Born Krishna Bhanji, Kingsley was born in Yorkshire, the son of a general practitioner. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School and started out in amateur dramatics as a teenager before making his professional debut aged 23. In 1967 he made his first London appearance at the Aldwych theatre and then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Kingsley went on to make his big screen debut in the Alistair MacLean adapted thriller Fear is the Key (1972). From 1975 to 1977, Kingsley worked with the National Theatre then subsequently returned to the RSC.

His film career took off when director Richard Attenborough selected Kingsley for the demanding lead role in the biopic Gandhi (1982). The film swept the international awards that year including an Academy Award for Best Actor. Kingsley spent the following decade playing a wide variety of characters in European films. Among his more notable parts was a born loser in Turtle Diary (1985), an Arab prince in Harem (1985), co-starring alongside James Wilby and Hugh Grant in Merchant Ivory’s Maurice (1987) and a suspected Nazi war criminal in Roman Polanski’s Death and the Maiden (1994). Subsequent Hollywood roles included playing the capable Dr. Watson to Michael Caine’s bumbling Sherlock Holmes in Without a Clue (1988), Jewish gangster Meyer Lansky in Barry Levinson’s Bugsy (1991), an incorruptible American vice president in the Ivan Reitman comedy Dave (1993), Jewish bookkeeper Itshak Stern Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed Holocaust epic Schindler's List (1993) and cast in a scarce good-guy role in the sci-fi thriller Species (1995).

In the latter half of the 1990s, Kingsley continued to embrace a variety of eclectic roles including barbarous barber Sweeney Todd in John Schlesinger's made-for-tv The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1998). Retaining his thirst for variety, he entered into the new millennium with his scene-stealing portrayal of tightly wound Cockney gangster Don Logan in Sexy Beast (2000). Kingsley received an Oscar nomination for his performance in the film adaptation of Andre Dubus III's acclaimed novel, House of Sand and Fog (2003).

Also he starred in Sneakers (1992) opposite Robert Redford, Roman Polanski's version of Oliver Twist (2005), Lucky Number Slevin (2006) and The Last Legion (2007).

He was knighted by the Queen in March 2002.

Credits by www.britmovie.co.uk

Filmography

• Gambit (2009)
• Number 13 (2008)
• The Love Guru (2008)
• Elegy (2007)
• War, Inc. (2007)
• Transsiberian (2007)
• The Ten Commandments (2007)
• The Last Legion (2007)
• You Kill Me (2007)
• "Jackanory" (1 episode, 2006)
• Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
• BloodRayne (2005)
• Mrs. Harris (2005)
• Oliver Twist (2005)
• A Sound of Thunder (2005)
• Suspect Zero (2004)
• Thunderbirds (2004)
• House of Sand and Fog (2003)
• Tuck Everlasting (2002)
• The Triumph of Love (2001)
• Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
• Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001)
• Sexy Beast (2000)
• Rules of Engagement (2000)
• What Planet Are You From? (2000)
• Spooky House (2000)
• Parting Shots (1999)
• Alice in Wonderland (1999)
• The Confession (1999)
• A Force More Powerful (1999)
• Crime and Punishment (1998)
• The Tale of Sweeney Todd (1998)
• Photographing Fairies (1997)
• The Assignment (1997)
• Weapons of Mass Distraction (1997)
• Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996)
• Moses (1995)
• Species (1995)
• Joseph (1995)
• Death and the Maiden (1994)
• Schindler's List (1993)
• Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
• Dave (1993)
• Sneakers (1992)
• Freddie as F.R.O.7 (1992)
• Bugsy (1991)
• Amore necessario, L' (1991)
• The War That Never Ends (1991)
• Quinto Macaco, O (1990)
• Vita scellerata, Una (1990)
• Lenin: The Train (1990)
• Romeo-Juliet (1990)
• The Children (1990)
• Slipstream (1989)
• Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story (1989)
• Testimony (1988)
• Without a Clue (1988)
• Pascali's Island (1988)
• Maurice (1987)
• "Segreto del Sahara, Il" (1987)
• Stanley's Vision (1986)
• Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe (1985)
• Harem (1985)
• Turtle Diary (1985)
• Camille (1984)
• Betrayal (1983)
• The Merry Wives of Windsor (1982)
• Gandhi (1982)
• Kean (1982)
• "BBC2 Playhouse" (2 episodes, 1978-1979)
• "Dickens of London" (1976)
• "Crown Court" (1 episode, 1976)
• The Artisan (1975)
• Beata Beatrix (1975)
• Remember Me (1975)
• An Impeccable Elopement (1975)
• The Brotherhood (1975)
• Antony and Cleopatra (1974)
• Barbara of the House of Grebe (1973)
• "Wessex Tales" (1 episode, 1973)
• "Play for Today" (1 episode, 1973)
• A Misfortune (1973)
• "The Adventurer" (1 episode, 1973)
• Fear Is the Key (1972)
• "Coronation Street" (1960)
• "Orlando" (6 episodes, 1966)

Awards

• Boston Society of Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actor "Sexy Beast" 2001
• British Independent Film Award Best Actor "Sexy Beast" 2001
• Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actor "Sexy Beast" 2001
• Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actor "Sexy Beast" 2001
• European Film Award Best Actor "Sexy Beast" 2001
• Florida Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actor "Sexy Beast" 2001
• Golden Satellite Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) "Sexy Beast" 2001
• San Diego Film Critics Society Award Best Supporting Actor "Sexy Beast" 2001
• Southeastern Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actor "Sexy Beast" 2001
• The Actor Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries "Anne Frank" 2001
• Toronto Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actor "Sexy Beast" 2001
• Grammy Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording "The Words of Gandhi" 1984
• Golden Globe Award Best Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) "Gandhi" 1982
• Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award Best Actor "Gandhi" 1982
• National Board of Review Award Best Actor "Gandhi" 1982
• New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Actor "Gandhi" 1982
• Oscar Best Actor "Gandhi" 1982