Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley is one of our greatest actors and I was a bit nervous to talk to him. Before I saw Lucky Number Slevin I was even more nervous because Kingsley's output in the past few years has been spotty at best. His choices of films such as BloodRayne, A Sound of Thunder, Suspect Zero, Thunderbirds haven’t been offset by great films like Oliver Twist and House of Sand and Fog. But Lucky Number Slevin is a great film noir that truly stands on it's own. Kingsley plays The Rabbi who is one of the two big mob bosses in New York City that is confronted by a man seeking revenge.
Check out the official website for Lucky Number Slevin
Daniel Robert Epstein: You’ve done quite a few gangster films like Bugsy, Sneakers and Sexy Beast, what attracts you to these roles?
Ben Kingsley: What attracts the writer to them in the first place? Why is it that we have this fascination to explore the dark side that we don’t normally get to explore, in the rather healthy, moderate society we live in. In the 15th century, you’d just go from one pub to another and you’d pass 15 criminals all trying to cut the purse or your hand off. London was a violently criminal atmosphere. In Oliver Twist’s time, it was a very frightening place.
We do live, by-and-large, in civilized communities. So we have this fascination with the dark side that we normally don’t come face-to-face with, or if we do we don’t recognize it because it’s so layered in politeness and business or whatever they choose to call it.
I think the writer, director and audience have this fascination with this dangerous, dark, lawless lack of control because we live in a law-abiding society. We have a set of rules we adhere to. So it is only natural to look at the reverse of what we’ve evolved from and what we could become should the system collapse. So before the actor can even consider these roles, they must be on the page and sponsored by a director and a producer. I’m only a small part in that fascination that audiences have with looking at that side of our humanity.
We do live, by-and-large, in civilized communities. So we have this fascination with the dark side that we normally don’t come face-to-face with, or if we do we don’t recognize it because it’s so layered in politeness and business or whatever they choose to call it.
I think the writer, director and audience have this fascination with this dangerous, dark, lawless lack of control because we live in a law-abiding society. We have a set of rules we adhere to. So it is only natural to look at the reverse of what we’ve evolved from and what we could become should the system collapse. So before the actor can even consider these roles, they must be on the page and sponsored by a director and a producer. I’m only a small part in that fascination that audiences have with looking at that side of our humanity.
DRE:
For Oliver Twist, you wore Fagin’s costume the entire time, did you do that for Lucky Number Slevin?
BK:
One of the things in Oliver Twist that forced me to stay in character was that I was surrounded by the lads. They were only ten or eleven years old and to snap out of character and straighten out my back and legs to my normal height and not be little rodent-like Fagin would’ve broken their concentration. That was hard work but I got to really enjoy staying in character and they were quite fascinated by me.
DRE:
I’m Jewish but I’m not offended by Lucky Number Slevin but I see so many instances in movies of having Hasidic characters in certain situations which will get a laugh from the audience. Why is it funny to see a Hasidic Jew punch a man in the stomach?
BK:
Because it is [laughs]. It’s that lawlessness, that sense of what if. It’s seen as having a structure and an order, and to see that go berserk, is like the lunatics taking over the asylum. Reversals and reverse theories always fascinate us. You use these bizarre components, to make a point. In this case Josh Hartnett is a man who’s on an unswerving quest for revenge. On his journey for revenge he’s going to meet extraordinary creatures. We create these creatures in order for him to undergo this journey; we’re all aspects of this journey really.
We are part of the dark forces in this young man’s life as narrative tools to tell this story. To really serve Josh’s performance, I think what does Josh need from my character to make his performance shine. It’s the Spencer Tracy school of acting which is to make the other guy look good. I’m about to do a film with Téa Leoni and we had a lovely lunch two days ago. Since we are very close in the film I asked her, “What does your character need from my character?” She said, “I never have been asked that before.”
We are part of the dark forces in this young man’s life as narrative tools to tell this story. To really serve Josh’s performance, I think what does Josh need from my character to make his performance shine. It’s the Spencer Tracy school of acting which is to make the other guy look good. I’m about to do a film with Téa Leoni and we had a lovely lunch two days ago. Since we are very close in the film I asked her, “What does your character need from my character?” She said, “I never have been asked that before.”
DRE:
That’s bizarre because she’s worked with her husband more than once. What film are you two working on?
BK:
The film is called You Kill Me and I play a hitman that has made some terrible mistakes and his mob needs to get him back on track. Téa and I meet during the course of the film; it’s a thriller but it’s also a comedy. It’s delightfully witty.
DRE:
How was it working with Morgan Freeman?
BK:
Amazing. We were fortunate enough to do our scenes towards the end of our shooting days. Therefore he’d established his power and his dignity as a very patriarchal man in the film who speaks to Josh like a loving father sometimes. It’s a wonderful, clever choice on Morgan’s part, to be fascinated by Josh, to be intrigued by him, to have affection and respect for him.
My scenes also came later in the film, so I’d also established my own power. We both start as lords of the underworld, in complete control of their power, and we both end as victims, so we have this wonderful arc to follow.
My scenes also came later in the film, so I’d also established my own power. We both start as lords of the underworld, in complete control of their power, and we both end as victims, so we have this wonderful arc to follow.
DRE:
Was there a hush on the set when you were in scenes together?
BK:
Yes, there was a hush on the set, but since I was strapped to the chair back-to-back with Morgan I couldn’t move a great deal. I did spot Bruce Willis duck behind a pillar. He had come in just to watch the scene. He didn’t want to disturb, but he’d come in to watch the shooting of that scene. That’s very bonding on a film set.
DRE:
You have had such an amazing journey since you started out in Gandhi, how has it been for you?
BK:
There seems to a sense of urgency that’s pushing me. That sense of urgency has taken priority somehow over most of the other things in my life. It’s become a craft through which I can be me and I can’t imagine any other way of life through which I can be me and exercise my function for which God has put me on this earth. As I get older, it seems to be finding its place in a much more comfortable way. At first I was driven by that awful combination of grandiose narcissism and lack of self-worth that seems to define what an actor is. I seem to be moving away from that neurosis now and hopefully I am moving towards being a creative man.
DRE:
What films do you have coming up?
BK:
Last year I did a film called The Last Legion. It might be retitled, but it’s about the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of the Arthurian court.
DRE:
Who do you play in that?
BK:
I end up as Merlin.
DRE:
What do you enjoy about doing historical films?
BK:
I have a great affection for the military. I don’t know where it comes from, maybe a genetic memory, but I feel extremely comfortable with soldiers. I’ve just spent a lot of time with General Faruk in Pakistan and his men going to the earthquake districts because he’s in charge of the earthquake relief. I gave each of the men at the end of the film silver dog tags with the film’s name, their cast number, their character’s name and their own name, because what I learned was not so much about ancient history, but what it’s like to be a warrior amongst men.
DRE:
Have you considered taking time off?
BK:
I would love to take time off. I’ve four days in my house coming up soon and I won’t want to leave. I’m getting very homesick for England.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
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