Editing Ben Kingsley (section)

===1982–1998: Transition to film and television===
A turning point in Kingsley's career came with the historical biographical epic drama film ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'' (1982), directed by [[Richard Attenborough]], in which Kingsley played the titular role of the [[anti-colonialist]] activist and peacemaker [[Mahatma Gandhi]]. The film was a critical and financial success with film critic [[Roger Ebert]] of ''[[The Chicago Sun-Times]]'' praising the casting of Kingsley in the lead role writing, "makes the role so completely his own that there is a genuine feeling that the spirit of Gandhi is on the screen. Kingsley's performance is powerful without being loud or histrionic; he is almost always quiet, observant, and soft-spoken on the screen, and yet his performance comes across with such might that we realize, afterward, that the sheer moral force of Gandhi must have been behind the words."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/gandhi-1982|title= Gandhi movie review|website= Rogerebert.com|accessdate= 12 March 2024}}</ref> Kingsley went on to win numerous accolades for his performance including the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]], the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role]], and the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]] for his performance.<ref name="actors" /> The following year he acted in the British drama film ''[[Betrayal (1983 film)|Betrayal]]'' (1983), an adaptation of the [[Betrayal (play)|1978 play of the same title]] by [[Harold Pinter]]. Kingsley starred opposite [[Jeremy Irons]] and [[Patricia Hodge]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1002203-betrayal|title= Betrayal (1983)|website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]]|accessdate= 12 March 2024}}</ref> For his performance he won the [[Evening Standard British Film Awards#1983 Winners|Evening Standard British Film Awards]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001426/awards/|title= Ben Kingsley – Awards|website= IMDB|accessdate= 12 March 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Ben Kingsley (1990).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Kingsley at the [[1990 Venice Film Festival]]]]
Throughout the 1980s, Kingsley appeared in a variety of films, including a leading role in the [[John Irvin]] directed British drama ''[[Turtle Diary]]'' (1985) starring opposite [[Glenda Jackson]]. The film was based on the [[Turtle Diary (novel)|1975 novel of the same title]] and was adapted for the screen by [[Harold Pinter]]. Sheila Benson of ''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'' praised their performances writing, "No filmic cliches, no swelling musical score; these are no "littul peeple" who melt into each other's arms, but blessedly real people, who get exhausted and don't talk all the time."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-02-14-ca-8108-story.html|title= MOVIE REVIEW : FREEDOM MAKES WAVES IN 'TURTLE DIARY'|website= The Los Angeles Times|date= 14 February 1986|accessdate= 12 March 2024}}</ref> He acted in the [[Merchant-Ivory]] costume drama ''[[Maurice (1987 film)|Maurice]]'' (1987). The film was adapted from the [[Maurice (novel)|1971 novel of the same title]] by [[E. M. Forster]]. Kingsley acted alongside [[Hugh Grant]], [[Rupert Graves]], [[Simon Callow]], and [[Denholm Elliott]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/maurice|title= Maurice (1987)|website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]]|accessdate= 12 March 2024}}</ref> He played the Russian composer [[Dmitri Shostakovich]] in ''[[Testimony (1988 film)|Testimony]]'', and the main character of Basil Pascali in ''[[Pascali's Island (film)|Pascali's Island]]'' (1988), and went on to portray [[Dr. John Watson]] alongside [[Michael Caine]]'s [[Sherlock Holmes]] in ''[[Without a Clue]]'' that year. He was nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]] for his portrayal of the organised crime figure [[Meyer Lansky]] in ''[[Bugsy]]'' (1991). Additional roles include the supporting character of Cosmo in the thriller film ''[[Sneakers (1992 film)|Sneakers]]'' (1992), Vice-President Gary Nance in ''[[Dave (film)|Dave]]'' (1993), and the chess teacher [[Bruce Pandolfini]] in ''[[Searching for Bobby Fischer]]'' (1993).

In [[Steven Spielberg]]'s historical drama film ''[[Schindler's List]]'' (1993), Kingsley portrayed the [[Holocaust]] survivor [[Itzhak Stern]] alongside [[Liam Neeson]] as [[Oskar Schindler]]. The film was a critical and commercial success, and Kingsley received a nomination for [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role]]. Todd McCarthy of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote of his performance, "Kingsley must act within much more rigid constraints as his trusted accountant Stern, a man who feels he must never make a misstep. Role is reminiscent of [[Alec Guinness]]' deluded Col. Nicholson in ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]''; in his compulsion to do a perfect job for Schindler, he often seems to forget that he's working for the enemy."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://variety.com/1993/film/reviews/schindler-s-list-2-1200434300/|title= Schindler's List review|website= Variety|date= 20 November 1993|accessdate= 12 March 2024}}</ref> Further roles include the [[BBC]] adaptation of ''[[Silas Marner]]'' (1985) as the titular character. Kingsley starred alongside [[Sigourney Weaver]] in [[Roman Polanski]]'s ''[[Death and the Maiden (1994 film)|Death and the Maiden]]'' (1994), having previously acted with her in ''Dave''.

In 1996 he portrayed [[Feste]] in ''[[Twelfth Night (1996 film)|Twelfth Night]]'', a film adaptation of the [[William Shakespeare]] play. Kingsley starred alongside [[Helena Bonham Carter]], [[Nigel Hawthorne]], and [[Richard E. Grant]]. In a mixed review, Todd McCarthy of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' noted his performance as a highlight writing, "Ben Kingsley brings some nice readings to his rather mysterious role of Feste, the commentator on the convoluted proceedings."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://variety.com/1996/film/reviews/twelfth-night-3-1200446788/|title= Twelfth Night|website= Variety|date= 16 September 1996|accessdate= 12 March 2024}}</ref> The following film he provided a voice in the video game ''[[Ceremony of Innocence]]''. In 1998, he was the head of the jury at the [[48th Berlin International Film Festival]] and starred in the family film ''[[Spooky House]]'', saying he had chosen a role in a lighter film after acting in roles that left him feeling traumatised.<ref name="Berlinale">{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1998/04_jury_1998/04_Jury_1998.html |title=Berlinale: 1998 Juries |access-date=14 January 2012 |work=berlinale.de}}</ref><ref name="Spooky House">{{cite AV media |people=Kingsley, Ben  |date=2020 |title=Spooky House (Extras–Interviews–Ben Kingsley) |medium=DVD-ROM |quote="I was looking at the roles that I've done over the last five, just five years. They include a serial killer, a concentration camp victim, a total tyrant, a lunatic, a man whose child dies in his arms and he takes revenge by killing the three people responsible – so I noticed I was going into some pretty dark areas, and I was pretty well carrying the moral agenda of every film I was in on my own shoulders. And given that I have a fairly wide choice most of my career on what to do next, I decided I had to do something that did not involve me being traumatized to any extent by the role. I would choose to do something much lighter – that doesn't mean any easier, it means lighter, not necessarily have the whole moral agenda of the holocaust, or serial killing, or crime and punishment on my shoulders. Just to do something that was without that particular agenda, that's why I chose this role."}}</ref>