Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • Services
    • Aircheck for Actors
    • Demo Reels
    • Audition Prep/Self-Tape Reader
    • Mailing Labels
    • Contribute
    • Industry Links
    • Advertise
    Daily Actor
    Daily Actor YouTube Page Daily Actor FacebookDaily Actor Twitter Daily Actor Instagram Daily Actor Pinterest
    • Acting Tips
      • Actors on Acting
      • Advice Columns
      • Acting Quotes
      • Audition Tapes
      • How To Become An Actor
      • How to Memorize Lines
    • Monologues
      • Monologues from Plays
      • Monologues from Movies
      • Monologues from Musicals
      • Comedic Monologues
      • Dramatic Monologues
      • One Minute Monologues
      • Monologues for Women
      • Monologues for Men
      • Monologues for Teens
      • Monologues for Kids
      • All Monologues
    • Acting Resources
      • Acting Resume
        • Acting Resume Templates
      • Acting Classes
        • Los Angeles Acting Classes
        • Las Vegas Acting Classes
        • San Diego Acting Classes
      • Acting Schools and Colleges
        • Los Angeles
        • New York
        • BFA Acting Schools
      • Casting Websites
      • Headshot Photographers
        • Los Angeles
        • New York City
        • Headshot Printing
      • Acting Techniques
        • What is Method Acting?
      • Stage Directions
      • Demo Reels: Everything You Need to Know
    • Interviews
      Featured

      Interview: Donna Benedicto: “Not every character needs to fit into a box”

      Recent

      Interview: Donna Benedicto: “Not every character needs to fit into a box”

      May 1, 2023
      Jesmille-Darbouze-A-Dolls-House-Broadway-Interview

      Interview: Jesmille Darbouze on Her Role in ‘A Doll’s House’ on Broadway, Working Without Props and Why She Almost Stopped Acting

      April 27, 2023

      Interview: Lilah Fitzgerald Talks “Dream Come True” Roles in ‘Monster High’ and ‘Lucky Hank’

      April 13, 2023
    • Actor Blogs
    • Reviews
      • Movies
      • Theater
      • Books
      • Products
    • Actor Services
      • Airchecks
      • Demo Reels
      • Website Design
      • Mailing Labels
    Daily Actor
    Home » Actors on Acting » Ben Kingsley: “I think when actors are playing villains, the best key is not to look at how evil they can be, but to look into their total conviction”
    Actors on Acting

    Ben Kingsley: “I think when actors are playing villains, the best key is not to look at how evil they can be, but to look into their total conviction”

    Chris McKittrickBy Chris McKittrickMay 2, 2013Updated:September 16, 2018No Comments2 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

    ben-kingsley-mandarin-iron-man-3Without spoiling much, Ben Kingsley absolutely steals the show in Iron Man 3.  He plays the Mandarin, a terrorist who controls the television airwaves in order to broadcast his vicious acts.  However, there is so much more to the Mandarin than his mysterious yet oddly-accented warnings to the Western world, and much of that comes from the really effective performance of Kingsley. 

    He spoke to GQ about playing such an offbeat character opposite Robert Downey, Jr. as the superheroic Iron Man.

    Though Kingsley’s performance is rather eccentric and seems off-the-cuff, he reveals the performance is entirely scripted — as was the entire film.  He says, “I didn’t change a word. There’s a tiny bit of improvisation between Robert and Don [Cheadle] and I, but the actual broadcasts scenes I said to [director and screenwriter] Shane Black I didn’t want to change a word. Then in filming those scenes, we realized – I do have an appetite for documentary film – there is a sense of righteousness and destiny in these [terrorist] individuals that is hard to question. It goes back as far as footage from the Thirties. And what remains deeply disconcerting and frightening and fresh to this day is their sense of right, their sense of cultural destiny, their rhythm of speech, the timbre of voice. So because he’s such a disconcerting balance of ingredients, there wasn’t any one individual that I thought ‘Ah, he’s this person.’ I think when actors are playing villains, the best key is not to look at how evil they can be, but to look into their total conviction. That’s very frightening, because you can’t get through that barrier.”

    Since there wasn’t much improvisation in the movie, Kingsley has a lot of praise for the script.  He says, “I think it’s very well written. I was brought up on very good writing – my first ten years were with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and he was a pretty good writer, actually! If I can see in a script a pattern of human behavior that I can recognize, it rings true, it’s genuine – it’s not a copy of a copy – then I’m very much guided by the energy of the story, my fellow actors and the director. We didn’t necessarily have to struggle too much – the aspects of the character are there on the page.”

    Related

    Previous ArticleReview: ‘Billy Elliott’: ‘He Could Be a Star’
    Next Article Leonardo DiCaprio on ‘The Great Gatsby’: “It’s intimidating … because you’re almost setting yourself up for disaster”

    Related Posts

    sally field lee strasberg

    Sally Field on Working with Lee Strasberg: “He was one of the best acting teachers”

    May 22, 2023

    Elizabeth Banks on Acting ‘Rites of Passage’ and What She Learned from Ray Liotta

    May 16, 2023
    Tramell Tillman on His Breakthrough 'Severance' Role

    Tramell Tillman on His Breakthrough ‘Severance’ Role

    May 12, 2023
    Add A Comment

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Popular Pages
    Become An Actor | Acting Tips | Acting Quotes
    Acting Resume | Resume Template
    Headshot Photographers
    Los Angeles | New York
    Print Your Headshots
    Acting Schools & Colleges
    Los Angeles | New York
    Monologues
    Movies | Plays | Comedic | Dramatic
    Men | Women | Teens | Kids
    • Contact
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Resource Listings
    • Write A Column
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy

    Disclaimer: Daily Actor at times uses affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, streaming services, and others. Affiliate links provides compensation to Daily Actor which helps us remain online, giving you the resources and information actors like you are looking for.

    © 2023 Daily Actor

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.