Ferdinand James M. Kingsley is an English actor. He is known for portraying the roles of Hamza Bey in the film Dracula Untold (2014), Mr. Francatelli in the television series Victoria (2016–2019), Irving Thalberg in the film Mank (2020), Hob Gadling in the Netflix adaptation of The Sandman (2022), and the mysterious villain A.M. in Reacher on Amazon Prime Video (2023).
Early life Ferdinand James M. Kingsley was born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, the son of actor Ben Kingsley and theatre director Alison Sutcliffe. He is of predominantly English descent; his paternal grandfather was of Khoja Gujarati descent and one of his great-grandfathers was believed by the family to have been of either German-Jewish or Russian-Jewish descent.: "The grandmother of the knighted Royal Shakespeare Company alum spoke Yiddish she picked up while a garment worker in London's East End a century ago. "She was violently opposed to talking about this, so my poor mother was at the receiving end of a rage attack every time my grandmother was asked about her husband, her lover, whoever it was, but it's believed that he was a Russian Jew or a German Jew called Goodman", Kingsley told The Jerusalem Post".
Kingsley attended the RSC theatre nursery, Warwick School and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Career Kingsley's theatre credits include Troilus and Cressida, and Little Eyolf for the Royal Shakespeare Company. He played Rosencrantz in the National Theatre's 2010–11 production of Hamlet, for which he received a commendation at the 2010 Ian Charleson Awards, and Phaeax in Welcome to Thebes.
In the film The Last Legion he played Young Ambrosinus in flashbacks to the younger days of the character Ambrosinus, played by his father Ben Kingsley. He took the part of Albert Aurier in the BBC production Vincent Van Gogh: Painted With Words. He plays Bushy in Richard II, which is part of the BBC's The Hollow Crown series of Shakespeare's history plays aired in Summer 2012.
He played both Jesus and God the Father in the August 2012 production of the York Mystery Plays. In 2013, Kingsley played the part of murdered Jewish anarchist Joshua Bloom in the BBC period crime drama Ripper Street, and filmed prominent roles in Agatha Christie's Poirot: Elephants Can Remember, the BBC feature film The Whale as Obed Hendricks, and Universal Pictures' 2014 feature Dracula Untold as Hamza Bey. In Spring 2013, Kingsley starred in the short film Dance in Colour by The Crookes. From 2016 to 2019, Kingsley starred in ITV's drama Victoria as Italian British cook Charles Elmé Francatelli. In 2020, he played Irving Thalberg in the film Mank (2020). In 2022, Kingsley featured in the Netflix series The Sandman as Hob Gadling in episode 6, "The Sound of Her Wings".
In 2023, Kingsley portrayed George Wilkins in the series Silo on Apple TV+, and the mysterious villain A.M. in Reacher (season 2) on Amazon Prime Video.
On the air, he has portrayed Aldrich Kemp in the series “Who is Aldrich Kemp”, “Who Killed Aldrich Kemp”, and “Aldrich Kemp and the Rose of Pamir” by Julian Simpson.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2007 The Last Legion Young Ambrosinus 2014 Dracula Untold Hamza Bey 2020 Mank Irving Thalberg 2026 Supergirl Elias Knoll
Television Year Title Role Notes2010Painted with WordsAlbert AurierTV movie2012The Hollow CrownSir John BushyEpisode: "Richard II"2013Ripper StreetJoshua BloomEpisode: "Tournament of Shadows"Agatha Christie's PoirotDesmond Burton-CoxEpisode: "Elephants Can Remember"The WhaleObed HendricksTV movie2014BorgiaGiulio d'EsteEpisodes: "1503, Part One","1503, Part Two","1504","1506" and "1507"2016–2019VictoriaCharles Elmé FrancatelliMain cast2017Still Star-CrossedAldo LazzaraEpisodes: "Pluck Out the Heart of My Mystery", "Nature Hath Framed Strange Fellows in Her Time" and "Hell Is Empty and All the Devils Are Here"Doctor WhoNeville CatchloveEpisode: "Empress of Mars"2022–2025The SandmanHob GadlingEpisodes: "The Sound of Her Wings", "Season of Mists", "Fuel for the Fire", "A Tale of Graceful Ends"2023SiloGeorge WilkinsEpisodes: "Freedom Day", "Holston's Pick", "The Relic", "The Getaway" and "Outside"2023–2024ReacherA. M.Main cast
Radio Year Title Role Notes2022 Who Is Aldrich Kemp?Aldrich KempBBC Radio 42023 Who Killed Aldrich Kemp?Aldrich KempBBC Radio 42019–2023 The Lovecraft InvestigationsSlideBBC Radio 4
Stage Year Title Role Notes2024The ComeuppancePacoAlmeida Theatre, London
References
External links
Conway VanGelder Grant (agency's promotional website)
2020 Interview with Ferdinand Kingsley