There’s a bit of a Shakespeare snob thing where your favourite of the plays can’t be something mundane like Hamlet. It’s got to be more obscure than that. Still, my own favourite legitimately is Twelfth Night. It’s the songs, I think, and the barely controlled lunacy that drives so much of things. Also the version I’ve seen makes it clear that the people playing ridiculous pranks are, for the most part, punished for their actions in one way or another and deservedly so. I’m also fond of the fact that the play canonically makes fun of a character who is an aristocrat through no merit of his own. My fondness for the play dates directly from my discovery of the movie version, featuring Sir Ben Kingsley as Feste.
Oh, I know; it’s generally accepted that it’s utter snobbery to refer to people with knighthoods in the arts by their knighthoods; I do it because it amuses me. Especially as there are not a lot of knights born Krishna Bhanji, even if they were born Krishna Bhanji in Yorkshire. His father was actually born in Kenya, and his mother was an actress of English descent. His ancestry is fascinating and complicated and I’d love to see him on Finding Your Roots, because there’s so much going on there. And he changed his name to Ben Kingsley because, well, it was the ‘60s and he was in the UK and it’s not likely a Krishna Bhanji today would get the same opportunities as a Ben Kingsley.
He started on the stage in the ‘60s, and he quickly became a success with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Oh, he dabbled in television even then, including an early appearance on Coronation Street. However, for a while, it was mostly the stage, and a well-praised stage career at that. That’s where he did quite a lot of his Shakespeare. This is part of what gave him the gravitas he’s played with for the rest of his career.
And then, he was cast as Gandhi. It’s not actually true that Oscars let you write your own ticket; just ask Cuba Gooding, Jr. However, there are some roles that are going to let you do a certain amount of coasting; just as Leonardo DiCaprio. What Kingsley mostly did was whatever he wanted. High-profile roles, yes, but also smaller and more indie. Everyone from Stephen Spielberg to Martin Scorsese to Jon Favreau. On the other hand, he’s also done The Love Guru and Thunderbirds and something called Robot Overlords.
One rather suspects that Kingsley is just one of those people who likes working. He’s got eight things listed as in pre-production, albeit one rumoured, and only one of those is as his MCU role of Trevor Slattery. Who is, frankly, a character I simply adore. This is a divisive opinion, I know. But I feel as though the character started as playing with Kingsley’s persona and has gone in a weird direction starting with Shang-Chi, and I look forward to seeing where they take him from there. And however much you hate it, surely it’s better than doing another Orson Scott Card movie?
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