Sir Ben Kingsley has done everything but club a baby seal since he won an Oscar for Gandhi.
And now that he's personified all manner of evil -- the foam-and-foul-mouthed sociopath from 2001's searing Sexy Beast being a particular standout -- the 62-year-old Oscar winner says all the fake movie blood spilled was worth every gruesome drop.
As Kingsley sees it, filmgoers are much more intrigued these days by psychos and malevolent malcontents than good samaritans.
"Maybe it's a reflection of the times we live in, but there is this audience fascination with film noir and the darker side of humanity," Kingsley says during a phone interview with the Sun.
And certainly his descent to the dark side has kept Kingsley gainfully employed as, in the past few years, he has run the gamut from dramas (House of Sand and Fog) to family adventures (Thunderbirds) to video game spinoffs (BloodRayne) to psychological thrillers (Suspect Zero).
His latest entry into this menacing pantheon -- one he credits as starting with Barry Levinson's 1991 Bugsy, in which he portrayed real-life gangster Meyer Lansky -- is The Rabbi, one of the mysterious mobsters inhabiting the world of Lucky Number Slevin, a Tarantino-esque crime thriller opening tomorrow. It stars Josh Hartnett as a man who, mistaken for someone else, gets swept up in the private war between two New York crime bosses played by Kingsley and Morgan Freeman. Bruce Willis turns up as a self-described "world-class assassin" while Lucy Liu co-stars as Hartnett's spunky love interest.
Obviously, it's an impressive cast -- something that was not lost on Hartnett who, when the film premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, told those in attendance that Kingsley gave him insight and encouragement during their scenes.
Kingsley, a veteran actor with more than three decades of performing on stage and screen on his resume, says the feeling was mutual.
"I do enjoy working with younger actors," he says. "To be on screen with young actors is to be energized by them. It's a two-way street. You learn a great deal and it's very gracious of Josh to have said that, but the truth is, I learned a lot from him."
Kingsley says he signed on for Slevin after reading the script and because "my agent thought it would be a lovely, cool, hip film for me to do. And then it came together after a number of required miracles happened, as they always do."
Making those miracles -- i.e. movies -- happen is something Kingsley is about to do a lot more of. He recently formed a production company with four other partners in order to shepherd, produce and possibly star in his own films.
Even after 30 years, he says he's not disillusioned by Hollywood -- nor does he fear smaller, quality movies are an endangered species.
"Now we have so many extraordinary outlets for films," he says.
"And there are various techniques that allow films to be made in a fraction of the time. There has also been an explosion of independent films. There will always be room for Transamerica just as there will always be room for franchises."
Whether it's on the big screen or the small -- just recently Kingsley starred opposite Annette Bening in the HBO drama Mrs. Harris.
"A great experience," he says.
As for whether his days playing villains may be numbered, don't count on it.
"There is always a balance. I'm actually playing a hitman next -- another villain. But it's also a delightful comedy with pathos and sweetness."
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