Name	Species
Caption	Theatrical release poster
Director	Roger Donaldson
Producer	Frank Mancuso, Jr.
Writer	Dennis Feldman
Starring	Ben KingsleyMichael MadsenAlfred MolinaForest WhitakerMarg HelgenbergerNatasha Henstridge
Music	Christopher Young
Cinematography	Andrzej Bartkowiak
Editing	Conrad Buff
Distributor	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Released
Runtime	108 minutes
Country
Language	EnglishPortuguese
Budget	$30 million
Gross	$113,374,103
Followed by	Species II

Species is a 1995 science fiction horror film directed by Roger Donaldson, and starring Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Alfred Molina, and Forest Whitaker. The film is about a group of scientists who try to track down and trap a killer alien seductress before she successfully mates with a human male.

The film produced one theatrical sequel in 1998, Species II, which had Henstridge, Madsen, and Helgenberger reprise their roles. It was followed by the direct-to-video Species III in 2004 and Species: The Awakening in 2007, which stands as a separate film, not as an official follow-up to the previous three.

Plot

The alien is the result of the SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) program. Earth's scientists sent out transmissions with information about Earth and its inhabitants, DNA structure, etc., in hopes of finding life beyond Earth. They then receive transmissions from an alien source on how to create endless fuel effortlessly. Therefore, the scientists assume that this is a friendly alien species. But from a second alien transmission, the scientists receive information about an alien DNA along with instructions on how to splice it with human DNA. A government team led by Xavier Fitch (Ben Kingsley) goes forward with the genetic experiment hoping to induce a female with "more docile and controllable" traits. One of the hundred experimental ova produces a girl named Sil, who looks like a normal human but develops into a 12-year old in 3 months.

Sil's violent outbursts during sleep make the scientists consider her a threat. They try to kill her using cyanide gas but instead she breaks out of her containment cell and escapes. The government assembles a team composed of anthropologist Dr. Stephen Arden (Alfred Molina), molecular biologist Dr. Laura Baker (Marg Helgenberger), empath Dan Smithson (Forest Whitaker) and mercenary Preston "Press" Lennox (Michael Madsen) to track and destroy Sil. Sil matures rapidly into an adult (Natasha Henstridge) in her early twenties and makes her way to Los Angeles. This makes tracking her extremely difficult. She is incredibly strong and intelligent with amazing regenerative powers. The scientists fear she may mate with human males and produce offspring that could eliminate the human race. Sil lacks inhibitions when it comes to killing people who get in her way and wants to produce offspring as soon as possible. She frequently morphs into her alien form, a bipedal creature with tentacles on her shoulders and back.

Sil tries first to mate with a man she meets at a night club, but after sensing that he is diabetic, rejects and kills him by puncturing his skull with her tongue. She then tries to mate with a man she meets after a car accident; this is interrupted by Press and Laura. She kills the man and flees into a forest without being seen by the team, and without any clothing. She pretends to be a rape victim, and then proceeds to kidnap a woman. She fakes her death by crashing the woman's car into a tree during a high-speed chase.

After cutting and dying her hair, she takes an attraction to Press and attempts to seduce him. She eventually copulates with Arden; then kills him when he realizes who she is and what he has done. The rest of the team then follow her into the sewers where Fitch is subsequently killed and the area where she and her offspring are destroyed. Press uses a grenade launcher on Sil, blowing her head off. The trio leaves the area. The last scene shows a rat chewing on one of Sil's severed tentacles; it starts to mutate into a vicious beast and attacks another rat.

Cast

Ben Kingsley as Xavier Fitch

Michael Madsen as Preston "Press" Lennox

Alfred Molina as Dr. Stephen Arden

Forest Whitaker as Dan Smithson

Marg Helgenberger as Dr. Laura Baker

Natasha Henstridge as Sil

Michelle Williams as Young Sil

Whip Hubley as John Carey

Production

The creature was created and designed by Swiss artist H. R. Giger, who also created the creatures in the Alien films.

Differences in comic adaptation

The comic adaptation, from Dark Horse Comics, included many scenes that were not in the film. These included:

The film originally began with scientists discovering the alien signal in space and Fitch having a meeting with the government to begin this experiment of combining alien DNA to a human host. A shot of the scientists discovering the signal was in the theatrical trailer. The scene with Fitch's introduction was cut out as the sequence was explained to the team consisting of Press, Laura, Dan and Steve later in the final film. There were also publicity stills of Fitch with the 2-week old Sil in some press kits for the film that did not make the cut.

Sil's dreams were more intense and organic involving mutant worms and acid. Due to budgetary reasons, this was never filmed.

As in the novel, the interpretation of Sil's rejection of a man is a green mist surrounding the host that was not apparent in the film.

Sil's fantasy dream of her making love to Press was hinted in the film but not shown in its entirety. The two make love in her dream and Press mutates into a creature, restraining her with his arms around her hips and tentacles. Sil struggles to no avail and the Press creature then penetrates her with spikes into Sil's chest, she screams and the dream ends. She wakes up with a shock from her nightmare.

In the adaptation, Sil's death is not as dramatic as in the film which involved fire and tension. In the comics, she gets blown to bits from Press's cannon blaster and is splattered all over the cavern. In the film she supposedly dies from multiple gun shots and falls into a pit of ignited oil but returns to kill Dan only to have her head blown off by Press's cannon blaster and fall into the flaming pit.

In the alternative ending, Press sits with Laura on an embankment and mentions how he respected her with human qualities. They then kiss and hug each other with relief that they survived. Laura poses the question whether Sil's aggression was part of her alien biology, or if it came from the human part of her DNA? Laura reminds Press that humans are a predatory species (as indicated by their binocular vision, a point raised earlier in the film). This was featured on the Special Edition DVD and was shot at a pier near an ice cream shop. The ending was re-shot by Boss films under the direction of Roger Donaldson involving the mutated rat puppet.

Novelization

Written by Yvonne Navarro from the original screenplay, the book gives several in depth details about the characters not seen in the film, such as Sil's ability to visualize odors and determine harmful substances from edible items by the color. Gas appears black, food appears pink, an unhealthy potential mate appears to give off green fumes. Other character details include Press's background in tracking down AWOL soldiers as well as the process of decoding the alien signal. Although no clues are given as to its origin, it is mentioned that the message was somehow routed through several black holes to mask its point of origin.

Parts of these extra scenes and details are shown in the comic book adaptation by Titan Books. There is also a novelization by Navarro for Species II which follows the film's original screenplay with added scenes.

Reception

Species received mixed however mainly negative reviews. It currently holds an approval rating of 40% at Rotten tomatoes based on 30 reviews (12 positive, 18 negative). Roger Ebert gave the film 2 out of 4 stars, criticizing the film's plot and overall lack of intelligence. Cristine James from Boxoffice magazine gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, describing it as "... 'Alien' meets 'V' meets 'Splash' meets 'Playboy's Erotic Fantasies: Forbidden Liaisons,' diluted into a diffuse, misdirected bore." James Berardinelli gave the film 2 and a half out of 4 stars, stating "as long as you don't stop to think about what's going on, Species is capable of offering its share of cheap thrills, with a laugh or two thrown in as well".

References

External links

Category:Species films Category:1995 films Category:1990s horror films Category:1990s science fiction films Category:American science fiction horror films Category:English-language films Category:Portuguese-language films Category:Films directed by Roger Donaldson Category:Films shot anamorphically Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films

Name	Michael Madsen
Caption	Madsen in March 2010
Birth name	Michael Søren Madsen
Birth date	September 25, 1957
Birth place	Chicago, Illinois, US
Other names	Maykl Madsen
Occupation	ActorProducerDirectorWriterPoetPhotographer
Years active	1982–present
Spouse	Jeannine BisignanoGeorganne LaPiere
Partner	DeAnna Madsen (1996–present)
Website	http://www.michaelmadsen.com/

Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor, poet, and photographer. He has starred in central roles in such films as Reservoir Dogs, Free Willy, Donnie Brasco, and Kill Bill, in addition to a supporting role in Sin City. Madsen is also credited with voice work in several video games, including Grand Theft Auto III, and DRIV3R.

Early life

Madsen was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Elaine (née Melson), an Emmy-winning poet, television producer, and playwright who often works for PBS, and Calvin Madsen, a firefighter. Madsen's mother left a career in corporate business to pursue a writing career. Madsen's paternal grandparents were Danish and his mother has Irish and Native American ancestry. His sister is actress Virginia Madsen, and he also has an older sister, Cheri.

Madsen's acting career began at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, where he served as an apprentice under actor John Malkovich.

Career

In 1982, Madsen was cast by Edward McDougal for the lead in a small independent film, Against All Hope, his first movie. He then played a small role in the studio picture WarGames in 1983. That same year, he appeared in a small cameo bit part in the 1983 television movie Special Bulletin. Soon after, Madsen was cast as a psychopathic gunman who took Mary Beth hostage in the Cagney and Lacey episode "Heat", which aired October 22, 1984. He moved to Los Angeles and appeared in other films, including as arrogant baseball player Bump Bailey in The Natural (1984), a deranged killer in Kill Me Again (1989) and as the tough but touching boyfriend of Susan Sarandon in Thelma & Louise (1991).

Then came a memorable role as the razor-wielding, sadistic ex-con and jewel thief "Mr. Blonde" in the bloody Quentin Tarantino crime story Reservoir Dogs. The film brought Madsen attention among critics and fans. During a scene in which Madsen's psychopathic character Mr. Blonde tortures a police officer, actor Kirk Baltz ad-libbed a line about being a father to a young child. Madsen, who himself had just become a father, was so upset that he found it very difficult to finish the scene. On some copies of the film's DVD, as Baltz completes the line, a voice can be heard off-screen saying "Oh, no, no ..." The ad-lib exacerbated Madsen's original reluctance to do the scene, due to his real-life aversion to violence.

Subsequently, Madsen was cast in a variety of major studio films, including Free Willy, Mulholland Falls, Wyatt Earp, Species and with Johnny Depp and Al Pacino in the critically acclaimed Donnie Brasco.

Since the mid 1990s, Madsen has appeared more often in lower-budget films released directly to video or television. Notable exceptions include his featured role in Tarantino's Kill Bill, in the James Bond adventure Die Another Day and in the film version of the Frank Miller graphic novel Sin City. He appeared in Scary Movie 4 in 2006 parodying Tim Robbins's character from War of the Worlds. He was also in the film in 2003. In 2008 he had a starring role as "The Gent" in Quentin Tarantino's "HELL RIDE" that was written & Directed by Larry Bishop.

Madsen has been in a few television series, including the short-lived Vengeance Unlimited and as "Don Everest" in the poker-themed ESPN series Tilt. He was in Michael Jackson's 2001 music video "You Rock My World" and has provided voice work for several video games, including Grand Theft Auto III, and DRIV3R. He provided voice work for the movie version of as Maugrim the wolf, captain of the White Witch's secret police.

He also provides narration for Animal Planet and is heard in the PlayStation 2 game Yakuza, where he voices the role of Futo Shimano, the violent and unforgiving leader of a Yakuza family. Madsen played Sam Spade in Yuri Rasovsky's Grammy nominated sonic dramatization of The Maltese Falcon, which also features Sandra Oh and Edward Herrmann.

In August 2008, Madsen co-starred in Coma, a web series on Crackle.

Madsen went to Mexico City to co-star in boxing film The Kid: Chamaco with Martin Sheen and Kirk Harris for director Miguel Necoechea in 2009. He is also starring alongside Vinnie Jones and Jamelia in the Robert Koltai film "Magic Boys".

Madsen is also expected to reprise his role as Bob in Sin City 2, which is in pre-production and has a release date of 2012. Fellow cast members include Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, and Clive Owen.

The actor appeared in Every Time I Die's music video "Kill The Music" and recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's 'Hip-Hop Literacy' campaign, encouraging reading of screenplays by Tarantino.

In September 2009, he was filming the Magic Boys in Szeged, Hungary, which also stars Vinnie Jones. The film was never completed, due to the arrest in December 2010 of producer Gabor Koltai by Hungarian authorities on charges of fraud.

Madsen also guest starred in the final season of 24 in April 2010. He played Jim Ricker, an old friend of main character Jack Bauer.

His latest released film, Let The Game Begin, opened in May 2010. The film also features Adam Rodriguez and Stephen Baldwin. Madsen played the lead in the independent horror film Infected.

He is currently one of the stars of the western thriller "The Sorrow" with Kirk Harris, John Savage, newcomer Ryan Ballance and Yvonne Delarosa.

Personal life

Madsen's first marriage was to actress Georganne LaPiere, the half sister of Cher. He remarried, to Jeannine Bisignano, with whom he has two sons. Close friend Harvey Keitel is the godfather of Madsen's son Max. Since 1996, he has been married to Deanna Morgan, who was previously married to musician Brian Setzer of Stray Cats fame. They have 3 sons together.

The actor lived in a Malibu house that once belonged to Keith Moon, the original drummer of The Who, and it was at this house on December 26, 2004 that David Carradine and his last wife, Annie, were married by their longtime friend and attorney, Vicki Roberts.

In 2002 he was presented an award for his work with the Shriners Hospital For Children, and he gave his casting director friend Bruno Rosato a Porsche 928. In September 2009, Madsen announced his participation in the Love Ride 26 to help raise money for local charities and those less fortunate. Love Ride began in 1981 and has been growing ever since including many celebrities from Malcolm Forbes to Peter Fonda to Larry Hagman with musical entertainment from Robbie Krieger, David Crosby, Eric Burdon, Jackson Browne, Little Feat, Billy Idol, Bruce Springsteen, Dwight Yoakam, the Doobie Brothers, Sammy Hagar and others. The event was to have taken place on October 25, 2009 but was canceled two weeks before the event due to poor ticket sales and a steep decline in sponsorship and vendor support.

Madsen has done several films with Daryl Hannah, these include Kill Bill, Shannon's Rainbow, Vice, and the upcoming films Eldorado as well as the film Garbage in which they play friends called Daryl and Michael. Hannah took part in the DVD about Madsen's life Being Michael Madsen.

Poetry

Madsen has been writing poetry for over 10 years. Madsen began his writing on match books, napkins and hotel stationery in between his time working on movie sets and traveling around the world. In 2005, 13 Hands Publications, founded by Michael P. Naughton, compiled all of his poetry and released 'The Complete Poetic Works of Michael Madsen, Vol I: 1995–2005'. The book has been an international success and is the only authorized compilation of Madsen's poetry. The original books released were "Beer, Blood and Ashes" (1995), "Eat The Worm" (1995), "Burning in Paradise" (1998), and the now out of print "A Blessing of the Hounds" (2002), "46 Down; A Book of Dreams and Other Ramblings" (2004) and "When Pets Kill" (2005).

Madsen's friend and fellow actor Dennis Hopper described his poetry as a throwback to the Beat Generation: "I like him better than Kerouac: raunchier, more poignant, he's got street language, images I can relate to, blows my mind with his drifts of gut-wrenching riffs; this actor is a poet and he is cool, of course, he is Michael Madsen". Madsen notes his influences for his style of poetry as being Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski. His latest book of poetry, entitled American Badass was released on Michael's birthday, September 25, 2009. Madsen dedicated the book to the memory of his friend and Kill Bill co-star David Carradine.

In 2008, Michael Madsen was invited and appeared in Norway for the Norwegian translation and release of Burning In Paradise. In November 2010 Michael Madsen was the Guest of Honor for his poetry at the Crossing Border Festival at The Hague in the Netherlands.

Photography

Madsen is also an accomplished photographer. In 2006, he released his first book of photography entitled: Signs of Life, published by 13 Hands Publications, which also contains some new selections of his poetry. He dedicated this book to the memory of his good friend and fellow actor Chris Penn, who starred with Madsen in Reservoir Dogs. He currently has limited edition prints of his photography available at Celebrities gallery in Maui, Hawaii.

Awards

Won Independent Firecracker Award for his book of poetry "Burning In Paradise" (1998).

Red Hen Press awarded Madsen with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his Complete Poetic Works in 2006.

September 20, 2007 won "Best Actor" award at the 23rd Annual Boston Film Festival for his role as Sean Kelleher in Strength and Honour.

Madsen won the 9th Annual Malibu International Film Festival award on April 6, 2008.

Filmography

Against All Hope (1982)

WarGames (1983)

Racing with the Moon (1984)

The Natural (1984)

The Killing Time (1987)

Shadows in the Storm (1988)

Iguana (1988)

Kill Me Again (1989)

Blood Red (1989)

The End of Innocence (1990)

Fatal Instinct (1991)

The Doors (1991)

Thelma and Louise (1991)

Beyond the Law (1992)

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Straight Talk (1992)

Almost Blue (1992)

Inside Edge (1993)

A House in the Hills (1993)

Trouble Bound (1993)

Free Willy (1993)

Money for Nothing (1993)

Season of Change (1994)

The Getaway (1994)

Blue Tiger (1994)

Dead Connection (1994)

Wyatt Earp (1994)

Felidae (1994)

Species (1995)

(1995)

Man with a Gun (1995)

Red Line (1996)

Mulholland Falls (1996)

The Winner (1996)

The Last Days of Frankie the Fly (1997)

Papertrail (1997)

Surface to Air (1997)

Donnie Brasco (1997)

The Girl Gets Moe (1997)

Executive Target (1997)

The Maker (1997)

Catherine's Grove (1997)

Ballad of the Nightingale (1998)

The Thief & the Stripper (1998)

Flat Out (1998)

Rough Draft (1998)

Species II (1998)

The Sender (1998)

Fait Accompli (1998)

Detour (1999)

The Florentine (1999)

Fall: The Price of Silence (2000)

Ides of March (2000)

Bad Guys (2000)

The Stray (2000)

The Inspectors 2: A Shred of Evidence (2001)

Luck of the Draw (2000)

The Alternate (2000)

Sacrifice (2000)

High Noon (2000)

The Price of Air (2000)

Outlaw (2001)

The Ghost (2001) (aka Code of the Dragon)

You Rock My World (2001)

Choke (2001)

Pressure Point (2001)

L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve (2001)

42K (2001)

Extreme Honor (2001)

Welcome to America (2002)

Love.com (2002)

Die Another Day (2002)

The Real Deal (2002)

Where's Angelo? (2003)

(2003)

My Boss's Daughter (2003)

Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003)

Vampires Anonymous (2003)

Les clefs de bagnole (2003)

Blueberry (2004)

Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004)

Frankenstein (2004)

Jacked$ (2004)

Hoboken Hollow (2005)

Sin City (2005)

Chasing Ghosts (2005)

The Last Drop (2005)

L.A. Dicks (2005)

Velvet Revolution (2005)

(2005)

All In (2006)

Scary Movie 4 (2006)

BloodRayne (2006)

Canes (2006)

UKM: Ultimate Killing Machine (2006)

Cosmic Radio (2007)

Living & Dying (2007)

Machine (2007)

Boarding Gate (2007)

Strength and Honour (2007)

Afghan Knights (2007)

Croc (2007)

Tooth & Nail (2007)

Being Michael Madsen (2007)

Eyes Front (2008)

Vice (2008)

House (2008)

Hell Ride (2008)

Crash and Burn (2008)

Last Hour (2008)

Deep Winter (2008)

No Bad Days (2008)

45 R.P.M. (2008)

Killer's Freedom (2008)

Serbian Scars (2008)

You Might as Well Live (2009)

Lost in the Woods (2009)

Road of No Return (2009)

A Way With Murder (2009)

Shannon's Rainbow (2009)

Edgar Allan Poe's Ligeia aka The Tomb (2009)

Break (2009)

The Way (2009)

The Kid: Chamaco (2009)

The Killing Jar (2009)

Clear Lake, WI (2009)

(2009)

Christmas Crash (2009)

Hired Gun (2009)

Outrage (2009)

Creepshow RAW (2009)

The Bleeding (2010)

The Portal (2010)

The Lion of Judah (2010)

The Big I Am (2010)

Conflict of Interest (2010)

Road Raiders (2010)

Now Here (2010)

Not Another Not Another Movie (2010)

Firedog (2010)

Magic Boys (2010)

Web Cam 3D (2010)

Let the Game Begin (2010) 24 (2010)

Video games

Grand Theft Auto III (2001) – Toni Cipriani (voice)

(2003) – Rafferty (voice)

Driv3r (2004) – Detective John Tanner (voice)

Narc (2005)

Yakuza (2005) – Futo Shimano (voice)

Reservoir Dogs (2006) – Vic Vega aka Mr. Blonde (voice)

Outrage (2010)

References

External links

13 Hands website: Official publisher of Michael Madsen books & digital content

Guardian Interview

IGN Interview

Michael Madsen interview, 2002

Category:1957 births Category:Actors from Chicago, Illinois Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:American people of Danish descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Native American descent Category:Writers from California Category:Writers from Chicago, Illinois Category:Living people

Name	Ben Kingsley
Caption	Kingsley at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival
Birth name	Krishna Pandit Bhanji
Birth date	December 31, 1943
Birth place	Snainton, England
Years active	1966–present
Occupation	Actor
Spouse	Angela Morant (1966–72)Alison Sutcliffe (1978–92)Alexandra Christmann (2003–05)Daniela Lavender (2007–present)

Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji (Gujarati:કૃષ્ણા પંડિત ભાનજી); 31 December 1943) is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He is also known for his performances in the films Schindler's List (1993), Sexy Beast (2000) and House of Sand and Fog (2003).

Early life

Kingsley was born Krishna Pandit Bhanji in Snainton, near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, the son of Anna Lyna Mary (née Goodman), an actress and model, and Rahimtulla Harji Bhanji, a medical doctor.

Kingsley's father, born in Kenya, is of Gujarati Indian descent; Kingsley's paternal grandfather was a spice trader who had moved from India to Zanzibar, where Kingsley's father lived until moving to England at the age of 14. Ben Kingsley's mother, born out of wedlock, was "loath to speak of her background"; she was the daughter of an English mother who worked in the garment district of East London, and a father who was believed by the family to have been a Russian or German Jew.

Kingsley grew up in Pendlebury, near Salford. He was educated at Manchester Grammar School, where one of his classmates was the actor Robert Powell. He later studied at the University of Salford and at Pendleton College, which later became home to the Ben Kingsley Theatre.

Film and television career

Kingsley began his acting career on stage, but made a transition to film roles early on. Despite this focus on film, he continued to act on the stage, playing Mosca in Peter Hall's 1977 production of Ben Jonson's Volpone for the Royal National Theatre, and in Peter Brook's acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. At about this time, he changed his name from Krishna Bhanji to Ben Kingsley, fearing that a foreign name would hamper his career; he took his stage surname from his paternal grandfather's nickname, "King Clove".

Kingsley's first film role was a supporting turn in Fear Is the Key, released in 1972. Kingsley continued starring in bit roles in both film and television, including a role as Ron Jenkins on the soap opera Coronation Street from 1966 to 1967 and regular appearances as a defence counsel in the long-running British legal programme Crown Court. In 1975 he starred as Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the BBCs historical drama The Love School. He found fame only years later, starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the Academy Award-winning film Gandhi in 1982, his best-known role to date.

Kingsley's SBK-Pictures has been planning to bring the story of the Native American Conley Sisters to the big screen in Whispers Like Thunder, with Kingsley playing the role of Charles Curtis, the first part-Native American to become vice-president of the United States.

Honours

Kingsley was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000. He was made a knight bachelor in the 2002 New Year's Honours (the award was announced on 31 December 2001, his 58th birthday). His demand to be called 'Sir' was documented by the BBC, to some criticism. Since then, Kingsley appears to have altered his stance; credits for his latest films refer to him only as 'Ben Kingsley'. Penelope Cruz was unsure what to call him during the filming of Elegy as someone had told her she needed to refer to him as "Sir Ben". One day it slipped out as such, and she called him that for the rest of the shoot.

In 1984, he won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word or Nonmusical Recording for The Words of Gandhi. He was awarded the Indian civilian honor Padma Shri in 1985.

In May 2010, Kingsley was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Personal life

Kingsley has been married four times and has four children: Thomas Bhanji and artist Jasmin Bhanji, with actress Angela Morant, and Edmund Kingsley and Ferdinand Kingsley, both of whom became actors, with theatrical director Alison Sutcliffe. In 2005, he divorced German-born Alexandra Christmann, having been "deeply, deeply shocked" after pictures of her kissing another man surfaced on the internet. On 3 September 2007, Kingsley married Daniela Lavender, a Brazilian actress, in North Leigh, Oxfordshire.

He currently lives in Spelsbury, Oxfordshire, England, where he has resided for more than ten years.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! width="50px"| Year ! width="250px"| Title ! width="150px"| Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |- | 1972 || Fear Is the Key || || |- | 1973 || Hard Labour || Naseem ||Television film |- | 1982 || Gandhi || Mohandas Gandhi || |- | 1983 || Betrayal || Robert || |- | 1984 || Oxbridge Blues || Geoff Craven || |- | 1985 || Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe || Silas Marner || Nominated — British Academy Television Award for Best Actor |- | 1985 || Harem || Selim || |- | 1986 || Turtle Diary || William Snow || Screenplay by Harold Pinter |- | 1987 || || Sholomon || Television film |- | 1987 || Maurice || Lasker-Jones || |- | 1988 || Pascali's Island || Basil Pascali || |- | 1988 || Without a Clue || Dr. John Watson || |- | 1988 || Testimony — The Story of Shostakovich || Dmitri Shostakovich || |- | 1989 || Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story || Simon Wiesenthal || |- | 1990 || || Cunda || |- | 1991 || Bugsy || Meyer Lansky || |- | 1992 || Sneakers || Cosmo || |- | 1992 || Freddie as F.R.O.7 || Freddie The Frog || Voice |- | 1993 || Searching for Bobby Fischer || Bruce Pandolfini || |- | 1993 || Dave || Vice President Gary Nance || |- | 1993 || Schindler's List || Itzhak Stern || |- | 1994 || Death and the Maiden || Dr. Roberto Miranda || |- | 1995 || Species || Xavier Fitch || |- | 1995 || Joseph || Potiphar || Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor – Miniseries or a Movie |- | 1995 || Moses || Moses || |- | 1996 || || Feste || From the play by William Shakespeare |- | 1997 || Weapons of Mass Distraction || Julian Messenger || Television film |- | 1997 || || Amos || |- | 1997 || Photographing Fairies || Minister Templeton || |- | 1998 || || Sweeney Todd || |- | 1999 || Alice in Wonderland || Major Caterpillar || Television film |- | 1999 || || Harry Fertig || |- | 2000 || What Planet Are You From? || Graydon || |- | 2000 || Rules of Engagement || Ambassador Mourain || |- | 2000 || || Narrator || Voice |- | 2000 || Sexy Beast || Don Logan || |- | 2001 || || Otto Frank || |- | 2001 || AI: Artificial Intelligence || Specialist || Voice |- | 2002 || || Hermocrates || Marivaux's play |- | 2002 || Tuck Everlasting || Man in the Yellow Suit || |- | 2003 || House of Sand and Fog || Massoud Behrani|| |- | 2004 || Thunderbirds || "The Hood" || loosely based on the super-marionation programme created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson |- | 2004 || Suspect Zero || Benjamin O'Ryan || |- | 2005 || || Charles Hatton || |- | 2005 || Oliver Twist || Fagin || |- | 2005 || Mrs. Harris || Herman Tarnower || |- | 2005 || BloodRayne || Kagan || Nominated — Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor |- | 2006 || || Himself || |- | 2006 || Lucky Number Slevin || || |- | 2007 || You Kill Me || Frank Falenczyk || |- | 2007 || || Ambrosinus || |- | 2007 || || Narrator || Voice |- | 2008 || Elegy || David Kepesh || Nominated — London Film Critics' Circle Award Best British Actor of the Year |- | 2008 || War, Inc. || Walken || Nominated — Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor |- | 2008 || || Guru Tugginmypudha || Nominated — Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor |- | 2008 || || Dr. Squires || Nominated — Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor |- | 2008 || Transsiberian || Grinko || |- | 2008 || China's Stolen Children || Narrator || Voice |- | 2008 || Fifty Dead Men Walking || Fergus || |- | 2009 || || Narrator || Voice |- | 2009 || Journey to Mecca || Narrator || Voice |- | 2010 || Shutter Island || Dr. John Cawley || Nominated — Scream Award for Best Supporting Actor |- | 2010 || || Nizam || |- | 2010 || Whispers Like Thunder || Vice President Charles Curtis || |- | 2010 || Teen Patti || Perci Trachtenberg || |- | 2011 || Hugo || Georges Méliès || post-production |- | 2012 || || || filming |}

Video games

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" |-style="background:#B0C4DE;" ! Year ! Video game ! Role ! Notes |- | 2010 || Fable III || Sabine || |}

References

External links

Ben Kingsley's SBK announces slate, By TATIANA SIEGEL, Mon., 17 Nov. 2008

Interview, 9/27/05, Cinema Confidential

Interview, 9/22/05, Dark Horizons

Interview, 7/28/04, IGN Films

Interview, 12/16/93, Charlie Rose (Kingsley talks about his experience making "Schindler's List" with director Steven Spielberg).

Category:1943 births Category:Actors awarded British knighthoods Category:Alumni of the University of Salford Category:Anglo-Indian people Category:European Film Awards winners (people) Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Actor Academy Award winners Category:Best Actor BAFTA Award winners Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:British actors of South Asian descent Category:English people of Indian descent Category:English people of Russian descent Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Living people Category:Old Mancunians Category:Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Pendlebury Category:People from Snainton Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Shakespearean actors

Caption	At the San Diego Comic-Con in 2003
Birth name	Alfredo Molina
Birth date	May 24, 1953
Birth place	Paddington, London, United Kingdom
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1978–present
Nationality	United States (naturalized, 2004)
Spouse	Jill Gascoine (1986–present)

Alfred Molina (born 24 May 1953) is a British actor. He first came to public attention in the UK for his supporting role in the 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears. He is well known for his roles in Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Man Who Knew Too Little, Spider-Man 2, Maverick, Species, Not Without My Daughter, Chocolat, Frida, Steamboy, The Hoax, , The Da Vinci Code, Little Traitor, An Education and The Sorcerer's Apprentice. He has recently starred as Detective on the NBC police/courtroom drama and as Roger opposite Dawn French in the BBC television sitcom Roger & Val Have Just Got In.

Early life

Molina was born Alfredo Molina in Paddington, London. His father, Esteban, was a Spaniard from Madrid who worked as a waiter and chauffeur, while his mother, Giovanna, was an Italian house-keeper who cleaned rooms in a hotel and worked as a cook. Molina grew up in a working-class neighbourhood in Notting Hill that was inhabited by many other immigrant families. He decided to become an actor after seeing Spartacus at the age of nine, and attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Career

In 1978, Molina starred with Leonard Rossiter in the sitcom The Losers. Molina made his film debut with a minor role in the 1981 movie Raiders of the Lost Ark as Indiana Jones' ill-fated guide, Sapito, during its iconic opening sequence. However, his big break came with Letter to Brezhnev in 1985, which he followed up with a starring role in Prick Up Your Ears in 1987, playing Joe Orton's lover Kenneth Halliwell. He was originally cast as Arnold Rimmer in the TV sitcom Red Dwarf, however, he was replaced by Chris Barrie.

Molina starred in the first two series of El C.I.D. but left to concentrate on his film work. Subsequent films included Species, Dudley Do-Right, Chocolat, Not Without My Daughter, and Enchanted April. With a flawless mid-western American accent, Molina starred alongside Betty White in the US television series Ladies Man, which ran from 1999–2001.

He has worked twice with Paul Thomas Anderson, first in Boogie Nights and then Magnolia. In 2002, Molina gained wide recognition for his portrayal of Mexican muralist Diego Rivera alongside Salma Hayek in the biopic Frida, a role which garnered him BAFTA and SAG award nominations. In 2003, he played himself alongside Steve Coogan in Coffee and Cigarettes. In 2004, Molina gained further commercial recognition when he was cast as the villain Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2, which went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of that year. He later reprised his role of Doctor Octopus in the video game adaption of Spider-Man 2 and archive footage of Molina as Doctor Octopus is seen in the opening of Spider-Man 3. In 2006, Molina portrayed Touchstone in Kenneth Branagh's film version of Shakespeare's As You Like It and appeared in Ron Howard's adaptation of The Da Vinci Code. Molina provided the voice of the villain Ares in the 2009 animated film Wonder Woman.

Molina's stage work has included two major Royal National Theatre productions, Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana (as Shannon) and David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow (as Fox). In his Broadway debut, Molina performed in Yasmina Reza's Tony Award-winning play 'Art', for which he received a Tony nomination in 1998. In 2004, Molina returned to the stage, starring as Tevye in the Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof. For his performance he once again received a Tony Award nomination, this time for Best Actor in a Musical. Molina received his third Tony Award nomination for Red in 2010, for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play.

In 2007, Molina narrated a 17-part original audiobook for Audible.com called The Chopin Manuscript. This serialized novel was written by a team of 15 best-selling thriller writers, including Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, Joseph Finder and Lisa Scottoline.

On 1 April 2010, he opened at Broadway's John Golden Theater in the role of artist Mark Rothko in John Logan's drama Red opposite Eddie Redmayne for a limited engagement through 27 June. He had played the role to much critical success at the Donmar Warehouse in London in December 2009.

In 2010 he starred opposite Dawn French in the six-part BBC sitcom Roger & Val Have Just Got In.

He is the only actor to have three Lego Minifigures modelled after him, with them being Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man 2, Satipo from Raiders of the Lost Ark and Sheik Amar from .

In July 2010, it was announced that Molina had joined the cast of as Deputy District Attorney Morales. He previously guest-starred in a two-part crossover in 2005 in two other Law & Order franchise shows, and .

Molina is a Patron of the performing arts group Theatretrain.

Personal life

Molina resides in Los Angeles, and announced in 2004 that he had become a US citizen. He is fluent in Italian and Spanish.

He married actress Jill Gascoine in 1986 in Tower Hamlets, London. He has a daughter, Rachel (born 1980), from a previous relationship, and two stepsons (Adam and Sean), from Gascoine's first marriage. He is also a grandfather to Alfie (born November 2003) and Layla (born May 2006).

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1981 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Satipo/"Sapito" | |- | 1982 | Anyone for Denis? | Eric | TV version of a stage play |- | 1984 | Meantime | John | |- |rowspan="2"|1985 | Letter to Brezhnev | Sergei | |- | Ladyhawke | Cezar | |- | 1987 | Prick Up Your Ears | Kenneth Halliwell | |- |rowspan="2"|1989 | Virtuoso | John Ogdon | TV role |- | | Lionel Ellerman | TV roleRoyal Television Society Award for Best Actor – MaleNominated—BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor |- |rowspan="3"|1991 | Hancock | Tony Hancock | TV role

Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (1991) |- | Not Without My Daughter | Moody | |- | American Friends | Oliver Syme | |- | 1992 | Enchanted April | Mellersh Wilkins | |- |rowspan="2"|1993 | | Tony Havers | |- | | Titorelli | |- |rowspan="4"|1994 | Requiem Apache | Hamish – Getaway Driver | TV film |- | Maverick | Angel | |- | | Reverend Leland Drury | |- |Cabin Boy |Nathaniel's History Teacher | |- |rowspan="5"|1995 | Species | Dr. Stephen Arden | |- | | Juan Raúl Perez | |- | Dead Man | Trading Post Missionary | |- | Hideaway | Dr. Jonas Nyebern | |- | Nervous Energy | Ira Moss | |- | 1996 | Before and After | Panos Demeris | |- |rowspan="3"|1997 | Anna Karenina | Levin | |- | Boogie Nights | Rahad Jackson | Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best CastNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |- | | Boris 'The Butcher' Blavasky | |- | 1998 | | Sir Jeremy Burtom | |- |rowspan="3"|1999 | Dudley Do-Right | Snidely K. 'Whip' Whiplash | |- | Magnolia | Solomon Solomon | Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best CastNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |- | Ladies Man | Jimmy Stiles | CBS television role 1999 to 2001, nominated three times for Best Young Artist Award/Young Star Award |- | 2000 | Chocolat | Comte De Reynaud | Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |- |rowspan="2"|2001 | Murder on the Orient Express | Hercule Poirot | |- | Texas Rangers | King Fisher | |- | 2002 | Frida | Diego Rivera | Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting RoleNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated— Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role - Motion Picture |- |rowspan="4"|2003 | My Life Without Me | Ann's Father | |- | Identity | Dr. Malick | |- | Coffee and Cigarettes | Himself | Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor |- | Luther | Johann Tetzel | |- |rowspan="4"|2004 | Crónicas | Victor Hugo Puente | |- | Spider-Man 2 | Doctor Otto Octavius/Doc Ock | Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor or Actress in a Visual Effects FilmNominated—London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Supporting Actor of the YearNominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Bad Guy |- | Steamboy | James Edward Steam | |- | Undertaking Betty | Boris Plots | |- |rowspan="2"|2005 | | Gabriel Duvall | |- | | Gabriel Duvall | |- |rowspan="2"|2006 | | Bishop Manuel Aringarosa | |- | As You Like It | Touchstone | |- |rowspan="7"|2007 | | Dick Suskind | Nominated—London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Supporting Actor of the Year |- | | Harvey 'The Sorcerer' Torriti | TV miniseries |- | Silk | Baldabiou | |- | | Ramesses, the Pharaoh (voice) | |- | The Moon and the Stars | Davide Rieti | |- | The Little Traitor | Sergeant Dunlop | |- | Chill Out, Scooby-Doo! | Professor Jeffries | |- | 2008 | Nothing Like the Holidays | Edy Rodriguez | |- |rowspan="4"|2009 | An Education | Jack Mellor | Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleNominated—British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated—London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Supporting Actor of the YearNominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion PictureNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureNominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Supporting Actor |- | | Chief Inspector Randall Pepperidge | Nominated—ALMA Award for Best Actor in Film |- | | Chandler Manning | |- | Wonder Woman | Ares (voice) | |- |rowspan="5"|2010 | | Stephano | |- | | Sheik Amar | |- | | Maxim Horvath | |- | | Ricardo Morales, D.D.A. (2010–2011), Detective (Spring, 2011) | |- | Roger & Val Have Just Got In | Roger | BBC sitcom |- |rowspan="3"|2011 | Abduction | Frank Burton | |- | Vivaldi | Tartini | filming | |- | Rango | Roadkill | |}

References

External links

Alfred Molina interviewed on Downstage Center XM Radio at American Theatre Wing, November 2004

Working in the Theatre: Performance video seminar at American Theatre Wing, April 1998

Q&A;: Alfred Molina

Category:1953 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama Category:American film actors Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Hispanic and Latino American people Category:English emigrants to the United States Category:Audio book narrators Category:English film actors Category:English people of Italian descent Category:English people of Spanish descent Category:English stage actors Category:English voice actors Category:English television actors Category:Italian British actors Category:People from Paddington Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Shakespearean actors Category:English musical theatre actors Category:Drama Desk Award winners