The 'Gandhi' star was deeply shocked watching a docuseries about the liberation of Belsen and even more so by his grandmother's anti-Semitism.
Sir Ben Kingsley says his grandmother's anti-Semitic comments "planted a seed" in him to want to speak out.
The Hollywood legend, 79, has revealed his grandparent being "inexplicably but quite vigorously anti-Semitic" disturbed him and he went into "deep shock" as a child after watching a docuseries about the liberation of the Nazi camp Belsen, which is why he has taken on roles in films about the Holocaust.
Those movies include 'Schindler's List', 'Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story', 'Bugsy' and 'Anne Frank: The Whole Story'.
Asked why he's done so many movies about the genocide of Jews during World War II between 1941 and 1945, he told Parade magazine: "I must answer very candidly, and it's an answer that disturbs me but it's the truth. I remember as a schoolboy watching a wonderful television documentary series, which examined World War Il. And as a schoolboy, alone in the house, I watched the liberation of Belsen [a Nazi concentration camp] on film. And I do remember as a young adolescent, I think I was maybe 11 or 12 - this was way after World War Il, of course, it was a retrospective - but I think my heart stopped beating for a little while. I went into deep shock as a child [watching that documentary].
"The disturbing part of this story is that I remember within the same few days having a conversation with my maternal grandmother, who was inexplicably but quite vigorously anti-Semitic. So, the two impressions came to me almost simultaneously, and as a child, it was very difficult for me, impossible for me to counter my grandmother's outburst, but I think a seed was planted in me that said to me,
"One day I will speak."
On the same day that Glastonbury welcomed back Margate's adopted sons, The Libertines, Margate itself put on it's very own Leisure Festival as it...
Oasis fans hoping to get tickets for the band's reunion shows are being asked a trivia question to secure access to a pre-sale ballot.
Sheffield's very own all girl group Pretty Fierce are still on a high after the recent release of their debut single - 'Ready For Me'.
Three nights before the end of his current tour Will Varley returned to his home town of Deal to delight a sold out crowd in The Astor Theatre.
With only a few days to go before Portsmouth based songstress and producer WYSE releases her new single, 'Belladonna', we caught up with her to find...
Colorado raised, Glasgow educated and Manchester based Bay Bryan is nothing if not a multi-talented, multi-faceted artist performing as both...
Former Marigolds band member Keelan Cunningham has rediscovered his love of music with his new solo project Keelan X.
Wiltshire singer-songwriter Luke De Sciscio, formally known as Folk Boy, is set to release is latest album - 'The Banquet' via AntiFragile Music on...
Casey Stein (Nicholas Hoult) never had intentions of a life of crime, but during a...
Using remarkably photorealistic animation, this remake of the 1967 Disney classic is warm and enjoyable,...
Rick is one of the hottest screenwriters in Hollywood but after the death of his...
After the Oscar-winning 2008 documentary Man on Wire told this story with such energy and...
Mowgli is a human boy known as a man-cub to his peers, among which are...
Beautifully written and directed, this fact-based drama is an odd mixture of excellent acting and...
Philippe Petit is a young French high-wire artist, passionate about his tightrope dream and determined...
James Dean is a rising superstar; handsome, slick, smart and mild-mannered, and yet rebellious with...
Manhattan book critic Wendy is forced to adjust to a dramatic life change when her...
An intriguing premise keeps the audience gripped for about 20 minutes before the movie runs...
On 7th August, 1974, one man chose to walk a high-wire between the two buildings...
An arch approach makes this bonkers thriller rather enjoyable, even if it never quite cracks...
For a low-budget kids' movie, this British science-fiction adventure has an unusually sharp cast, decent...
What would you do if you had one of the smartest minds and largest bank...