Ben Kingsley
There aren't many words to describe what a Martin Scorsese film can do to the human mind. But his fiercely crafted film Shutter Island will leave many in a suspended state of awe. The Oscar-winning director brings to life a haunting tale of mystery set in an island-based hospital for the criminally insane.
When a patient disappears from the impenetrable Ashecliffe Hospital, U.S Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) set off to Shutter Island hoping to solve the case. But once they arrive on the island, they discover that nothing is quite what it seems. Searching for answers, they meet Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), a passionate doctor who protects his patients at all costs. But it doesn't take long before the two are submerged into a volatile environment of dangerous experiments, psychopathic patients and dark conspiracies.
Oscar-winner Sir Ben Kingsley, who worked closely with DiCaprio and Scorsese, talked candidly with us about the making of Shutter Island.
Q: What was it about the storyline that sparked your involvement in this project?
Kingsley: Well, Marty rang me home and invited me to come onboard. It was lovely to chat with him. I spent some brief but great moments with him in the past and we always wanted to work with each other. This opportunity arose, he rang me, I read the script and then of course Leo was going to be part of it. I worked on my script and then arrived in Boston where we started to rehearse and the rest is history.
Q: Tell us about your character—some may misjudge him as a villain. Who was Dr. Cawley?
Kingsley: My task throughout shooting was to mold the center of my character, his capacity to heal, listen, hang in there and try and save as many patients as possible, focusing down to one particular patient. It was a central core issue that I held onto as a character. It made work a very complicated and uncomfortable shoot, it was difficult but simple, the task being simplified to the doctor looking after his patients, whatever it takes, so there is nothing villainous about that.
He has an interesting perspective on his profession at a period when there was a battle ranging between the old therapies and the new drugs.
Q: What was it like working with Martin Scorsese?
Kingsley: Absolutely wonderful. He directs from the heart. He's extremely knowledgeable about film, about the language of film. He will work from an immense vocabulary of tone, color, texture, music, light, lenses, film stock, screen size, everything. And of course the more he knows, the more rich the experience will be at the other end of the project. It's a stimulating, exciting, and warm experience—warm in the sense that he directs affectionately.
[Directing] seems to be a great act of affection for him—that's a really good atmosphere in which to work.
Q: Describe what it's like to be on set with Scorsese.
Kingsley: He is very thorough, demanding, it is exacting, he aims for the perfect version of the scene or the story to…thrill the audience. He has a deep trust for all his actors, crew, [he addresses] one by one with trust and enthusiasm. The whole working environment is one that is free of neurosis. Imagine making a film on a neurotic film set—we would all be dead by the end of the day. You have to direct [this] film with affection and decency.
Q: You've worked with an array of great actors. Can you tell us what makes DiCaprio stand out from the rest?
Kingsley: I think his choices are driven by a unique intelligence; it is that which I think separates the good from the mediocre. It's a question of intelligence and how you apply that intelligence. He's remarkably bright and always a pleasure to be with. Leo is at the Hamlet stage of his life and this role gives him a tremendous opportunity to show his depth.
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