On This Day

Birthday of Ben Kingsley

December 31st 1943

12:07 31 December 2023

English actor Sir Ben Kingsley was born on this day in 1943. Kingsley began acting in amateur theatrical productions in Manchester before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967 and going on to make his Broadway debut with the RSC in 1971. 

He featured regularly in British television dramas throughout the 1970s and made his film debut in 'Fear is the Key' (1972). It would be ten years before the actor made another big screen appearance when he took the title role in Richard Attenborough's 'Gandhi' (1982). His portrayal of the legendary Indian leader brought Kingsley worldwide acclaim and recognition as well as an Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe for Best Actor. 

A BAFTA and an Oscar Best Supporting Actor nomination followed for his roles as Itzhak Stern in Spielberg's 'Schindler's List' (1993) and his ferocious turn as London gangster Don Logan in Jonathan Glazer's 'Sexy Beast' (2000) respectively. 

Other notable film credits include ‘Betrayal’ (1983), ‘Without a Clue’ (1988), ‘Bugsy’ (1991), ‘Sneakers’ (1992), ‘Dave’ (1993), ‘Species’ (1995), ‘The Assignment’ (1997), ‘Thunderbirds’ (2004), ‘Oliver Twist’ (2005), ‘Lucky Number Slevin’ (2006), ‘Fifty Dead Men Walking’ (2008), ‘Shutter Island’ (2010), ‘Hugo’ (2011), ‘The Dictator’ (2012), ‘Iron Man 3’ (2013), ‘Ender’s Game’ (2013), ‘An Ordinary Man’ (2017), ‘Operation Finale’ (2018), ‘Daliland’ (2022) and ‘Jules’ (2023). Happy Birthday Sir Ben.