Made his London stage debut in 1966 as the narrator of "A Smashing Day" produced by Beatles manager, Brian Epstein. He wrote the music for the production as well as sang and played guitar for same. After one performance, John Lennon and Ringo Starr came backstage and told him that he should go into music and that if he didn't, "he would regret it for the rest of his life." He was subsequently offered a deal by the same publishers who handled the Beatles, but he chose to remain an actor. The next year, he was invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company and his choice was made.
He has 4 children: Thomas and Jasmine (with Angela Morant) and Edmund Kingsley and Ferdinand (with Alison Sutcliffe).
Ben Kingsley's paternal family was from the Indian state of Gujarat, the same state Mahatma Gandhi was from.
Is of half Indian and half English descent. His father, Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, was a Kenyan-born physician of Indian descent while his mother, Anna Lyna Mary Bhanji, was an English-born fashion model of Jewish-European extraction.
Derived his stage name from his grandfather's nickname "Clove King". His grandfather was a spice trader in Zanzibar.
Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in the New Year's Eve Honors List 2001.
