Editing Ben Kingsley (section)

===1967–1981: Stage work and early career===
After graduating, in 1966, Kingsley was approached by music producer and manager [[Dick James]]. James, who was the publisher of [[The Beatles]], offered to mould Kingsley into a pop star. Kingsley declined James' offer, and instead chose to join the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]] (RSC) in 1967 after an audition before [[Trevor Nunn]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Birthdays – Sir Ben Kingsley |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/birthdays-223xvsdfnfh |access-date=13 August 2020 |newspaper=The Times}}</ref> Devoting himself almost exclusively to stage work for the next 15 years, he made his [[West End theatre|West End]] debut for the company at the [[Aldwych Theatre]] in 1967 in a production of ''[[As You Like It]]''.<ref name="RSC"/> Further productions for the RSC included ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'', ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]'', ''[[The Tempest]]'', ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' (starring in [[Peter Brook]]'s [[RSC production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1970)|acclaimed 1970 RSC production]] as Demetrius), ''[[Hamlet]]'' and ''[[The Merry Wives of Windsor]]''.<ref name="RSC">{{cite news |title=Kingsley, Ben. RSC Productions |url=http://collections.shakespeare.org.uk/search/rsc-performances/search/rsc_person:kingsley-ben-27077 |access-date=12 August 2020 |agency=RSC}}</ref>

[[File:Ben Kingsley.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Kingsley in Sweden, 1983]]
In the 1960s, Kingsley changed his name to Ben Kingsley, fearing that a foreign name would hamper his career.<ref name="actors">Stated in interview on ''[[Inside the Actors Studio]]''</ref><ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1734960.stm "Sir Ben's Sexy honour"], ''BBC News''. 31 December 2001.</ref> He told the ''[[Radio Times]]'', "As soon as I changed my name, I got the jobs. I had one audition as Krishna Bhanji and they said, 'Beautiful audition but we don't quite know how to place you in our forthcoming season.' I changed my name, crossed the road, and they said when can you start?"<ref>{{cite news |title=Sir Ben Kingsley on his identity and new film Learning to Drive |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-06-19/sir-ben-kingsleys-identity-is-as-colourful-as-his-characters/ |access-date=13 September 2020 |work=Radio Times}}</ref> In 1971 Kingsley made his [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] debut playing Demetrius in the revival of [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' acting with [[Patrick Stewart]], [[Frances de la Tour]] and [[Martin Best]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.playbill.com/production/a-midsummer-nights-dream-billy-rose-theatre-vault-0000002742|title= A Midsummer Night's Dream (Broadway, 1971)|website= Playbill|accessdate= 12 March 2024}}</ref> He played Mosca in [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]]'s 1977 production of Ben Jonson's ''[[Volpone]]'' for the [[Royal National Theatre]]. In 1981 he returned to Broadway playing the [[Edmund Kean|title role]] in the Raymond Fitzsimmons play ''[[Edmund Kean]]'' (1983).<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.playbill.com/production/edmund-kean-brooks-atkinson-theatre-vault-0000008019|title= Edmund Kean (Broadway, 1983)|website= Playbill|accessdate= 12 March 2024}}</ref> He played [[Willy Loman]] in a 1982 [[Sydney]] production of the [[Arthur Miller]] play ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'' opposite [[Mel Gibson]].

Kingsley began his transition to film roles early on, making his feature film debut playing a supporting role in the British action thriller ''[[Fear Is the Key (film)|Fear Is the Key]]'' in 1972. Kingsley continued to play small roles in both film and television, including a role as Ron Jenkins on the soap opera ''[[Coronation Street]]'' from 1966 to 1967 and regular appearances as a defence counsel in the long-running British legal programme ''[[Crown Court (TV series)|Crown Court]]''. In 1974 he played Thidias in a taped performance of the [[William Shakespeare]] play ''[[Antony and Cleopatra (1974 TV drama)|Antony and Cleopatra]]'' with the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]. He acted alongside [[Patrick Stewart]] and [[Tim Pigott-Smith]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/527270/index.html|title= Antony and Cleopatra|website= BFI|accessdate= 12 March 2024}}</ref> In 1975, he starred as [[Dante Gabriel Rossetti]] in the historical drama ''[[The Love School]]'' and appeared in the TV miniseries ''[[Dickens of London]]'' the following year.