Ben Kingsley is one of the most respected actors his generation.
However, to date he has done few full-length features.
But what was the real surprise was what he showed them about his own entirely personal voice acting technique.
There was a question duringThe Boxtrollspanel that went unanswered: why are the English people obsessed with cheese?
Ben Kingsley:Theyre not.
[Laughs] We do make good cheese, but I dont think were obsessed as the French are.
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Do you have a favorite cheese?
And I like that cheese very much.
So, tell us a little bit about your character and what attracted you to him?
He is a social climber.
Its a small clique, an exclusive clique, of guys that initiate the community.
Theyre quite reluctant to let him in.
He therefore invents an enemy.
So, that has quite sinister connotations in 20thcentury history and 21stcentury history.
So, he wants to empower himself by destroying a group of people.
They are the very sweet, the very benign, utterly harmless boxtrolls.
And he puts about the rumor that they eat babiesthat they destroy human life.
So, basically in a nutshell, thats his quest.
To be up there.
So what attracted you to this role?
I love the work they do.
I find they are quite fearless in family movies of putting light and shade together.
As the boss said, its a dynamic filmmaking that combines light and shadethat combines bitter and sweet.
Its very mature filmmaking.
How do you vocally act out what your character is doing?
I was completely relaxed.
They rigged it up beautifully, and it did help a lot.
How did you discover this technique?
It will show; the camera will seek it out.
So, Ive tried to incorporate into my technique a very relaxed body and breathing.
So, reclining to record his voiceIcantdo it in a movie.
I cant say, Mind if I do this scene lying down, darlings?
[Laughs] I cant do that.
Did the people at Laika think that was craziest thing theyve seen?
They were fascinated by it, but when the voice came out, it made sense to them.
Was this the first time youve done that?
Because youve done voice acting before?
Ive not done a lot of it before.
This is maybe only my third or fourth attempt at animation, and the most gratifying.
I think it is the most beautiful.
I love their work; its fantastic.
But is this the first time youve tried the lying down?
Yes, it is.
[Laughs]
Were seeing a lot of the best writing at the moment on TV now.
I am doing it.
Im in a six-part series on Tutankhamun.
And Im playing Ay, the grand vizier and advisor to Tutankhamun.
When are we getting that?
I think I start next month, so it will be out next year.
And are you filming in Egypt?
Are you into Egyptology?
And this one is Tutankhamun.
I dont know why it is, but three [projects] in a row is very strange.
Maybe in my DNA, there probably is some Egyptian.
I actually played Moses for Turner Television in their Bible series.
And I tried to make his struggle as human as possible.
But I was arguing with him!
…And this guy was like, You must pray.
You must and I said, Get out of here!
Im talking to my buddy.
Im having a row with the boss!
Very human and very vulnerable.
So, thats what we all attempted as actors to do.
On the TNT film, you had a priest from the Vatican.
Did you have a rabbi as well to just get a different perspective?
No, no we didnt.
And what brought you toNight at the Museum 3?
Oh gosh, I was just asked by the lovely director.
I read my role in it.
Not very good at talking to people.
Rather surprised that people were addressing him without kneeling.
It just baffled him people were coming near him and talking to him.
Did you share any scenes with Ricky Gervais character?
No, I didnt have any scenes with him.
But I did share scenes with Robin Williams.
How do you access parts of yourself to be the bad guy, such as your character inThe Boxtrolls?
I find the flawthat sore part within you that cant be eased or healed.
When I was in a film calledSexy Beast, I played a very vicious man.
Everything fell into place!
I also loved the abused child in him, but there was nothing I could do.
So thats what I take a stab at find.
Do you have any grandchildren who cant seeSexy Beastthat can see this?
My kids were young whenSexy Beastcame out and they were quoting it at school!
[Laughs] They had whole gangs of them swearing at school.
They were 13 or 14.
My younger two are actors, and I do have grandchildren, yes.
What was the question?
Will you score points with this movie?
And a couple of others Ive done recently.Our Robot Overlords, theyll love that.
Are there any roles you havent played that you would like to play?
Particularly a man of the military.
I have a huge respect for the military.
That is just one example.
We have six films now on our slate.
And they are human, narrative-driven character films; theyre getting a little fewer on the ground.
Theres more character-driven work on television than there is in movie theaters.
Were trying to readjust a tiny bit the balance.
And yes, there are ambitions that hopefully will be met on our slate.
Can you talk a bit about the other films?
Theres six of them, and I think Im in at least five of them.
And Daniela [Lavender], my wife, is in about five of them.
We overlap in some of them and we dont in others.
Deranged with grief, but screaming to the sky that he loved her, and it worked.
I mean millions of us now go and see it, and he did it.
He was a very strange and tormented man.
That is one of our stories.
He remained at attention, at his gun with most of his body missing from shrapnel wounds.
And that one gesture, were building the film around.
Im still waiting for orders, sir.
So when the audience sees the film, the audience ideally would think, Well of course he would.
Of course he would.
We know that boy.
Of course he would.
You speak with such empathy for all of your characters, villains, or heroes.
Did you ever study psychology?
I believe storytelling is profoundly healing.
And why the interest in the military?
Are there any family members?
Not in my family, no.
But it doesnt come from him, really.
I collected military memorabilia as a child.
I found all that beautiful and fascinating.
And theres a lot of military discipline that goes into making a film.
If you havent got discipline on a set, youve had it.
And I love that aspect of filmmaking, too.
There is a hierarchy, you observe it, and everyone operates within this wonderful framework.
How are you enjoying your first Comic-Con?
Have you walked around the floor at all?
Ive talked to actors, and theyll sometimes put a costume on so they can walk freely.
No, I dont think Ill do that.
Id love to see Trevor [fromIron Man 3]WITH A CAN OF BEER!
[Laughs]
Marvel has a million TV shows coming out.
You did the All Hail The King One-Shot.
Do you think youd ever return to playing Trevor or the Mandarin again?
That One-Shot is a little hint that might come back, but Ive heard nothing personally.
Thank you very much, lovely.
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