Sir Ben Kingsley has revealed how he found Sir Anthony Hopkins intimidating to work with.

Sir Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

The British stars, who have known each other for years, get to share the big screen for the first time in Eran Creevy’s action thriller Autobahn, which also stars Nicholas Hoult and Felicity Jones, and despite having worked with the likes of Harvey Keitel, Steven Spielberg and Roman Polanski, Sir Ben was a little anxious.

“I had my first one-on-one scenes with Sir Anthony Hopkins, who I found absolutely terrifying and thrilling,” he said.

Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ben Kingsley at the 2009 Oscars
Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ben Kingsley hug Sean Penn at the 2009 Oscars (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Asked about the Welsh star’s stage presence, the 70-year-old Oscar-winning actor added: “He’s quite terrifying actually.”

But the pair became firm friends, with the actor saying, as he locked his fingers together: “We were like this – beautiful.”

Sir Ben revealed he would like to reunite with his Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb co-star, Ben Stiller, in the future.

The cast of Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb
The cast and director of Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb (Fox UK)

“One on one, (my scenes were with) Ben Stiller and we would love to do something again together, put it that way. We got on really well,” he said.

After starring in Marvel’s Iron Man 3 and the third instalment of Night At The Museum, the Gandhi star joked: “I’m getting in there. I’ve got my foot in the door with the big franchises.”

Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb is in cinemas now.