Ben Kingsley: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

By Mike Fraser / May 3, 2013

Sir Ben Kingsley has pretty much seen and done it all. With a long, fulfilling career spanning over five decades, the Indian-born Englishman is one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, and has spent much of his time as Hollywood's go to guy for roles requiring distinct class and uncompromising authority. No matter the role that Ben Kingsley takes on, he always seems to rise to the occasion (even if it the choice later proves to be somewhat ill-judged). You can say he takes the good with the bad - sometimes more bad than good - but always seems willing to take risks and try out new angles. With Kingsley's latest performance in Iron Man 3 as Tony Stark's arch-nemesis the Mandarin winning him even further acclaim, join us as we count down 5 of Ben's most awesome performances, and 5 that weren't so worthy of this extraordinary talented actor...

5 Performances That Sucked...

5. Guru Tugginmypudha (The Love Guru)

If you were ever unlucky enough to catch The Love Guru back in 2008 (one of the worst comedy movies ever made), you'll no doubt recall Kingsley's character, the "hilariously" named Guru Tugginmypudha, who is... eccentric, to say the least. To date, this is undeniably one of Ben Kingsley's most ridiculous roles, and one which makes you wonder what exactly is going through his mind sometimes when he signs onto movies. Despite its awfulness, this character has built up a relatively dedicated fanbase, purely because Kingsley's performance is so far-out and unexpected and the age of irony is upon us. Still, it's good to see that Kingsley, despite being in The Love Guru, can still look as though he's having fun. This is one of the traits that certainly helps to define a great actor: being able to have fun under pretty much any circumstances. Still, he's not getting away that easy: this is an absurdly ridiculous role that the man should have never agreed to. There's "having fun," but there's also "losing your dignity." Tugginmypudha falls into the later camp.