Exuding an air of gravitas in whatever role he played, Academy-Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley made a specialty of playing historical characters, ranging from Dmitri Shostakovich in "Testimony (1987) to mobster Meyer Lansky in "Bugsy" (1991). His most acclaimed performance, however, was in Sir Richard Attenborough’s epic biopic “Gandhi” (1984), in which he played the title role of one of the 20th Century’s most revered and influential figures.

 This grandson of acclaimed Italian sculptor Constantino Nivola began his acting career while still an undergraduate at Yale, landing the plum leading role in a Seattle production of Athol Fugard's "Master Harold... and the Boys". After college, Alessandro Nivola became a rising stage star thanks to his work in regional theater and his 1995 Broadway debut as the young lover of Helen Mirren in "A Month in the Country".