As a singer, I might have fallen among thieves. I wonder if I’d still be alive by now.
BEN KINGSLEYAs a singer, I might have fallen among thieves. I wonder if I’d still be alive by now.
BEN KINGSLEYIf you are a libertine, if you’re not given to long-term faithful relationships, you tend to project your behavior onto everyone else. It’s like the person who knows they’re not trustworthy; they tend to mistrust everyone else.
BEN KINGSLEYI think Romeo and Juliet is uplifting. That’s how much a son wishes to avenge his father. That is how much two young people can love each other.
BEN KINGSLEYI’ve never had to turn my hand to anything for monetary gain, other than pretending to be somebody else. I’m deeply fortunate.
BEN KINGSLEYI’m convinced that had I not changed my name, I don’t think I would have had quite the same career curve that I eventually had.
BEN KINGSLEYIf I were to play somebody who ran a fish and chip shop, I would not work in a fish and chip shop for three months. Staring at chips is not going to help me in my performance.
BEN KINGSLEYI always try to find something I admire about every character I play.
BEN KINGSLEYFifteen years before I became a screen actor, I was in the theatre. A lot of my work was comedy, which I loved doing. It’s harder.
BEN KINGSLEYThere is always something about the villains that I’m able to play, quote unquote, that isn’t villainous.
BEN KINGSLEYI honestly have no strategy whatsoever. I’m waiting for that script to pop through the letterbox and completely surprise me.
BEN KINGSLEYOne of the greatest things drama can do, at it’s best, is to redefine the words we use every day such as love, home, family, loyalty and envy. Tragedy need not be a downer.
BEN KINGSLEYI think I’m more bonded, emotionally and in a craft sense, to films that tell extraordinary stories about extraordinary destinies.
BEN KINGSLEYIf the director wishes to print it, then you have a series of choices, maybe millions of choices within that minute-and-a-half, or 80 seconds, or 2 minutes or however long or short the take is, you have all those choices committed to celluloid. I find that absolutely thrilling.
BEN KINGSLEYShock is shock. Your body goes into shock, regardless of it being real blood or fake blood. The mind sends powerful messages to all the various glands and secretions in the body. It’s impossible trying to act it; it just happens. It’s a very important question: no acting.
BEN KINGSLEYYou want to know what I want? I’ll tell you what I want. I want back what Bobby Fischer took with him when he disappeared.
BEN KINGSLEYWorking in film, if you work with great directors, you learn that after every take you must let go. Sitting with my wife at the Academy Awards, we both let the moment just go.
BEN KINGSLEY