Academy Award-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley described how he tackled the role of Nun in the biblical epic "Exodus: Gods and Kings" during an interview at Comic-Con on Saturday.
Kingsley said that he approached the role as he had his other larger-than-life characters, such as his title role in the film "Gandhi."
"Trying to find, as of course I did with Gandhi, as of course I have tried in my work, to demystify [figures], and say, 'Look, these guys were fresh for blood, and they had a hell of a struggle,'" he told Den of Geek.
"Ridley [Scott] of course has taken that further with the wonderful Christian Bale as Moses. Absolutely beautiful performance, but you see it's gritty; it's a guy struggling, and sometimes very out of his depth.
"Very human and very vulnerable. So, that's what we all attempted as actors to do."
"Exodus: Gods and Kings" is an adaptation of the biblical story of Moses—a Hebrew who was adopted by the Pharaoh's daughter and frees the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.
Bale plays Moses, and Sigourney Weaver plays his adopted mother, Queen Tuya. John Turturro is Pharaoh Seti, and Joel Edgerton plays Moses' adopted brother, Ramses II.
Kingsley plays an enslaved Israelite who is the father of a central Old Testament figure, Joshua. Joshua was an aide to Moses in his youth, and went on to lead the Israelites after Moses' death.
Interestingly, Kingsley starred in the 1995 TV movie "Moses" as the title character. He said Saturday that a Vatican priest, who advised the film on set, did not approve of his performance.
"He was quite shocked at the way that Moses had to speak to God in scenes," Kingsley said.
"I was arguing with him... I'm talking to my buddy!" he explained. "I'm having a row with the boss.
"I tried to make his struggle as human as possible."
"Exodus: Gods and Kings" is slated for a December 12 release.
