Ben Kingsley

“There was one titanic guiding light on the film set, and I was in the presence of a true Mahatma, in the deepest and most profound sense of the word.”

“I don't honestly think people know what acting is.”

“I'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.”

“Movie magic is movie magic and acting magic is acting magic.”

“I think if I were to go back on stage I might be in great danger of acting.”

“If 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.”

“The many many imponderables come together when a film opens and for all sorts of reasons it may or may not succeed.”

“That hunger of the flesh, that longing for ease, that terror of incarceration, that insistence on tribal honour being obeyed: all of that exists, and it exists everywhere.”

“One 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.”

“I have a rather naive approach, I think, to my job.”

“The trick is to try and justify every word on the page and make sure my character is the man who would say that.”

“The hierarchy of class in London was rigid. It was like a religion. It still is to a certain extent.”

“I think that most actors, and they're a very strange lot actors, very strange people, but I think that they attempt to keep in touch with the child.”

“Well, it's wonderful to be identified strongly with my work.”

“Hamlet is an astonishing intelligence.”

“Filming is so much to do with rhythm, as is music, and if it isn't there then you know in the end nobody can save it really, they can't.”

“The camera does not like acting. The camera is only interested in filming behaviour. So you damn well learn your lines until you know them inside out, while standing on your head!”

“I'm very in love with the fact that the camera is revolted by acting and loves behaviour.”

“John Lennon and Ringo Starr liked my songs. I used to write songs and they heard me sing songs on stage in London.”

“There is so much to do on a film set. It is an extraordinarily invigorating and wonderful place to be, when things are running well.”