The Kings(ley) Speech

Sir Ben Kingsley explored the challenges of playing complex Jewish characters in such films as Schindler’s List, Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story, and Anne Frank: The Whole Story during an evening discussion at the Holocaust Memorial Museum Tuesday night. 


“To wear a yellow star in a film is not something that I take lightly,” said the Oscar and Golden Globe winner.  “Western civilization is a civilization content to outlaw tragedy.  If you remove the interpretation of tragedy, you… tell nothing of real life.  It is braided into the fabric of our life.”  


A self-proclaimed “chamin” storyteller, Kingsley called for movies such as those he has acted in to help “break a cycle of prejudice through enlightenment and education.”  Prepping for roles often by meeting with notable survivors, he also talks about the importance of learning from them while they are still with us: