SINGAPORE — If interviewing the actor who won the much deserved Best Actor Oscar for playing one of history’s most iconic heroes — Mahatma Gandhi — was one massively nerve-wrecking task, Ben Kingsley was determined to put us at ease. There were no airs from this knighted thespian who not only spent 15 years performing for the Royal Shakespeare Company, but also transformed himself into various iconic characters: Meyer Lansky (in Bugsy), Itzhak Stern (Schindler’s List), Fagin (Oliver Twist) and the gripping psychopathic Don Logan (Sexy Beast).

After greeting this writer in his crisp cut-glass English accent (“Nice to speak to you, Genevieve. Now isn’t that a lovely name?”), the charming and polite 69-year-old was an entire universe away from his latest intimidating on-screen creation as the chillingly enigmatic villain, The Mandarin, in Marvel’s blockbuster, Iron Man 3. With The Mandarin as one of comic-land’s most terrifying villains, was it hard for Kingsley to make the character his own while trying to live up and please fanboy expectations?.

“Comics were not part of my upbringing at all! But I really loved the primary colours, and the very succinct and unambiguous dialogue that accompanied the graphics,” he laughed.

“The evolution of the character was on the page. I read the script and found it incredibly appealing. Watching Iron Man 1 and 2 and then Avengers, I loved the confident style they have. It’s self-deprecating, funny and, yes, it’s a superhero movie but, there is a strong sense of vulnerability, irony and wit. Then, within that wonderful framework, you can start playing with the balance of the character.”

He continued: “I think the franchise is all very well written. So if I can see in a script a pattern of human behaviour that I can recognise, it rings true, it’s genuine ... then, I’m very much guided by the energy of the story, my fellow actors and the director. We didn’t necessarily have to struggle too much — the aspects of the character are there on the page. And that’s why I really embraced the role of The Mandarin “

And although he really enjoyed being on set with Robert Downey, Jr (“he was absolutely marvellous to work with”), Kingsley said there wasn’t much improvisation on set as one might imagine.

“Okay, there’s a tiny bit of improvisation between Robert and Don (Cheadle) and I,” he conceded. “But the actual broadcast scenes, I said to (screenwriter) Shane Black I didn’t want to change a word.”

Is it because he’s playing a super villain who is a terrorist and — given the current situation of the world — perhaps plays a little too close to home?

“In filming some scenes, we realised that there is a sense of righteousness and destiny in these (terrorist) individuals that is hard to question. And what remains deeply disconcerting and frightening and fresh to this day is their sense of right and their sense of cultural destiny,” said Kingsley. “I think when actors are playing villains, the best key is not to look at how evil they can be, but to look into their total conviction. That’s very frightening, because you can’t get through that barrier.”

But if there is one thing Kingsley is famous for, it’s his ability to silence an audience with his passion and performance, as he throws himself into every aspect of a role. Well, almost every aspect.

“Unfortunately I don’t speak a word of Mandarin,” he laughed. “But I always wanted to learn!”

Iron Man 3 is out in cinemas now.