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Sir Ben Kingsley discusses his film Hugo 2011 and his character Georges Melies who was a real life French illusionist and film director in the earliest days of cinema. Melies understood the process of film making from his time working as a magician, he knew how to capture the audiences imagination. Kingsley talks about how his films have been restored over the years, around 500 Melies films are now fully restored. Kingsley then goes on to talk about nearly becoming musician, a singer in a rock band, though his instincts at the time steered him away from this potentially perilous rock n roll lifestyle and he went to train as a Shakespearean actor for the stage. Ghandi 1982 Dustin Hoffman was eager to play the lead role but director Richard Attenborough very bravely decided to cast Kingsley instead - a relatively unknown actor at the time. Kingsley explains there was no CGI involved in making Ghandi, everything was done on a massive scale, vast locations and thousands of extras, an incredible achievement. The next project discussed is Schindler's List 1993 a timeless film about the holocaust. Due to Spielberg's heritage and genius, it was his intention to immortalise the horrors of the holocaust. To make it the absolutely incomprehensible accessible to a wide audience. Kingsley adds this was 'a remarkable achievement'. Bugsy 1991, it's always important for Kingsley to research his characters, especially when a different accent is required. His character Mayer Lansky was originally from Russia, a Jewish patriarch. Kingsley goes on to say that if he is playing a baddie, then he asks himself why is the that character bad, why do they do the things they do? For him it's always the flawed characters that are the most compelling. Kingsley suggests this is why Ghandi was so successful, because Richard Attenborough presented him as a flawed, multifaceted human being. A clip of the film Elergy 2008 is shown here. Kingsley goes on to discusses his feelings on possibly directing his own film one day, he finds the thought of it terrifying, overwhelming, a huge responsibility to take on. Kingsley says he has worked with some of the great directors and has a deep respect for the work and talent involved. If he does find the right story though, this may force him into directing. Up next is The Dictator 2012 where he co-starred alongside Sacha Baron Cohen, a clip is shown. Kingsley describes how important his relationship is to his directors, to have that rapport, it's necessary to have that, on stage you have an immediate rapport with the audience and it must be the same with a director. The ability to not hold back, to allow for vulnerability. The last film discussed Hugo. A clip is now shown. Kingsley talks about the film and his role, and also the director Martin Scorsese whom he says 'despairs of lost archive footage' and has done his best to help restore a lot of old films including The Red Shoes 1948.

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