The 10 Most Underrated Ben Kingsley Movies, Ranked (From Least to Most Underrated)

Ben Kingsley’s career stretches across continents, genres, and budgets, with lead and supporting turns in literary adaptations, thrillers, and character driven dramas. He has collected major industry honors for landmark roles in titles many viewers already know, yet his filmography holds a deep bench of projects that showcase range, craft, and a willingness to take risks far from the spotlight of franchise work.

This list spotlights performances that reveal different facets of his screen presence, from historical figures to wry scene stealers. You will find studio releases and international projects, collaborations with celebrated directors, and films adapted from acclaimed novels and plays. Each entry notes the core creative team, key plot details, and production context to help you track them down and add them to your watchlist.

‘Operation Finale’ (2018)

Chris Weitz directs this historical drama about the Mossad mission to locate and capture Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. Ben Kingsley plays Eichmann opposite Oscar Isaac as field agent Peter Malkin, with Mélanie Laurent and Nick Kroll among the supporting cast. The film was produced by Automatik and MGM, and it was shot in locations that stood in for Buenos Aires and its suburbs to recreate the period setting.

The story follows the undercover surveillance, the safe house standoff, and the high risk exfiltration that led to Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem. Alexandre Desplat composed the score, and the production worked with historical consultants to reflect the logistics of airline extraction, forged travel documents, and the operational cover stories used by the team.

‘Elegy’ (2008)

Isabel Coixet adapts Philip Roth’s novel ‘The Dying Animal’ with Ben Kingsley as cultural critic David Kepesh and Penélope Cruz as Consuela. The film also features Patricia Clarkson, Peter Sarsgaard, and Dennis Hopper. It was released by Sony Pictures Classics in North America and filmed in and around New York City to mirror the academic and gallery settings central to the story.

The narrative traces Kepesh’s relationship with a former student, exploring power dynamics, illness, and aging through quiet character moments. Screenwriter Nicholas Meyer keeps the focus on intimate conversations and shifting loyalties, while the production design uses apartments, classrooms, and museum spaces to frame the central duet between Kingsley and Cruz.

‘Transsiberian’ (2008)

Brad Anderson directs this snowbound thriller set on the railway that connects Beijing to Moscow. Ben Kingsley appears as Russian narcotics detective Ilya Grinko alongside Emily Mortimer, Woody Harrelson, Eduardo Noriega, and Kate Mara. The production recreated Siberian rail interiors and icy landscapes using European locations and practical train cars to capture the claustrophobia of long distance travel.

The plot centers on an American couple who fall in with the wrong companions, triggering a chain of smuggling, interrogation, and moral compromise aboard the train and in remote stations. The film blends police procedure with noir elements, and the camera work emphasizes narrow corridors, compartment doors, and snow swept yards that heighten pressure on every choice the characters make.

‘Oliver Twist’ (2005)

Roman Polanski directs this faithful adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel, with Ben Kingsley portraying Fagin. The cast includes Barney Clark as Oliver, Harry Eden as the Artful Dodger, and Jamie Foreman as Bill Sikes, with production backing from European partners and distribution by Sony in the United States. Extensive backlot street sets and detailed costume work ground the story in Victorian London.

The film follows Oliver’s journey from the workhouse to the thieves’ kitchen, covering key episodes involving pickpocketing lessons, the botched handkerchief theft, and the brutal fallout around Nancy. Kingsley’s Fagin is framed within the criminal economy of the rookery, and the cinematography uses candlelit interiors, damp alleyways, and crowded markets to underline the social machinery that shapes every character’s fate.

‘Without a Clue’ (1988)

Thom Eberhardt directs this comic twist on Sherlock Holmes lore that presents Dr. John Watson, played by Ben Kingsley, as the true detective. Michael Caine co stars as a hired stage actor who performs the role of Holmes for the public, with Jeffrey Jones as Inspector Lestrade. The film was shot in the United Kingdom, using period streets and stately homes to stage the ruse.

The case at the center involves counterfeit plates and a criminal mastermind who exploits the split between image and reality. The screenplay by Gary Murphy and Larry Strawther mines Doyle’s canon for details while imagining newspaper stunts, music hall bookings, and Scotland Yard politics that make the Holmes brand a management problem only Watson can solve.

‘The Physician’ (2013)

Philipp Stölzl adapts Noah Gordon’s bestselling novel with Ben Kingsley as the physician and philosopher Ibn Sina. Tom Payne plays Rob Cole, an English apprentice who travels east to study medicine, with Stellan Skarsgård and Olivier Martinez in key roles. The production mounted large scale sets in Germany and Morocco, with desert caravans, madrasa courtyards, and hospital wards built to support the scope of the journey.

The story follows Rob’s pursuit of scientific learning amid religious restrictions on autopsy and treatment. The film dramatizes classroom lectures, medical experiments, and outbreaks that test doctrine against practice, and it places Kingsley’s Ibn Sina at the center of debates about observation, anatomy, and the responsibilities of a healer.

‘Twelfth Night’ (1996)

Trevor Nunn’s Shakespeare adaptation casts Ben Kingsley as Feste the clown, performing songs and needling the nobles of Illyria. The ensemble includes Imogen Stubbs, Helena Bonham Carter, Nigel Hawthorne, Toby Stephens, and Mel Smith. The production uses coastal estates and gardens to stage shipwrecks, duels, and garden pranks with clear blocking and musical interludes.

The film tracks mistaken identities as Viola disguises herself and sparks a cascade of romantic confusion. Kingsley’s Feste threads through the story with lute in hand, delivering lyrics and asides that comment on the plot, and the design leans on period costumes, handwritten letters, and candlelit rooms to keep the dialogue front and center.

‘Death and the Maiden’ (1994)

Roman Polanski adapts Ariel Dorfman’s play with Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver, and Stuart Wilson as the three characters in a tense chamber piece. The setting is a coastal home in a country emerging from dictatorship, and the production confines most of the action to living room and bedroom spaces that amplify the interrogation at its core.

The plot follows a former political prisoner who believes a chance visitor is the doctor who tortured her. The film explores confessions, taped statements, and the limits of truth commissions, and it uses prop details like a tape recorder, a blindfold, and a tied chair to structure shifting control inside a single night.

‘Searching for Bobby Fischer’ (1993)

Steven Zaillian writes and directs this drama based on Fred Waitzkin’s book about his son Josh. Ben Kingsley plays chess instructor Bruce Pandolfini alongside Max Pomeranc, Joe Mantegna, Joan Allen, and Laurence Fishburne. The film shot in New York City, using classrooms, parks, and tournament halls to depict scholastic chess culture.

The story charts Josh’s rapid rise through local and national events, balancing formal coaching with speed chess in Washington Square Park. James Horner composed the score, and the production stages key matches with clocks, notation sheets, and overhead boards that make openings and endgames legible for audiences while keeping the family dynamic in focus.

‘Lucky Number Slevin’ (2006)

Paul McGuigan directs this twisty crime film set in New York City with Ben Kingsley as a crime boss known as the Rabbi. The cast features Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, and Lucy Liu. The production used Canadian locations that doubled for Manhattan interiors and exteriors, with sharp wardrobe choices and graphic title cards that cue time jumps and hidden agendas.

The plot revolves around a case of mistaken identity that pulls the lead into a conflict between rival kingpins and a long running revenge plan. The film highlights crime family rituals, bookmaking operations, and the mechanics of hired guns, and it builds toward intersecting reveals that explain how each player’s history feeds the final move.

Share your own picks for underappreciated Ben Kingsley performances in the comments so everyone can compare notes and discover a few new favorites.