--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The biggest surprise in a man's life is…" description: "\"The biggest surprise in a man's life is old age.\" — Ben Kingsley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/ben-kingsley-5765_age_the-biggest-surprise-in-a-man-s-life-is_1594416.jpg" --- # The biggest surprise in a man's life is old age. ![“The biggest surprise in a man's life is old age.” quote by Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/ben-kingsley-5765_age_the-biggest-surprise-in-a-man-s-life-is_1594416.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/ben-kingsley-5765_age_the-biggest-surprise-in-a-man-s-life-is_1594416.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/ben-kingsley-5765_age_the-biggest-surprise-in-a-man-s-life-is_1594416.jpg) > “The biggest surprise in a man's life is old age.” [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aging reveals unexpected truths that catch us off guard. **In simple terms:** Old age brings surprising revelations. Key Takeaway Embrace aging’s lessons. Themes aging surprise life reflection Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - retirement planning - caregiver relationships - personal reflection - health decisions Key Concepts existentialism humanity time Questions to Reflect On - How have your expectations of old age changed? - What wisdom have you gained from aging? A Different Perspective Aging can also bring loss of vitality and memory decline. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Aging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aging/) [Elegy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elegy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man's Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mans-life/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Old age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-age/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) ## Related quotes > [“A man's life is all he has. When you're old, it's all you'll ever have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/a-man-s-life-is-all-he-has-when-you-re-old-it-s-all-you-ll-ever-have/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [A sudden bold and unexpected question doth many times surprise a man and lay him open.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/a-sudden-bold-and-unexpected-question-doth-many-times-surprise-a-man/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [“the old man turned his head, and his face expressed the sum total of the surprise which a man can still feel after a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-old-man-turned-his-head-and-his-face-expressed-the-sum-total-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [You can't surprise a man with a dog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-chupack/you-can-t-surprise-a-man-with-a-dog/) [Cindy Chupack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-chupack/) > [There is no sweeter pleasure than to surprise a man by giving him more than he hopes for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/there-is-no-sweeter-pleasure-than-to-surprise-a-man-by-giving-him/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [Wisdom is the gray hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age (Solomon 4:8).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/wisdom-is-the-gray-hair-unto-men-and-an-unspotted-life-is-old-age/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [Travel is a caprice in childhood, a passion in youth, a necessity in manhood, and an elegy in old age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-rizal/travel-is-a-caprice-in-childhood-a-passion-in-youth-a-necessity-in/) [Jose Rizal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-rizal/) > [I knew nothing about film at all. I suppose the biggest surprise is all these things. In the theatre we sort of do, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lloyd-webber/i-knew-nothing-about-film-at-all-i-suppose-the-biggest-surprise-is/) [Andrew Lloyd Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lloyd-webber/) > [When people make the mistake of underestimating me, that's when they are really in for their biggest surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/when-people-make-the-mistake-of-underestimating-me-that-s-when-they/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The day I got engaged was the biggest surprise ever, and I am a very hard person to surprise! I'm always super on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scheana-shay/the-day-i-got-engaged-was-the-biggest-surprise-ever-and-i-am-a-very/) [Scheana Shay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scheana-shay/) > [My biggest surprise when I became a mom was how I had so much love inside me to give to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-milano/my-biggest-surprise-when-i-became-a-mom-was-how-i-had-so-much-love/) [Alyssa Milano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-milano/) > [ My biggest surprise is probably the level of involvement of all the artists \[in Valerian\] who participated at every level. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-besson/my-biggest-surprise-is-probably-the-level-of-involvement-of-all-the/) [Luc Besson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-besson/) > [To me, the biggest surprise is that Google still functions despite the explosion in the number of sites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cailliau/to-me-the-biggest-surprise-is-that-google-still-functions-despite-the/) [Robert Cailliau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cailliau/) > [That's always the biggest surprise when people meet me: how buoyant I am and how fun and light I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/that-s-always-the-biggest-surprise-when-people-meet-me-how-buoyant-i/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [The biggest surprise about making a movie has got to be the wait in between takes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-paul/the-biggest-surprise-about-making-a-movie-has-got-to-be-the-wait-in/) [Logan Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-paul/) ## More by Ben Kingsley > [Millions of children are disempowered and we need to empower them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/millions-of-children-are-disempowered-and-we-need-to-empower-them/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [We are adjusters. We empathize, we change rhythm and above all we listen to our fellow actors-if they're good actors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/we-are-adjusters-we-empathize-we-change-rhythm-and-above-all-we/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [When Attenborough asked me to do Gandhi it was almost like stepping off one boat and stepping on to another, even though both boats…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/when-attenborough-asked-me-to-do-gandhi-it-was-almost-like-stepping/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [There is always something about the villains that I'm able to play, quote unquote, that isn't villainous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/there-is-always-something-about-the-villains-that-i-m-able-to-play/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [Family is family over the internet, over Skype, over the telephone. Love is love. You don't have to actually go through some ritual to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/family-is-family-over-the-internet-over-skype-over-the-telephone-love/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [Fifteen years before I became a screen actor, I was in the theatre. A lot of my work was comedy, which I loved doing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/fifteen-years-before-i-became-a-screen-actor-i-was-in-the-theatre-a/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [But comedy I'd love to do as much as humanly possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/but-comedy-i-d-love-to-do-as-much-as-humanly-possible/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [You can throw away the privilege of acting, but that would be such a shame. The tribe has elected you to tell its story.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/you-can-throw-away-the-privilege-of-acting-but-that-would-be-such-a/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [I just loved playing a man who was unafraid of making an idiot of himself in the process of falling in love. I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/i-just-loved-playing-a-man-who-was-unafraid-of-making-an-idiot-of/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [When you drop your guard in films, the acting process compensates. You get lazy and you start acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/when-you-drop-your-guard-in-films-the-acting-process-compensates-you/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [When I choose a role it's either because I recognise the man, or that I'm very curious to know him. If I neither recognise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/when-i-choose-a-role-it-s-either-because-i-recognise-the-man-or-that/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [If one is going to offer children stories that underneath the story must be something that will inform, stimulate and guide, I love to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/if-one-is-going-to-offer-children-stories-that-underneath-the-story/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [It is better for me to serve a charity as an actor or a voice, rather than at a luncheon being just a celebrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/it-is-better-for-me-to-serve-a-charity-as-an-actor-or-a-voice-rather/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [The leaping Jaguar on the bonnet, to me, makes it look more like a hunter than something that is getting away. It's a hunter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/the-leaping-jaguar-on-the-bonnet-to-me-makes-it-look-more-like-a/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) > [I don't honestly think people know what acting is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/i-don-t-honestly-think-people-know-what-acting-is/) [Ben Kingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) [Explore all 100 Ben Kingsley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The biggest surprise in a man's life is old age.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Kingsley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/the-biggest-surprise-in-a-man-s-life-is-old-age/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/the-biggest-surprise-in-a-man-s-life-is-old-age/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/ben-kingsley-5765_age_the-biggest-surprise-in-a-man-s-life-is_1594416.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/ben-kingsley-5765_age_the-biggest-surprise-in-a-man-s-life-is_1594416.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc5/ben-kingsley-5765_age_the-biggest-surprise-in-a-man-s-life-is_1594416.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The biggest surprise in a man's life is old age.” — Ben Kingsley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ben Kingsley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-kingsley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The biggest surprise in a man's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/the-biggest-surprise-in-a-man-s-life-is-old-age/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-kingsley/the-biggest-surprise-in-a-man-s-life-is-old-age/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```