SIR BEN KINGSLEY

Sir Ben Kingsley is a multi-award winning actor and is probably most well-known for Oscar winning role as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi (1982). Kingsley’s film career began in l972 with the thriller Fear Is the Key, but his first major role came a decade later in the epic Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough. He followed this Oscar-winning performance with such early films as Betrayal, Turtle Diary, Harem, Pascali’s Island, Without a Clue (as Dr. Watson to Michael Caine’s Sherlock Holmes) and The Children opposite Kim Novak. During the ‘90s Kingsley distinguished himself through such roles as Mayer Lansky in Bugsy, Sneakers, Searching for Bobby Fischer and Dave. In 1994 he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for his memorable supporting role as Itzhak Stern in Steven Spielberg’s seven-time Oscar winner Schindler’s List. During the past decade, Ben Kingsley has remained a coveted and ubiquitous talent. Beginning with such films as Rules of Engagement, What Planet Are You From? and an Oscar-nominated role as a brutal gangster in Sexy Beast, he received his most recent Oscar nomination in 2004 for his performance as a proud Iranian emigrant in the highly acclaimed House of Sand and Fog. Among his films in the last several years are Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist, the crime drama Lucky Number Slevin, John Dahl’s You Kill Me and the Roman Empire saga The Last Legion.

Praise for Sir Ben Kingsley

"Sir Ben Kingsley has helped; along with other leaders in the fashion, film, television, music and sport world raise over $5 million by contributing a piece of artwork for auction for the Whatever it Takes campaign which was launched by 21st Century Leaders Foundation. The funds raised by this campaign goes towards the Foundation’s work for key global development causes including poverty alleviation, environmental conservation and the protection of children." “It is better for me to serve a charity as an actor or a voice, rather than at a luncheon being just a celebrity.” Sir Ben Kingsley