Movies.ie presents ten fascinating factoids about the star of Elegy – Ben Kingsley.
In a highly distinguished acting career Ben Kingsley has played a wide range of characters in films such as Ghandi (for which he won an Oscar), Bugsy, Schindler’s List, Death and the Maiden and Sexy Beast. This month alone, Sir Ben will appear in The Wackness as a dope-smoking, self-medicating psychiatrist, he plays Mike Myer’ cross-eyed mentor in the comedy ‘The Love Guru’ and, from Friday, he can be seen in Elegy, an adaptation of the Philip Roth novel The Dying Animal, directed by Isabel Coixet (My Life Without Me). In it he plays David Kepesh, a cultural critic who forms a relationship with a younger woman (Penélope Cruz) and is gradually forced to confront his attitudes to relationships and intimacy.
But what do you know of the Oscar winning actor. Movies.ie presents ten fascintinag Kingsley Factoids.
1. He got his stage name from his grandfather’s nickname “Clove King”. His birth name is Krishna Bhanji
2.He has four children: Ferdinand and Edmund Kingsley with Alison Sutcliffe and Thomas and Jasmine Kingsley with Angela Morant.
3.Sir Ben is of half Indian and half English descent. His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, was a Kenyan-born physician of Indian descent while his mother, Anna Lyna Mary Bhanji, was an English-born fashion model of Jewish-European extraction.
4. Kingsley has been married four times. He is currently married to Daniela Barbosa de Carneiro, a 34-year-old Brazilian actress.
5.He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the New Year’s Eve Honors List.
6.Ben Kinglsey is a member of the Religious Society of Friends.
7.He got nominated for Worst Supporting Actor at the Razzie Awards for his portrayal of Kagan in BloodRayne.
8.Three of his featured films appear on the American Film Institute’s 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time: 1993’s Schindler’s List at #3, 1982’s Gandhi at #29 and 1993’s Searching for Bobby Fischer at #96.
9.Received the “Cinema for Peace Honorary Award”, for the portrayal of the humanitarian role-models Itzhak Stern, Gandhi and Simon Wiesenthal.
10. Made his London stage debut in 1966 as the narrator of “A Smashing Day” produced by The Beatles manager, Brian Epstein. He wrote the music for the production as well as sang and played guitar for same. After one performance, John Lennon and Ringo Starr came backstage and told him that he should go into music and that if he didn’t, “he would regret it for the rest of his life.”
Elegy is in Irish cinemas from Friday, August 8th.