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MUMBAI: From Nazi war criminals to Jewish Holocaust survivors, this chameleon like British actor has proven that he can play just about anyone, he is none other than Ben Kingsley. Watch out for another exciting Sunday evening as PIX brings you another overwhelming episode of Inside the Actors Studio.
For many viewers, he will always be inextricably linked with his title role in Gandhi, a film that won him an Oscar and the undying respect of critics and filmgoers alike but adamantly refusing to recycle the same roles, Kingsley spent the next decade playing a wide spectrum of characters. Among his more notable movies are Turtle Diary, Pascali‘s Island, Dave, Schindler‘s List, Death and the Maiden and more recently the critically acclaimed House of fog and sand.
So many of his characters have been either taciturn or downright villainous that, upon being cast in a good-guy role in the escapist sci-fier Species, Kingsley publicly expressed his relief in several widely circulated magazine articles.
- He was born ‘Krishna Bhanji‘ as he is of half Indian and half English descent and his paternal family was from the Indian state of Gujarat, which incidentally is the same state Mahatma Gandhi was from.
- He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the New Year‘s Eve Honors List 2001.
- Derived his stage name from his grandfather‘s nickname Clove King. His grandfather was a spice trader in Zanzibar.
- He wrote music as well as sang and played guitar, 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."
Catch the one and only Gandhi on Inside the Actors studio this 29 october at 7:00 pm only on PIX.
