I've always admired Robert Zemeckis: Ben Kingsley

Veteran Hollywood actor Ben Kingsley, who won an Oscar for his performance in 1982's "Gandhi", is now starring in filmmaker Robert Zemeckis' epic new 3D film "The Walk". The actor says that although he never worked with Zemeckis before, he has "always admired him" for his "great body of work".

"I was invited for this role by the director, Robert Zemeckis. He has a great body of work for which he is celebrated and will continue to be celebrated. I've always admired him, but had never worked with him. In conjunction with that, having read the script, I found it extremely well-written," Kingsley said in a statement.

Kingsley, who has also made a name for himself by playing noted Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal in HBO's film "Murderers Among Us" (1989), is starring as Rudolf Omankowsky - aka, 'Papa Rudy' in the film.

Omankowsky mentored French performance artist Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), helping him to achieve his dream of walking a high-wire between New York's Twin Towers in 1974.

The movie is all set to release in India on October 9 by Sony Pictures India.