BEN KINGSLEY - KINGSLEY'S KNIGHTHOOD ALLOWS HIM ACCESS TO TROUBLE SPOTS

SIR BEN KINGSLEY uses his knighthood as a "passport" to get to the world's trouble spots and reassure locals the British aren't ignoring their plight. The actor became a 'sir' in 2001 and has always held the title dear because he loves being an ambassador for his homeland and visiting far-flung places to visit fascinating people. He explains, "Sir is a little bit of a passport to help you get out to other people and say, `I'm a Brit and I'm privileged to be here. "We just want you to know that we haven't forgotten all about you and you're a vital part of our consciousness and our planet." His title has brought him into contact with world leaders, but it's the refugees and the oppressed who leave Kingsley stunned when he travels abroad as an ambassador. He adds, "I was fortunate enough to be invited to Pakistan after the earthquake, just to tell them (victims), `We're there, we know what's going on, what you've been through.' "I went to Afghanistan for the first time after the Taliban were thrown out, and little girls were going to school for the first time in God knows how many years. "I went to the Palestinian refugee camps and we were able to screen Gandhi on that wall that divides the Palestinian territory from the Israeli territory."