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Ben Kingsley was born Krishna Bhanji on 31st December 1943 in Scarborough. His dad was a Ugandan Asian doctor and his mother an actress. He grew up in Manchester and got into acting after seeing Ian Holm's Hamlet at the age of 19. His father suggested he change his name to further his career - he took his stage surname from his grandfather, a Zanzibar-based spice trader nicknamed King Clove - and he was accepted into the RSC in 1967. He also wanted to be a singer, and was once courted by Beatles impresario Brian Epstein. Kingsley found fame and Oscar success as Gandhi. He read 23 volumes of Gandhi's collected works and spun cotton in preparation for the part. Younger cinema-goers will have been turned on to his acting skills in Schindler's List, and his terrifying gangster Don Logan in Sexy Beast.
