- In an ideal way, in an ideal world, myself and the director are one. And as you rightly say, in an ideal world, you can't see the horizon between sky and sea. I felt that the times with Spielberg [Steven Spielberg] on Bản Danh Sách Của Schindler (1993), we were moving as one creature.
- [on winning the Oscar for Best Actor in Cuộc Đời Gandhi (1982)] If I knew I was going to win, I would not have gone dressed as a waiter.
- As an actor, there's no autonomy, unless you're prepared to risk the possibility of starving.
- Hopefully, as I get older in the business, I make my choices more accurately, and I perhaps know from either the script or the first meeting that it isn't going to work.
- All the great writers root their characters in true human behavior.
- As a singer, I might have fallen among thieves. I wonder if I'd still be alive by now.
- Being a leading man on a film set under the direction of somebody like Dickie Attenborough [Sir Richard Attenborough] is very empowering, and you have to be extremely careful how you use that power.
- But comedy I'd love to do as much as humanly possible.
- [on the holocaust] It's like a big, hulking monster squatting in the middle of our history and it won't go away.
- [on actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan] It was a pleasure working with Aishwarya in Đạo Binh Cuối Cùng (2007), and her fans are in for a big surprise. She is an excellent and outstanding actor. She is a shining example of beauty from India, and I'm sure we will be seeing her in more Hollywood movies real soon. (August 2006)
- [on his heritage] I'm not Jewish... and though there might be some Russian-Jewish heritage way back on my mother's side, the thread is so fine there's no real evidence.
- [on Hailee Steinfeld] She's very focused, very mature in her work, and I can see her simply going from strength to strength. She's very well-rooted in her craft. There's nothing woolly or peripheral about her.
- I actually don't ever really socialize on the film-set. I'm hermit-like. I go home, get room service and I work on the lines for tomorrow, because that's my job. I can have fun other ways, other times, but for me the joy of acting is to know what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.
- Glue all of my films together and arrange them in a certain kind of way and you will have the history of 20th and 21st century by SBK [Sir Ben Kingsley].
- [Changing his name from Krishna Bhanji, TIME Magazine interview, 2007] It was a way of getting to my first audition. My dad [who is Indian] was completely behind it. My first name, Ben, is my dad's nickname. My second name, Kingsley, comes from my grandfather's nickname, which was King Clove. He was a spice trader. It's a bit late to change it back now.
- [What makes a good movie in the U.K., TIME Magazine interview, 2007] It's that English eccentricity, that dry humor, that Hugh Grant is a genius at. What makes a good American movie is a certain kind of relaxed ease, a deep comfort in being American. In America, you're confident in your grandeur, your largesse and your ability to relax and flow.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content