Ben Kingsley Biography (2)

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SIR Ben Kingsley's recent performances in both film and television have garnered him numerous awards and nominations for his work. He recently received an Oscar nomination, a Broadcast Film Critics Award, as well as both a SAG and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the psychotic Don Logan in Fox Searchlight's critically acclaimed Sexy Beast. Sir Ben also recently portrayed Otto Frank, father of Anne, the only one who survived the horrors of the Holocaust, in the 4-hour Disney/ABC production of Anne Frank, for which he received a SAG Award as well as Emmy, Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. Kingsley was most recently seen in Paramount Classics' Triumph of Love starring opposite Mira Sorvino. This 18th Century comedy of manners, written and produced by Bernardo Bertolucci and directed by Claire Peploe, was released in April 2002.

Sir Ben was recently in Prague filming his starring role in Warner Bros.' Sound of Thunder for director Peter Hyams. The story centers around a game hunter (Edward Burns) who goes on a time-traveling safari owned and operated by Kingsley's character to hunt dinosaurs in the prehistoric era. When he kills a butterfly, he unknowingly sets off a chain reaction that will erase humanity from existence. From Prague, Kingsley traveled directly to New Mexico to begin production on Paramount's Suspect Zero for director Elias Merhige. This psychological thriller also stars Aaron Eckhart and Carrie-Ann Moss. Sir Ben will then continue his dedication to his trade and begin filming DreamWorks' The House of Sand and Fog for director Vadim Perelman. This drama, based on the Andre Dubus novel of the same title, also stars Jennifer Connelly. Kingsley has also signed on to star opposite Russell Crowe in director Ridley Scott's Tripoli for Twentieth Century Fox which will begin principal photography in January 2003.

In 1982, Kingsley's extraordinary performance in the title role of Gandhi won him the Academy Award as Best Actor, as well as the British Film and Television Awards for Best Actor and Best Newcomer. In addition, the film was rewarded with Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director for Sir Richard Attenborough, and Best Cinematography.

Gandhi was followed by a startling performance in the film adaptation of Harold Pinter's play Betrayal which secured him the London Evening Standard Award for Best Actor. Since that time, Kingsley has worked non-stop on screen and stage with many of the world's greatest directors.

Notable highlights among his varied screen roles include leads in Bugsy in 1992, with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, for which he received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor, Searching for Bobby Fischer for Stephen Zaillian, and Pascali's Island directed by James Dearden. He treasures his performances in Tony Palmer's Testimony, Roman Polanski's Death and the Maiden, Phil Alden Robinson's Sneakers, with Robert Redford, Ivan Reitman's Dave, with Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline, and his acclaimed portrayal of Ishtzak Stern in Steven Spielberg's epic holocaust drama Schindler's List. For the latter, he again won the London Evening Standard Award and a BAFTA nomination. The Spielberg film was winner of Best Picture and of six other Oscars. He recently re-teamed with Steven Spielberg as the narrator for Steven Spielberg's film A.l.

On television, among other distinguished performances, Kingsley has received the SAG Award for Best Actor in John Schlesinger's Sweeney Todd, and has portrayed Nazi hunter ‘Simon Wiesenthal' in HBO's Emmy-winning production Murderers Among Us. More recently, he was nominated for an Emmy as Best Supporting Actor for his role in TNT's biblical epic Joseph.

Originally a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Kingsley returned to the stage at Stratford in 1985 to take the lead in Othello, and again in 1997 to appear in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot at the Old Vic, directed by Sir Peter Hall.

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