern</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1994</td><td>Death and the Maiden</td><td>Dr. Roberto Miranda</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1995</td><td>Species</td><td>Xavier Fitch</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1996</td><td>Twelfth Night</td><td>Feste</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1997</td><td>The Assignment</td><td>Amos</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Photographing Fairies</td><td>Minister Templeton</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1999</td><td>The Confession</td><td>Harry Fertig</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Parting Shots</td><td>Renzo Locatelli</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>CNN Millennium</td><td>Narrator</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2000</td><td>Spooky House</td><td>The Great Zamboni</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>What Planet Are You From?</td><td>Graydon</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Rules of Engagement</td><td>Ambassador Mourain</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Islam: Empire of Faith</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Voice; Documentary</td></tr><tr><td>Sexy Beast</td><td>Don Logan</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>A.I. Artificial Intelligence</td><td>Specialist</td><td>Voice</td></tr><tr><td>2002</td><td>Triumph of Love Triumph of Love (2001 film)</td><td>Hermocrates</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Tuck Everlasting</td><td>Man in the Yellow Suit</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2003</td><td>House of Sand and Fog</td><td>Massoud Behrani</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2004</td><td>Thunderbirds</td><td>"The Hood"</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Suspect Zero</td><td>Benjamin O'Ryan</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2005</td><td>A Sound of Thunder</td><td>Charles Hatton</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Oliver Twist</td><td>Fagin</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>BloodRayne</td><td>Kagan</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2006</td><td>Lucky Number Slevin</td><td>The Rabbi</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2007</td><td>You Kill Me</td><td>Frank Falenczyk</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Last Legion</td><td>Ambrosinus</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Ten Commandments</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Voice</td></tr><tr><td>2008</td><td>Elegy</td><td>David Kepesh</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>War, Inc.</td><td>Walken</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Love Guru</td><td>Guru Tugginmypudha</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Wackness</td><td>Dr. Squires</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Transsiberian</td><td>Grinko</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>China's Stolen Children</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Voice; Documentary</td></tr><tr><td>Fifty Dead Men Walking</td><td>Fergus</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2009</td><td>Noah's Ark: The New Beginning</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Voice</td></tr><tr><td>Journey to Mecca</td><td>Voice; Documentary</td></tr><tr><td>2010</td><td>Shutter Island</td><td>Dr. John Cawley</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Teen Patti</td><td>Perci Trachtenberg</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time</td><td>Nizam</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1001 inventions and the library of secrets</td><td>The Librarian</td><td>Short Educational Film</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>Hugo</td><td>Georges Méliès</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Desert of Forbidden Art</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Voice; Documentary</td></tr><tr><td>Beatles Stories</td><td>Himself</td><td>Documentary</td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td>The Dictator</td><td>Tamir</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>A Therapy</td><td>Therapist</td><td>Short film</td></tr><tr><td>It Is No Dream</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Voice; Documentary</td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>Iron Man 3</td><td>Trevor Slattery / The Mandarin</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Ender's Game</td><td>Mazer Rackham</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>A Common Man</td><td>The Man</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Walking with the Enemy</td><td>Regent Horthy</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Physician</td><td>Ibn Sina</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>A Birder's Guide to Everything</td><td>Lawrence Konrad</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>Marvel One-Shot: All Hail the King</td><td>Trevor Slattery</td><td>Short film</td></tr><tr><td>War Story</td><td>Albert</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Boxtrolls</td><td>Archibald Snatcher</td><td>Voice</td></tr><tr><td>Learning to Drive</td><td>Darwan</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Stonehearst Asylum</td><td>Silas Lamb</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Exodus: Gods and Kings</td><td>Nun</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb</td><td>Merenkahre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Robot Overlords</td><td>Robin Smythe</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>Knight of Cups</td><td>The Voice</td><td>Voice</td></tr><tr><td>Life</td><td>Jack L. Warner</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse</td><td>Drago the Dragon</td><td>Voice</td></tr><tr><td>Unity</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Voice; Documentary</td></tr><tr><td>Self/less</td><td>Damian</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Walk</td><td>Papa Rudy</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2016</td><td>The Jungle Book</td><td>Bagheera</td><td>Voice</td></tr><tr><td>Collide</td><td>Geran</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2017</td><td>The Ottoman Lieutenant</td><td>Garrett Woodruff</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Security</td><td>Charlie</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>War Machine</td><td>Hamid Karzai</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>An Ordinary Man</td><td>The General</td><td>Also Producer</td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>Backstabbing for Beginners</td><td>Pasha</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Operation Finale</td><td>Adolf Eichmann</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Night Hunter</td><td>Michael Cooper</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Intrigo: Death of an Author</td><td>Henderson</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>The Red Sea Diving Resort</td><td>Ethan Levin</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Spider in the Web</td><td>Adereth</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Locked Down</td><td>Solomon</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings</td><td>Trevor Slattery</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2022</td><td>Dalíland</td><td>Salvador Dalí</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2023</td><td>Jules</td><td>Milton Robinson</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar</td><td>Imdad Khan / The Dealer</td><td>Short film</td></tr><tr><td>Poison</td><td>Dr. Ganderbai</td></tr><tr><td>2024</td><td>William Tell</td><td>King Albert</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Killer's Game</td><td>Zvi Rabinowitz</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2025</td><td>The King of Kings</td><td>High Priest Caiaphas</td><td>Voice</td></tr><tr><td>The Thursday Murder Club</td><td>Ibrahim Arif</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Desert Warrior</td><td>Emperor Kisra</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>2026</td><td>Deep Water †</td><td>TBA</td><td>Post-production</td></tr><tr><td>Young Washington †</td><td>Robert Dinwiddie</td></tr><tr><td>2027</td><td>Sonic the Hedgehog 4 †</td><td>TBA</td><td>Filming</td></tr><tr><td>TBA</td><td>The Way of the Wind †</td><td>TBA</td><td>Post-production</td></tr><tr><td>Fortitude †</td><td>TBA</td><td>Filming</td></tr></tbody></table>

Television

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Role</th><th>Notes</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1966</td><td>Pardon the Expression</td><td>Roy</td><td>Episode: "The Switched-On Scene"</td></tr><tr><td>Orlando</td><td>Peter Batterby</td><td>6 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>1966–1967</td><td>Coronation Street</td><td>Ron Jenkins</td><td>5 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>1973</td><td>The Adventurer</td><td>Pierre</td><td>Episode: "The Good Book"</td></tr><tr><td>Play for Today</td><td>Naseem</td><td>Episode: "Hard Labour"</td></tr><tr><td>Full House</td><td>"A Misfortune" Cast Member</td><td>Episode: "13 January 1973"</td></tr><tr><td>Wessex Tales</td><td>Lord Uplandtowers</td><td>Episode: "Barbara of the House of Grebe"</td></tr><tr><td>1974</td><td>Antony and Cleopatra</td><td>Thidias</td><td>Television film</td></tr><tr><td>1975</td><td>The Love School</td><td>Rosetti</td><td>5 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>1976</td><td>Dickens of London</td><td>Dr. John Elliotson</td><td>2 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>1977</td><td>Velvet Glove</td><td>Chakravarti</td><td>Episode: "The Warrior's Return"</td></tr><tr><td>1976–1979</td><td>Crown Court</td><td>Jeremy Leigh</td><td>5 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>1978–1979</td><td>BBC2 Playhouse</td><td>Ivanov Robert Cibrario</td><td>2 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>1982</td><td>The Merry Wives of Windsor</td><td>Frank Ford</td><td>Television film</td></tr><tr><td>1983</td><td>Kean</td><td>Edmund Kean</td></tr><tr><td>1984</td><td>Camille</td><td>Duval</td></tr><tr><td>Oxbridge Blues</td><td>Geoff Craven</td><td>Episode: "Sleeps Six"</td></tr><tr><td>1985</td><td>Silas Marner</td><td>Silas Marner</td><td>Television film</td></tr><tr><td>1986</td><td>Stanley's Vision</td><td>Stanley Spencer</td><td>Television film</td></tr><tr><td>1988</td><td>The Secret of the Sahara</td><td>Sholomon</td><td>4 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>Lenin: The Train</td><td>Lenin</td><td>Television film</td></tr><tr><td>1989</td><td>Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story</td><td>Simon Wiesenthal</td></tr><tr><td>1991</td><td>The War That Never Ends</td><td>Pericles</td></tr><tr><td>1995</td><td>Joseph</td><td>Potiphar</td></tr><tr><td>Moses</td><td>Moses</td></tr><tr><td>1997</td><td>Weapons of Mass Distraction</td><td>Julian Messenger</td></tr><tr><td>1998</td><td>The Tale of Sweeney Todd</td><td>Sweeney Todd</td></tr><tr><td>Crime and Punishment</td><td>Porfiry</td></tr><tr><td>1999</td><td>Alice in Wonderland</td><td>Major Caterpillar</td></tr><tr><td>2001</td><td>Anne Frank: The Whole Story</td><td>Otto Frank</td><td>2 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>2005</td><td>Mrs. Harris</td><td>Herman Tarnower</td><td>Television film</td></tr><tr><td>2006</td><td>The Sopranos</td><td>Himself</td><td>Episode: "Luxury Lounge"</td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>Garfunkel & Oates</td><td>Episode: "The Fadeaway"</td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>Tut</td><td>Ay</td><td>3 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>All or Nothing: Manchester City</td><td>Narrator</td><td>Docuseries</td></tr><tr><td>Watership Down</td><td>General Woundwort</td><td>Voice 4 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>Perpetual Grace, LTD</td><td>Pastor Byron Brown</td><td>10 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>Schindler: The Real Story</td><td>Narrator</td><td>In the 1983 release the narrator was Dirk Bogarde.</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>Marvel Studios: Assembled</td><td>Himself</td><td>Episode: The Making of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings</td></tr><tr><td>2026–present</td><td>Wonder Man</td><td>Trevor Slattery</td><td>7 episodes</td></tr><tr><td>2026</td><td>The Old Stories: Moses</td><td>Moses</td><td>3 episodes</td></tr></tbody></table>

Theatre

<table><thead><tr><th>Year</th><th>Title</th><th>Role(s)</th><th>Playwright</th><th>Venue(s)</th><th>Ref.</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1967</td><td>The Taming of the Shrew</td><td>Huntsman</td><td>William Shakespeare</td><td>Royal Shakespeare Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Revenger's Tragedy</td><td>Lord 3</td><td>Cyril Tourneur</td><td>Royal Shakespeare Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>As You Like It</td><td>Lord 2</td><td>William Shakespeare</td><td>Royal Shakespeare Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Relapse</td><td>Wigmaker, unnamed parts</td><td>John Vanbrugh</td><td>Aldwych Theatre, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1968</td><td>As You Like It</td><td>Amiens</td><td>William Shakespeare</td><td>Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>King Lear</td><td>Oswald</td><td>Stratford-Upon-Avon, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Troilus and Cressida</td><td>Aeneas</td><td>Royal Shakespeare Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Much Ado About Nothing</td><td>Conrade</td><td>Royal Shakespeare Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1969</td><td>Troilus and Cressida</td><td>Aeneas</td><td>UK tour</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Bartholomew Fair</td><td>Ned Winwife</td><td>Ben Jonson</td><td>Aldwych Theatre, West End</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Silver Tassie</td><td>The Croucher</td><td>Sean O'Casey</td><td>Aldwych Theatre, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1970</td><td>Richard III</td><td>Richard Ratcliffe</td><td>William Shakespeare</td><td>Royal Shakespeare Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Measure for Measure</td><td>Claudio</td><td>Stratford-Upon-Avon, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Tempest</td><td>Ariel</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1971</td><td>A Midsummer Night's Dream</td><td>Demetrius</td><td>Billy Rose Theatre, Broadway</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Enemies</td><td>Sintsov</td><td>Maxim Gorky</td><td>Aldwych Theatre, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Occupations</td><td>Gramsci</td><td>Trevor Griffiths</td><td>UK tour</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Subject To Fits</td><td>Ippolit</td><td>Robert Montgomery</td><td>The Place, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Oz Trial</td><td>Richard Neville</td><td>devised by David Illingworth and Geoffrey Roberton</td><td>The Place, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1973</td><td>A Lesson in Blood and Roses</td><td>Fritz</td><td>John Wiles</td><td>The Place, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1973</td><td>Hello and Goodbye</td><td>Johnnie Smit</td><td>Athol Fugard</td><td>The Place, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1974</td><td>Statements Made After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act</td><td>Errol Philander</td><td>Athol Fugard</td><td>Royal Court Theatre, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1975</td><td>Man Is Man</td><td>Bonze Wang</td><td>Bertolt Brecht</td><td>The Other Place, Stratford-Upon-Avon</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>The Merry Wives of Windsor</td><td>Master Slender</td><td>William Shakespeare</td><td>Royal Shakespeare Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1975–1976</td><td>Hamlet</td><td>Hamlet</td><td>Stratford-Upon-Avon, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1979</td><td>Cymbeline</td><td>Iachimo</td><td>Royal Shakespeare Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Julius Caesar</td><td>Marcus Brutus</td><td>Royal Shakespeare Theatre</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Baal</td><td>Baal, music composer</td><td>Bertolt Brecht</td><td>The Other Place, Stratford-Upon-Avon</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1979–1980</td><td>The Merry Wives of Windsor</td><td>Master Frank Ford</td><td>William Shakespeare</td><td>Aldwych Theatre, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1980</td><td>The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby</td><td>Furious Gentleman, Mr Squeers, Mr Wagstaff</td><td>Charles Dickens, adapted by David Edgar</td><td>Aldwych Theatre, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Baal</td><td>Baal, music composer</td><td>Bertolt Brecht</td><td>Gulbenkian Studio, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; Warehouse, London</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1983</td><td>Edmund Kean</td><td>Edumnd Kean</td><td>Raymund Fitzsimons</td><td>Haymarket Theatre, West End</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1984</td><td>Melons</td><td>Caracol</td><td>Bernard Pomerance</td><td>The Other Place, Stratford-Upon-Avon</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>1985–1986</td><td>Othello</td><td>Othello</td><td>William Shakespeare</td><td>Barbican Theatre, London</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

Video games

Ben Kingsley on screen and stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Kiyeko and the Lost Night	Storyteller	Voice role
1997	Ceremony of Innocence	Victor Frolatti
2010	Fable III	Sabine	Voice role Credited as Sir Ben Kingsley