Guaranteed to be one of the more talked-about roles in Iron Man 3, Sir Ben Kingsley's highly theatrical Madarin bulletin's form a significant part and plot-point within the film. But in a career where he's played very peaceful men (such as Gandhi), he's also known for getting under the skin's of some great villains as well. Is that a specific attraction for the Oscar-winning knight? Impact finds out...
You have played some fascinating villains from Don Logan and the Hood. This must be one of the juiciest and most complex villains
SBK: You mention some wonderful characters. I think what I have to put at the back of my mind is the magic word 'villain' because I think the classic villains have a great sense of righteousness and destiny. Richard III begins by saying this is all wrong (to the audience) and I am going to sort it out, stay with me. In Sexy Beast, my Don Logan was an abused child who was never held and went on to abuse others. That was my key into Don. And I think our Mandarin has to have a profound sense of right. I didn't do any specific research into looking at anybody in particular but I am fascinated by documentary footage. I got a huge amount of information from that. What I found, right from 1933 onwards and probably before, though it is not recorded, is an extraordinary sense of righteousness and destiny that these chaps have. 'I know the way. It has to be this way'.
I think Robert (as Tony) refers to (The Madarin) as being a preacher. I think, what I have to do as an actor is push the 'villain' word right to the back and bring forward, however distorted, their absolute sense of right and sense of destiny, which the Mandarin had to have throughout. A deep seriousness and dedication to his cause. And it must become the world's cause.
I think you have said on occasion, without exploring the dark side, the light, the good doesn't mean anything.
SBK: It doesn't. Drama, it has to be the light and shade, braided together and pulled really tight. But it has to be those two factors. I think this what is lovely about this franchise and what I have seen of (Iron Man) One and Two, and Avengers is it is always dark and light. There is always a really threatening dark moment and then a moment of tenderness and vulnerability or comradeship, irony, wit, self deprecation. All these wonderful things thrown into the pot that give our hero, whether it is a hero of good or a hero of anti good, a vulnerability. Robert is great at exploiting this. It is always that 'what am I without my Iron suit?' question in him all the time.
How did you come up with the character's voice and accent?
I got it from the script because i just read that Robert's character says 'He sounds like a midwest preacher but he is this and this and this...' So I got a lot of clues from within the script, from what Tony Stark sees on the screen. A certain degree of repetitive speech, which is classic device of the manipulative dictator...and the skill in broadcasting, the use of the word 'lesson' a great deal. So from Tony Stark and from the script – suddenly it hit me in a hotel room 'Oooh, there he is'. Scared myself.
He seems to be a composite of many things. Was that so the finger couldn't be pointed at any one country or religion?
SBK: I think what is disconcerting about those broadcasts (of The Mandarin) is the rhetoric and the language and the voice and his attacks on western iconography with quite a degree of knowledge. It is attacking the very familiar in a voice which is also familiar to a western audience. So that could be very disconcerting. It is closer to a political broadcast than it is an alien threat. Alien threats are easy to cope with because 'Euuuhh, they are alien'. But when you hear the timbre of someone who could have filled your car with gas the other day, or be your doctor or your lawyer. You're 'I know that voice. What he is saying is appalling but it is in a familiar pattern of speech. I think that is what they were going for. Also the imagery that is at odds with one another; the extremely oriental cape, the army boots, the fatigues, the crazy anti-establishment t-shirts, the dog tags, the rings and the tattoo on the back of the neck. They are all there to be very disconcerting. I think my favourite lines are 'You know who I am,. You don't know where I am. You will never see me coming.' There is nothing about me where you can go 'Oh I know where you are coming from...' because you don't. It is really there to worry and disconcert. You think you are on home ground...no you are not...yes you are...no you are not...
What was most appealing to you about his character?
I think the most appealing to me was working with Robert Downey Jnr. and Don and that team. It is that team that allows you to take risks and breath some kind of life into a character that is clearly fictional. What was appealing is you were given a team, a wonderful context, brilliant people to work with. Then you can start to talk to people about 'righteousness' and act that. With a lesser group they wouldn't know what I was talking about, they'd just say 'No, be a baddie. What's all that stuff'?' With this team you can really go into those more resonant deeper layers which I think are more disconcerting for an audience. You are allowed, within their framework, you are given great permission to take risks, to push, to push, to push. You know intuitively and they know exactly when you have hit it. They will say print it and move on. That makes it really thrilling.
Were you a fan of the comic books?
Kevin (Feige, President of Production at Marvel Studios) gave me a lot of material to look at which I really loved. The comics weren't really part of my younger years. Mine were the British comics, The Eagle, Dan Dare. When you look at the comics, the dialogue that comes out of their mouths is very precise, it has to be very precise. It is so unambiguous, also the primal colours that are used, the unequivocally red, green, orange, black, blue. They are primal colours. In a sense the film also reflects that too. The texture of the film is so inviting and tactile and the primal colours that they use. I didn't have to separately absorb the Marvel culture, i was in it. So on a daily basis, by osmosis you are soaking it in. and participating in it. That was very nourishing for me.
What are your next projects?
SBK: It is still a bit random. I am still at the mercy of what arrives on the desk as it were. I am producing now. My wife and I have a production company. To a certain extent we can create our own material and are guided by our own tastes and what we want to put on the screen. Aside from that it is quite a random process. Of the scripts that come in, when i feel a resonance, a special voice within me that says 'there you are'. When that happens, it is thrilling. and you know how many pitfalls there are between the there you are moment and it actually arriving on the screen. But it is that recognition i am looking for. Something coiled up inside means a story that I am hoping will, I don't even know what it is. That is why it is so exciting to read a script, read the map of the Mandarin and say 'there your are'. It is that which I think now, and always has, drives me forward. i am very blessed that the first ten to 12 years of my career were with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Ender's Game is coming up. How is that?
SBK: Lovely, but quite different from the challenge of The Mandarin. With Mandarin i was very rarely involved in green screen. In Gandhi we had none. We actually had 4,000 people on screen for the funeral. in Enders Game we had a lot of green screen. The kids in the film were obviously challenged by being told 'it is all going to be cgi-d later but you have to react' . Gavin (Hood) looked after them so well and they did form a wonderful relationship with him. So that he would, where possible, talk them through what they were seeing while they were reacting to it. He really knocked himself out pumping energy into those kids who couldn't see anything. I think it is going to be a wonderful film.
Tell us about your role...
SBK: Mazar Rackham. He is a combination of historically ancient warrior, in that he is descended from Maori and has Maori tattooed on his face. And at the same time he is teaching children how to operate drones. So he is very advanced and also rooted in an ancient warrior tradition.
