[3] Born to an English mother and an Indian Gujarati father with roots in Jamnagar, Kingsley began his career in theatre, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1967 and spending the next 15 years appearing mainly on stage.

His starring roles included productions of As You Like It (his West End debut for the company at the Aldwych Theatre in 1967), Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet and The Merry Wives of Windsor.

For his portrayal of Itzhak Stern in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993), he received a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination.

His other notable films include Maurice (1987), Sneakers (1992), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), Death and the Maiden (1994), Twelfth Night (1996), Tuck Everlasting (2002), Elegy (2008), Shutter Island (2010), and Hugo (2011).

[4][5][6] His mother, Anna Lyna Mary (née Goodman) (1914–2010), was an English actress and model, and she later gave birth to a second son called Sadru Bhanji, who later worked as a psychiatrist in Devon.

[7][8][9] His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji (1914–1968), was born in Zanzibar (now part of Tanzania) to a family originating from the Indian city of Jamnagar, of Khoja Gujarati descent.

"[24] In 1971 Kingsley made his Broadway debut playing Demetrius in the revival of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream acting with Patrick Stewart, Frances de la Tour and Martin Best.

[27] In 1975, he starred as Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the historical drama The Love School and appeared in the TV miniseries Dickens of London the following year.

[30] Throughout the 1980s, Kingsley appeared in a variety of films, including a leading role in the John Irvin directed British drama Turtle Diary (1985) starring opposite Glenda Jackson.

Additional roles include the supporting character of Cosmo in the thriller film Sneakers (1992), Vice-President Gary Nance in Dave (1993), and the chess teacher Bruce Pandolfini in Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993).

Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote of his performance, "Kingsley must act within much more rigid constraints as his trusted accountant Stern, a man who feels he must never make a misstep.

Role is reminiscent of Alec Guinness' deluded Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai; in his compulsion to do a perfect job for Schindler, he often seems to forget that he's working for the enemy.

In a mixed review, Todd McCarthy of Variety noted his performance as a highlight writing, "Ben Kingsley brings some nice readings to his rather mysterious role of Feste, the commentator on the convoluted proceedings.

[35][36] Kingsley took on the role of Don Logan, a violent psychopath and recruiter for London's underworld, in Jonathan Glazer's Sexy Beast (2000), a psychological black comedy crime film acting with Ray Winstone and Ian McShane.

[37] Critic Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised his performance writing, "The role of Don Logan is perfectly suited to Ben Kingsley's gifts for control and stillness.

But it is a very funny, intelligent performance nonetheless, beautifully scripted and acted, and Kingsley tops it off with a bravura show of pure sociopathic cunning".

A year later, he won a Crystal Globe award for having an outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

[39] In 2003 he portrayed Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani in the Vadim Perelman directed House of Sand and Fog acting opposite Jennifer Connelly and Shohreh Aghdashloo.

Critic Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote of his performance, "Kingsley, carrying his body like armor, sculpting each line into a bitter dart of pride, plays fierceness with a powerful tug of sorrow.

In 2010, he worked voicing a character named Sabine in the Lionhead Studios game Fable III and starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Shutter Island (2010), directed by Martin Scorsese.

A year later he played the Hebrew slave Nun in Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings and Merenkahre, a simulacrum of an Egyptian pharaoh and father of Ahkmenrah, in Shawn Levy's Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb[48] with Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Rami Malek and Dan Stevens.

[49] He voiced Bagheera in the live-action adaptation of Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book (2016), a remake of the original 1967 film shared cast with Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong'o, Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken.

[54] Kingsley has been announced as playing Ibrahim Arif in the upcoming film of Richard Osman's multi-award-winning Thursday Murder Club series.

[58] Kingsley appeared in a production of The Children's Monologues in 2010 on stage in London alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Gemma Arterton, and Eddie Redmayne.

[59] It was performed on behalf of Dramatic Need, a charity that sends international arts professionals (such as musicians, artists, and actors) to host workshops in underprivileged and rural communities in Africa.

[65] Co-star Penélope Cruz was reportedly unsure what to call him during the filming of Elegy as someone had told her she needed to refer to him as "Sir Ben".