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{{Short description|British actor and filmmaker (born 1960)}}{{pp|small=yes}}{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}{{Use British English|date=September 2022}}

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| birth_place = Belfast, Northern IrelandActor|filmmaker}}| years_active = 1981–presentKenneth Branagh filmography>FilmographyList of awards and nominations received by Kenneth Branagh>Full list| spouse = {{unbulleted listEmma Thompson1995|reason=divorced}}Lindsay Brunnock|2003}}}}| partner = Helena Bonham Carter(1994–1999)}}Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|r|æ|n|É™}} {{respell|BRAN|É™}}; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. His accolades include an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Olivier Award. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours, and was given Freedom of the City in his native Belfast in 2018.WEB,www.belfastcity.gov.uk/News/News-87749.aspx, Belfast celebrates Branagh’s Freedom award – Belfast City Council, www.belfastcity.gov.uk, en-GB, 30 January 2018, In 2020, he was ranked in 20th place on The Irish Times{{’}} list of Ireland’s greatest film actors.NEWS, The 50 greatest Irish film actors of all time – in order, Donald, Clarke, Tara, Brady, 2020-06-13, The Irish Times,www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/the-50-greatest-irish-film-actors-of-all-time-in-order-1.4271988, 2020-06-13, subscription,web.archive.org/web/20230228021535/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/the-50-greatest-irish-film-actors-of-all-time-in-order-1.4271988, 2023-02-28, live, He has directed and starred in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare’s plays, including Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Othello (1995), Hamlet (1996), and As You Like It (2006). He was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Director for Henry V, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Hamlet. He directed Swan Song (1992), which earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. He also directed Peter’s Friends (1992), Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), Thor (2011), and Cinderella (2015). For his semi-autobiographical film Belfast (2021), he was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director, and won Best Original Screenplay.Branagh directed and starred as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Death on the Nile (2022), and A Haunting in Venice (2023). He has also acted in Celebrity (1998), Wild Wild West (1999), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), and Valkyrie (2008). His portrayal of Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn (2011) earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He played supporting roles in Christopher Nolan’s films Dunkirk (2017), Tenet (2020), and Oppenheimer (2023).Branagh has starred in the BBC1 series Fortunes of War (1987), the Channel 4 series Shackleton (2002), and BBC One series Wallander (2008–2016). He received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie and an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of SS leader Reinhard Heydrich in the HBO film Conspiracy (2001). He also received a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his role as Franklin D. Roosevelt in the television film Warm Springs (2005).

Early life and education

Kenneth Charles Branagh was born in Belfast on 10 December 1960,MAGAZINE, Monitor, Entertainment Weekly, 14 December 2012, 1237, 26, the son of working-class Protestant parents Frances ({{nee}} Harper) and William Branagh. His father was a plumber and joiner who ran a company that specialised in fitting partitions and suspended ceilings.WEB,www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/kenneth_branagh_biog.html, Kenneth Branagh Biography, Tiscali.co.uk, 7 March 2010, dead,www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/kenneth-branagh/biography/71," title="web.archive.org/web/20120927054756www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/kenneth-branagh/biography/71,">web.archive.org/web/20120927054756www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/kenneth-branagh/biography/71, 27 September 2012, Claire O’Boyle, Our Belfast with Branagh, Daily Mirror, London, 22 January 2022, pages 34-35. He is the middle of three children, with an older brother and a younger sister, and lived in the Tigers Bay area of Belfast. He was educated at Grove Primary School.NEWS,belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/kenneth-branagh-i-left-belfast-but-its-still-my-home-and-id-love-to-shoot-a-movie-here-34753092.html, Kenneth Branagh: I left Belfast but it’s still my home and I’d love to shoot a movie here, Belfast Telegraph, 16 July 2018, Belfasttelegraph.co.uk, White, p. 2 In early 1970, at the age of nine, Branagh moved with his family to England to escape the Troubles; they settled in Berkshire, where Branagh grew up in ReadingWEB,www.branaghcompendium.com/conspiracy.html, The Kenneth Branagh Compendium: Conspiracy, Branaghcompendium.com, 7 March 2010, White p. 3 and attended Whiteknights Primary School and Meadway School in Tilehurst.WEB,www.tes.com/news/my-best-teacher-kenneth-branagh, My best teacher â€“ Kenneth Branagh, TES Connect, WEB,www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2009/03/24/kenneth_branagh_2009_feature.shtml, Berkshire’s BAFTA Branagh, BBC Berkshire, He appeared in school productions such as Toad of Toad HallWEB,www.thehunterfamily.co.uk/meadwayschoolreunion/memories.html#jimmorrison, Meadway School Reunion â€“ Staff Memories (Jim Morrison), 13 July 2010,www.thehunterfamily.co.uk/meadwayschoolreunion/memories.html#jimmorrison," title="web.archive.org/web/20120404032536www.thehunterfamily.co.uk/meadwayschoolreunion/memories.html#jimmorrison,">web.archive.org/web/20120404032536www.thehunterfamily.co.uk/meadwayschoolreunion/memories.html#jimmorrison, 4 April 2012, dead, and Oh, What a Lovely War!WEB,www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/InformationServices/TheLibrary/FileStore/Filetoupload,51398,en.pdf, Kenneth Branagh Archive, Queen’s University Belfast, dead,www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/InformationServices/TheLibrary/FileStore/Filetoupload%2C51398%2Cen.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110612190125www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/InformationServices/TheLibrary/FileStore/Filetoupload%2C51398%2Cen.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110612190125www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/InformationServices/TheLibrary/FileStore/Filetoupload%2C51398%2Cen.pdf, 12 June 2011, At school, Branagh learned to speak with an RP accent to avoid bullying. Discussing his identity, he later said, “I feel Irish. I don’t think you can take Belfast out of the boy.“WEB,www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/kenneth-branagh/biography/71, Kenneth Branagh – Biography, Talktalk.co.uk, 24 August 2012, He also attributes his “love of words” to his Irish heritage.WEB,www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/21/kenneth-branagh, Kenneth Branagh, Culturenorthernireland.org, 27 February 2007, 24 August 2012, 18 January 2018,www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/21/kenneth-branagh," title="web.archive.org/web/20180118190855www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/21/kenneth-branagh,">web.archive.org/web/20180118190855www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/21/kenneth-branagh, dead, He attended the amateur Reading Cine & Video Society (now called Reading Film & Video Makers)WEB,www.readingfilmandvideomakers.org.uk, RFVM History 1957–2012, Reading Film & Video Makers, and was a keen member of Progress Theatre, of which he is now the patron. After disappointing A-level results in English, history, and sociology,BOOK, Beginning, Branagh, Kenneth, W. W. Norton & Company, 1990, 9780393331165, 31, 49, he went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.WEB,members.tripod.com/DailyTelegiraffe/branaghlondontimes.html, The Times, 20 February 2000, Members.tripod.com, 7 March 2010, In 1980, RADA’s principal Hugh Cruttwell asked Branagh to perform a soliloquy from Hamlet for Queen Elizabeth II during one of her visits to the academy.The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1980) An Entertainment, 19 November 1980 programme, GBS Theatre: London

Career

1980–1988: Rise to prominence

File:William Shakespeare by John Taylor, edited.jpg|thumb|left|170px|Branagh has adapted numerous works of William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareBranagh’s first film appearance was as an uncredited role as a Cambridge student in the sports drama Chariots of Fire (1981). Branagh achieved early success in his native Northern Ireland for his role as Billy, the title character in the BBC’s Play for TodayWhite p. 17 trilogy known as the Billy Plays (1982–84), written by Graham Reid and set in Belfast.NEWS, Parr, Connal, 29 January 2018, Kenneth Branagh and why it’s never too late to talk about Billy,www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/kenneth-branagh-and-why-its-never-too-late-to-talk-about-billy-36534947.html, Belfast Telegraph, 29 January 2018, live,web.archive.org/web/20180129124849/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news-analysis/kenneth-branagh-and-why-its-never-too-late-to-talk-about-billy-36534947.html, 29 January 2018, He received acclaim in the UK for his stage performances, first winning the 1982 SWET Award for Best Newcomer, for his role as Judd in Julian Mitchell’s Another Country, after leaving RADA. Branagh was part of the new wave of actors to emerge from the academy. Others included Jonathan Pryce, Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, Anton Lesser, Bruce Payne and Fiona Shaw. In 1984, he appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Henry V, directed by Adrian Noble. The production played to sold-out audiences, especially at the Barbican in the City of London. It was this production that he adapted for the film version of the play in 1989. He and David Parfitt founded the Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987, following success with several productions on the London Fringe, including Branagh’s full-scale production of Romeo and Juliet at the Lyric Studio, co-starring with Samantha Bond.The first major Renaissance production was Branagh’s Christmas 1987 staging of Twelfth Night at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, starring Richard Briers as Malvolio and Frances Barber as Viola, and with an original score by actor, musician, and composer Patrick Doyle, who two years later was to compose the music for Branagh’s film adaptation of Henry V. This Twelfth Night was later adapted for television. Also in 1987, Branagh found his first leading film role as James Moon in the British film adaptation of J.L. Carr’s book A Month in The Country. Here he plays a homosexual ex-army officer who following the war, has taken on a job to excavate a burial in the churchyard, instead he spends most of his time looking for Saxon treasures. Its set in a 1920s rural Yorkshire village where he meets Colin Firth, also in his first major role.Branagh became a major presence in the media and on the British stage when Renaissance collaborated with Birmingham Rep for a 1988 touring season of three Shakespeare plays under the umbrella title of Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road, which also played a repertory season at the Phoenix Theatre in London. It featured directorial debuts for Judi Dench with Much Ado About Nothing (starring Branagh and Samantha Bond as Benedick and Beatrice), Geraldine McEwan with As You Like It, and Derek Jacobi directing Branagh in the title role in Hamlet, with Sophie Thompson as Ophelia. Critic Milton Shulman of the London Evening Standard wrote: “On the positive side Branagh has the vitality of Olivier, the passion of Gielgud, the assurance of Guinness, to mention but three famous actors who have essayed the role. On the negative side, he has not got the magnetism of Olivier, nor the mellifluous voice quality of Gielgud nor the intelligence of Guinness.“Quoted in The London Stage in the 20th Century by Robert Tanitch, Haus (2007)

1989–1999: Breakthrough

File:Emma Thompson Césars 2009.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Branagh starred in numerous films and stage plays with Emma ThompsonEmma ThompsonA year later, in 1989, Branagh co-starred with Emma Thompson in the Renaissance company’s stage revival of Look Back in Anger. Judi Dench directed both the theatre and television productions, presented first in Belfast then at the London Coliseum and Lyric Theatre. In 1990, he wrote his autobiography Beginning, recounting his life and acting career up to that point. In the book’s introduction, he admits that the main reason for producing the book was “money” and that “The deal was made, and a handsome advance was paid out. The advance provided the funds to buy accommodation for the Company’s offices, this moving Renaissance out of my flat and bringing me a little closer to sanity.“BOOK, Branagh, Kenneth, Beginning, 1990, Norton, 0-393-02862-3, 1st American, New York, ix, 20669813, Notable non-Shakespeare films in which Branagh has acted in and directed include the neo-noir romantic thriller Dead Again (1991) starring Branagh, Emma Thompson, Andy Garcia, and Derek Jacobi. The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival where it competed for the Golden Bear and received critical acclaim. The following year he directed the British comedy-drama film Peter’s Friends, with a cast including former student friends Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery, and Stephen Fry, as well as Imelda Staunton and Rita Rudner. The film received positive reviews with critics comparing it favorably as the British version of The Big Chill (1982). The film earned two Evening Standard British Film Awards for Branagh and Thompson.Branagh is known for his film adaptations of William Shakespeare, beginning with Henry V (1989), returned with Shakespeare’s romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing (1993). The film premiered at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d’Or. The film starred Branagh, Thompson, Denzel Washington, Kate Beckinsale, Keanu Reeves, and Michael Keaton. Vincent Canby film critic of The New York Times praised Branagh’s direction writing, “Now he has accomplished something equally difficult. He has taken a Shakespearean romantic comedy, the sort of thing that usually turns to mush on the screen, and made a movie that is triumphantly romantic, comic and, most surprising of all, emotionally alive.“NEWS,www.nytimes.com/1993/05/07/movies/review-film-a-house-party-of-beatrice-benedick-and-friends.html, Review/Film; A House Party of Beatrice, Benedick and Friends, The New York Times, 7 May 1993, August 2, 2023, Canby, Vincent, However Branagh had a career misstep with his adaptation of the horror film Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994). The film starred Branagh, Robert De Niro, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Hulce, and Ian Holm. It premiered at the London Film Festival where it received negative reviews. The New York Times film critic Janet Maslin wrote of Branagh’s failure, “[He] is in over his head. He displays neither the technical finesse to handle a big, visually ambitious film nor the insight to develop a stirring new version of this story. Instead, this is a bland, no-fault Frankenstein for the ‘90s, short on villainy but loaded with the tragically misunderstood”.WEB, 4 November 1994, Janet, Maslin, Janet Maslin,www.nytimes.com/1994/11/04/movies/film-review-frankenstein-a-brain-on-ice-a-dead-toad-and-voila.html, Movie Review - - FILM REVIEW: FRANKENSTEIN; A Brain on Ice, a Dead Toad and Voila!, New York Times, 2016-08-27, He then directed the minor British romantic comedy In the Bleak Midwinter (1995) to positive reviews.File:Hamlet - Michele Rapisardi.jpg|thumb|left|170px|Branagh starred as and directed the film Hamlet (1996)]]Also in 1995, Branagh portrayed Iago in Oliver Parker’s Othello (1995) acting opposite Laurence Fishburne as Othello. The film received largely positive reviews, particularly for Branagh’s performance which earned a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role nomination. Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised his acting writing, “Mr Branagh’s superb performance, as the man whose Machiavellian scheming guides the story of Othello’s downfall, guarantees this film an immediacy that any audience will understand.“NEWS,www.nytimes.com/1995/12/14/movies/film-review-fishburne-and-branagh-meet-their-fate-in-venice.html, FILM REVIEW;Fishburne and Branagh Meet Their Fate in Venice, Janet, Maslin, The New York Times, 14 December 1995, Branagh returned to directing, in the acclaimed adaptation of Hamlet (1996). Critics have theorised it might be the greatest film adaptation of Hamlet of all time. The film is noted for its epic scale and cast. The film ran four hours and was shot completely in 70 mm film. The cast includes Branagh, Kate Winslet, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie and Rufus Sewell. Critic Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times praised Branagh’s direction and acting, declaring, “One of the tasks of a lifetime is to become familiar with the great plays of Shakespeare. ‘Hamlet’ is the most opaque. Branagh’s version moved me, entertained me and made me feel for the first time at home in that doomed royal court.“WEB,www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamlet-1996, Hamlet movie review, Roger Ebert, rogerebert.com, 2 August 2023, The film received four Academy Award nominations including for Best Adapted Screenplay for Branagh.Post-Hamlet, Branagh took a break from directing choosing to act in films directed by auteur directors. He starred in Robert Altman’s legal thriller The Gingerbread Man (1998), Paul Greengrass’ dramedy The Theory of Flight (1998) and Woody Allen’s celebrity satire Celebrity (1998). The following year he starred in the Western film Wild Wild West opposite Will Smith, Kevin Kline, and Salma Hayek, which received negative reviews. During this time Branagh took on voice roles playing the title role in BBC radio broadcasts of Hamlet and Cyrano de Bergerac, and the role of Edmund in King Lear.WEB,watershade.net/wmcclain/ws-audio.html, Shakespeare on Audio, Watershade.net, 6 August 2014, Branagh has narrated several audiobooks, such as The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. LewisWEB,www.addall.com/author/2128343-1, Kenneth Branagh Book Search, AddALL.com, 15 January 2007,www.addall.com/author/2128343-1," title="web.archive.org/web/20071012173111www.addall.com/author/2128343-1,">web.archive.org/web/20071012173111www.addall.com/author/2128343-1, 12 October 2007, dead, and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. In 1998, he narrated the 24-episode documentary series Cold War.WEB,www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/01/,www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/01/," title="web.archive.org/web/20081210013042www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/01/,">web.archive.org/web/20081210013042www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/episodes/01/, dead, 10 December 2008, CNN – Cold War, CNN, 10 December 2008, Branagh also narrated the BBC documentaries Walking with Dinosaurs, World War I in Colour, Walking with Beasts and Walking with Monsters, and the BBC miniseries Great Composers.

2000–2010: Established director

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1969-054-16, Reinhard Heydrich.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Branagh won the Emmy Award for his portrayal of Reinhard Heydrich in Conspiracy (2001)]]Branagh found commercial and critical failure with Love’s Labour’s Lost, which paused his directorial career. That same year he voiced Miguel in the DreamWorks Animated film The Road to El Dorado (2000) alongside Kevin Kline. The film received mixed reviews but has since gained a cult following. The following year he acted in the HBO film Conspiracy (2001) portraying SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich. The film is a depiction of the Wannsee Conference, where Nazi officials decided on the Final Solution. Branagh acted alongside Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci. He earned critical acclaim for his performance as well as the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.In 2002, Branagh played A. O. Neville in the drama film Rabbit-Proof Fence and portrayed a humorous role as Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He also portrayed Sir Ernest Shackleton in the Channel 4 television film Shackleton (2002). The film is a dramatization of the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition’s battle for survival, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA award and an Emmy.“Shackleton” awards. That same year Branagh starred at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield as Richard III. In 2003, he starred in the Royal National Theatre’s production of David Mamet’s Edmond. Branagh directed The Play What I Wrote in England in 2001NEWS,www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4725734/Branagh-ready-for-the-next-stage.html,ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4725734/Branagh-ready-for-the-next-stage.html, 10 January 2022, subscription, live, Branagh ready for the next stage, Telegraph, 24 September 2001, 7 March 2010, London, Graeme, Archer, {{cbignore}} and directed a Broadway production in 2003.WEB,www.curtainup.com/playwhatiwrote.html, The Play What I Wrote, a CurtainUp London and New York review, Curtainup.com, 7 March 2010, WEB,www.talkinbroadway.com/world/PlayWhat.html, Talkin’ Broadway Review: The Play What I Wrote, Talkinbroadway.com, 30 March 2003, 7 March 2010, (File:KennethBranaghRFFJuly09.jpg|thumb|upright|170px|left|Branagh won the Roma Fiction Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2009))Branagh has been involved in several made-for-TV films. Among his most acclaimed portrayals is that of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the film Warm Springs (2005), for which he received an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nomination. The film received 16 Emmy nominations, winning five (including Outstanding Made for Television Movie); Branagh did not win the award for his portrayal. In 2006, Branagh directed the film version of As You Like It starring Romola Garai, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Kevin Kline. That same year he also directed a film version of Mozart’s opera The Magic Flute. Branagh has also directed the thriller Sleuth (2007), a remake of the 1972 film starring Jude Law and Michael Caine. The film received mixed reviews with critics praising the performances and noting Branagh’s darker interpretation of the material. Branagh then took the role of Major General Henning von Tresckow in Valkyrie (2008) and played the Minister, Dormandy (a parody of PMG Tony Benn), in the film The Boat That Rocked (2009).Branagh is the star of the English-language Wallander television series, adaptations of Henning Mankell’s best-selling Wallander crime novels. Branagh plays the eponymous Inspector Kurt Wallander and also serves as the executive producer of the series. The first series of three episodes was broadcast on BBC One in November and December 2008.WEB,www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk49/feature_wallander.shtml, Killing time, Bbc.co.uk, 7 March 2010, Branagh won the award for best actor at the 35th Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Awards (2009). It was his first major television award win in the UK.Douglas, Torin (27 March 2009). “Winners â€“ 35th BPG Television and Radio Awards”. Broadcasting Press Guild. Retrieved on 27 March 2009. He received his first BAFTA TV on 26 April 2009 for the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series.“Television Awards Nominations 2009 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327032142www.bafta.org/awards/television/tv-noms-2009%2C709%2CBA.html |date=27 March 2009 }}”. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved on 24 March 2009. For his performance in the episode One Step Behind, he was nominated in the Outstanding Actor, Miniseries, or Movie category of the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards.Martin, Lara (16 July 2009). “Emmys Awards 2009: The nominees”. Digital Spy. Retrieved on 16 July 2009. The role also gained him a nomination for Best Actor at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards.NEWS, Allen, Kate, 7 September 2009,www.thebookseller.com/news/96297-coben-cole-atkinson-vie-for-crime-awards.html, Coben, Cole, Atkinson vie for crime awards, The Bookseller, 7 September 2009, dead,www.thebookseller.com/news/96297-coben-cole-atkinson-vie-for-crime-awards.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20090910005647www.thebookseller.com/news/96297-coben-cole-atkinson-vie-for-crime-awards.html,">web.archive.org/web/20090910005647www.thebookseller.com/news/96297-coben-cole-atkinson-vie-for-crime-awards.html, 10 September 2009, The second Wallander series of three episodes aired initially in January 2010 on the BBC, and the third season aired in July 2012.WEB,www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01kv4pw, BBC One – Wallander, Series 3, BBC, 22 July 2012, 15 March 2013, The fourth and final series was shot from October 2014 to January 2015 and premiered on German TV, dubbed into German, in December 2015; it aired in the UK, with its original English soundtrack, in May and June 2016.From September to November 2008, Branagh appeared at Wyndham’s Theatre as the title character in the Donmar West End revival of Anton Chekhov’s Ivanov in a new version by Tom Stoppard. His performance was lauded as the “performance of the year” by several critics.Staff writer (18 September 2008). “Rave reviews for Kenneth Branagh’s West End return {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315072957www.inthenews.co.uk/entertainment/tv/rave-reviews-kenneth-branaghs-west-end-return-$1241274.htm |date=15 March 2012 }}”, inthenews.co.uk. Retrieved on 18 September 2008. It won him the Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best Male Performance but did not get him a Laurence Olivier Award nomination, to the surprise of critics.Hoyle, Ben (4 February 2009). “David Tennant and Kenneth Branagh miss out on Olivier nominations”, The Times, Times Newspapers. Retrieved on 22 February 2009.

2011–2020: Career expansion

File:Laurence Olivier - Rebecca.jpg|thumb|right|170px|Branagh portrayed Laurence Olivier in the film My Week with MarilynMy Week with MarilynIn 2011, Branagh directed Thor, a film based on the Marvel superhero.WEB,splashpage.mtv.com/2008/12/13/exclusive-kenneth-branagh-breaks-silence-on-thor-says-casting-talk-is-premature/, EXCLUSIVE: Kenneth Branagh Breaks Silence On ‘Thor,’ Says Casting Talk Is Premature, Splashpage.mtv.com, 7 March 2010, Thor, Branagh’s return to big-budget directing, was released on 6 May 2011.WEB,marvel.com/news/moviestories.10874.thor_movie~colon~_principal_photography_starts~excl~, Thor Movie: Principal Photography Starts!, Marvel.com, 11 January 2010, 11 January 2010, The film was a part of (Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One|Phase One) of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It starred Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, and Anthony Hopkins. The film was a financial and critical success. That same year he portrayed Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn (2011). Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised Branagh’s performance writing, “It is a complete joy to see Branagh’s Olivier erupt in queeny frustration at Marilyn’s lateness, space-cadet vagueness, and preposterous Method acting indulgence...[He] revives Olivier with wit, intelligence and charm”.NEWS,www.theguardian.com/film/2011/nov/24/my-week-with-marilyn-review, My Week With Marilyn – review, The Guardian, 24 November 2011, 2 August 2023, Bradshaw, Peter, Branagh received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 84th Academy Awards losing to Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2011).Branagh participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony portraying Isambard Kingdom Brunel during the Industrial Revolution segment “Pandemonium” where he performed one of Caliban’s speechesAct III, Scene 2 from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.NEWS, Danny Boyle Welcomes The World To London, Danny, Boyle,descrier.co.uk/uk/2012/07/london-2012-danny-boyle-welcomes-the-world-to-london/, The Descrier, 28 July 2012, 28 July 2012, WEB,doc.rero.ch/record/29623/files/Opening_ceremony_media_guide.pdf,doc.rero.ch/record/29623/files/Opening_ceremony_media_guide.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20160304142833doc.rero.ch/record/29623/files/Opening_ceremony_media_guide.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20160304142833doc.rero.ch/record/29623/files/Opening_ceremony_media_guide.pdf, 2016-03-04, live, London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Media guide, 16 August 2013, In July 2013, he co-directed Macbeth at Manchester International Festival with Rob Ashford. With Branagh in the title role, Alex Kingston played Lady Macbeth and Ray Fearon featured as Macduff. The final performance of the completely sold-out run was broadcast to cinemas on 20 July as part of National Theatre Live.WEB,www.mif.co.uk/event/macbeth, Kenneth Branagh and Alex Kingston MACBETH Directed by Rob Ashford and Kenneth Branagh, Mif.co.uk, 6 August 2014, 21 September 2015,www.mif.co.uk/event/macbeth/," title="web.archive.org/web/20150921193954www.mif.co.uk/event/macbeth/,">web.archive.org/web/20150921193954www.mif.co.uk/event/macbeth/, dead, He repeated his performance and directorial duties opposite Ashford and Kingston when the production moved to New York City’s Park Avenue Armory in June 2014.WEB,artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/20/branaghs-macbeth-coming-to-new-yorks-park-avenue-armory-in-2014/, Branagh’s ‘Macbeth’ Coming to New York’s Park Avenue Armory in 2014, Daniel, McDermon, 20 August 2013, In April 2015, Branagh announced his formation of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company, in which he would appear as actor-manager. With the company, he announced he would present a season of five shows at London’s Garrick Theatre from October 2015 – November 2016. The shows were The Winter’s Tale, a double bill of Harlequinade and All On Her Own, Red Velvet, The Painkiller, Romeo and Juliet and The Entertainer. Branagh directed all but The Entertainer, in which he starred. Branagh also starred in The Winter’s Tale, Harlequinade and The Painkiller. Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company also includes Judi Dench (The Winter’s Tale), Zoë Wanamaker (Harlequinade/All On Her Own), Derek Jacobi, Lily James and Richard Madden (Romeo and Juliet) and Rob Brydon (The Painkiller). In September 2015, it was announced that The Winter’s Tale, Romeo and Juliet, and The Entertainer would be broadcast in cinemas, in partnership with Picturehouse Entertainment.WEB,www.londontheatredirect.com/news/1700/Live-Cinema-Broadcasts-And-A-First-Look-At-Judi-Dench-In-The-Winter-s-Tale.aspx, Live Cinema Broadcasts And A First Look At Judi Dench In The Winter’s Tale, London Theatre Direct, 21 September 2015, 11 September 2015, Porteous, Jacob, File:DunkirkFilmGearPatrolLeadFull.jpg|thumb|left|Kenneth Branagh has acted in three of Christopher Nolan’s films: Dunkirk (2017), Tenet (2020), and Oppenheimer (2023)]]In 2014 Branagh directed and acted in the action thriller (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit) (2014) starring Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, and Kevin Costner. The film was a box office hit but received mixed reviews from critics. The following year, Branagh directed Disney’s live-action adaptation of Cinderella (2015) starring Lily James.WEB,www.vulture.com/2013/01/disney-negotiating-with-kenneth-branagh-to-replace-romanek-on-cinderella.html, Disney Negotiating With Kenneth Branagh to Direct Cinderella, vulture.com, 31 January 2013, 19 November 2014, The film was a financial and critical success. Peter Debruge of Variety praised his direction writing, “the underlying property emerges untarnished, as director Kenneth Branagh reverently reimagines Charles Perrault’s fairy tale for a new generation the world over, spelling countless opportunities to exploit fresh interest in the story throughout the Disney universe.“WEB,variety.com/2015/film/festivals/berlin-film-review-disneys-new-live-action-cinderella-1201433243/, Berlin Film Review: ‘Cinderella’, Variety, 13 February 2015, August 2, 2023, Branagh started his first collaboration with Christopher Nolan portraying a Royal Navy Commander in the World War II action-thriller Dunkirk (2017), based on the British military evacuation of the French city of Dunkirk in 1940.MAGAZINE,variety.com/2016/film/news/harry-styles-one-direction-christopher-nolan-dunkirk-1201728153/, Harry Styles, Fionn Whitehead to Star in Christopher Nolan WW2 Action-Thriller ‘Dunkirk’, Variety, McNary, Dave, 11 March 2016, Branagh starred alongside Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Tom Hardy. The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture. That same year Branagh directed and starred in a film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s detective novel Murder on the Orient Express (2017) as Hercule Poirot. Production began in London in November 2016.NEWS, Daisy Ridley and Dame Judi Dench on board for Murder on the Orient Expres,www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37523752, BBC News, 30 September 2016, Like Branagh’s Hamlet in 1996,WEB, McGavin, Patrick,movieline.com/2012/08/17/the-master-chicago-screening-paul-thomas-anderson-music-box/, The Master Rules in Chicago: 70 mm Screening Of Anderson Film Recalls Welles’ The Lady From Shanghai, Movieline, Movieline.com, 17 August 2012, 21 August 2012, it is among the very few to use 65mm film cameras since 1970.WEB,www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/murder-orient-express-review-1053433, ‘Murder on the Orient Express’: Film Review, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 November 2017, In 2018, he directed the film All Is True, in which he starred as William Shakespeare. Branagh also directed the fantasy adventure film Artemis Fowl, which was released on Disney+ in June 2020. In May 2019, Branagh was cast in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (2020) in which he portrayed the villain Andrei Sator and was praised for his performance. Branagh acted alongside Robert Pattinson, John David Washington, and Elizabeth Debicki.WEB,deadline.com/2019/05/christopher-nolan-tenet-movie-cast-release-date-1202620596/, Christopher Nolan’s New Movie Gets A Title, Final Cast As Shooting Begins, Deadline Hollywood, Patrick, Hipes, 22 May 2019, 22 May 2019, WEB, 25 August 2020, Tenet review – supremely ambitious race against time makes for superb cinema,www.theguardian.com/film/2020/aug/25/tenet-review-christopher-nolan-head-scratchingly-ambitious, 15 December 2020, The Guardian, en,

2021–present

File:Shankilltroubles.jpg|thumb|Shankill Road, BelfastBelfastIn 2021, Branagh directed the semi-autobiographical film Belfast starring Jude Hill, Catriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, and Judi Dench. In the film, Branagh explores his childhood in Northern Ireland during a period of intense religious and political conflict. The film was shot in black-and-white with flickers of colour images. The film was shown both at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival where it won the People’s Choice Award for the latter. The film was acclaimed by critics with Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian writing, “There is a terrific warmth and tenderness to Branagh’s elegiac, autobiographical movie about the Belfast of his childhood: spryly written, beautifully acted and shot in a lustrous monochrome, with set pieces, madeleines and epiphanies that feel like a more emollient version of Terence Davies.“NEWS,www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/12/belfast-review-kenneth-branagh-jamie-dornan-judi-dench, Belfast review – Kenneth Branagh’s euphoric eulogy to his home city, The Guardian, 20 January 2022, August 3, 2023, Bradshaw, Peter, Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter noted, “[While] Branagh’s most personal film is imperfect, the emotion that it builds in the final section, as the family plays out a wrenching universal drama of emigration, is searing”.WEB,www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/belfast-telluride-2021-1235008736/, ‘Belfast’: Film Review - Telluride 2021, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 September 2021, 3 August 2023, The film earned seven Academy Award nominations including forBest Picture and Best Director. Branagh won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He also won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film.He reprised his role as Hercule Poirot in 2022’s Death on the Nile, a sequel to Murder on the Orient Express which he also directed.WEB, Kenneth Branagh’s Death On The Nile set for October 2020,www.filmstories.co.uk/news/kenneth-branagh-starts-filming-death-on-the-nile/, 18 October 2019, Film Stories, en, 11 May 2020, In March 2021, Branagh signed on to direct a biopic of music group the Bee Gees.WEB,deadline.com/2021/03/bee-gees-movie-kenneth-branagh-directs-barry-gibb-paramount-bohemian-rhapsody-producer-graham-king-ben-elton-1234711502/, Kenneth Branagh To Direct Bee Gees Movie For Paramount, Deadline Hollywood, Mike Jr., Fleming, 10 March 2021, 9 November 2021, In March 2022, it was revealed that Branagh left the project due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by John Carney.WEB, Kroll, Justin, 30 March 2022, ‘Once’ Director John Carney To Direct Bee Gees Biopic For Paramount; John Logan To Pen Script,deadline.com/2022/03/john-carney-bee-gees-biopic-for-paramount-and-sisters-1234990482/, 31 March 2022, Deadline, en-US, In October 2022, it was announced that Branagh would direct and star in a third Poirot film titled A Haunting in Venice, based on Christie’s Hallowe’en Party.WEB, 10 October 2022,variety.com/2022/film/news/a-haunting-in-venice-kenneth-branagh-poirot-1235398277/, Panaligan, E. J., Kenneth Branagh’s Third Hercule Poirot Film ‘A Haunting in Venice’ Casts Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Michelle Yeoh and More, 11 October 2022, Variety (magazine), Variety, WEB,www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/a-haunting-in-venice-cast-revealed-kenneth-branagh-1235238310/, Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Michelle Yeoh, Jude Hill Join Kenneth Branagh in Agatha Christie Mystery ‘A Haunting in Venice’, hollywoodreporter.com, 10 October 2022, 15 October 2022, Branagh reunited with Christopher Nolan, portraying the Danish physicist Niels Bohr in the war epic Oppenheimer (2023). That same year Branagh returned to the West End stage directing and acting in the title role in a stage adaptation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear at the Wyndham’s Theatre in London.WEB,www.wyndhamstheatre.co.uk/whats-on/king-lear, King Lear, Wyndham’s Theatre, 17 April 2024, Arifa Akbar of The Guardian wrote of the production, “Although Branagh delivers his Lear with slick, almost playful efficiency, it is not his towering achievement”.NEWS,www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/oct/31/king-lear-review-kenneth-branagh-shakespeare-tragedy-wyndhams-theatre-london, King Lear review – Kenneth Branagh’s fast and feverish tragedy, The Guardian, 31 October 2023, 17 April 2024, Akbar, Arifa, The production is set to have an Off-Broadway transfer at The Shed in the Fall of 2024.WEB,playbill.com/article/kenneth-branagh-will-be-king-lear-at-off-broadways-the-shed, Kenneth Branagh Will Be King Lear at Off-Broadway’s The Shed, Playbill, 17 April 2024,

Personal life

(File:Kenneth Branagh at the Roma Fiction Fest 2009 by Giorgia Meschini.jpg|thumb|Branagh at Roma Fiction Fest in 2009)From 1989 to 1995, Branagh was married to English actress Emma Thompson, who appeared with him in Fortunes of War, Look Back in Anger, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Dead Again, and Peter’s Friends. During their marriage, while directing and starring in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), he began an affair with his co-star Helena Bonham Carter.WEB,www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2018/02/28/emma-thompson-acting-love-actually-betrayal-had-heart-badly/,ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2018/02/28/emma-thompson-acting-love-actually-betrayal-had-heart-badly/, 10 January 2022, subscription, live, Emma Thompson on acting Love Actually betrayal: ‘I had my heart very badly broken by Kenneth Branagh’, Hedges-Stocks, Zoah, 28 February 2018, Daily Telegraph, 3 April 2020, {{cbignore}} After Thompson divorced him, he and Bonham Carter were in a well-publicised relationship until 1999.WEB,www.yahoo.com/entertainment/love-actually-emma-thompson-reveals-155428464.html, ‘Love, Actually’: Emma Thompson Reveals Heartbreaking Joni Mitchell Scene Inspired by Kenneth Branagh Divorce, 28 February 2018, Yahoo! Entertainment, 3 April 2020, In 2003, he married film art director Lindsay Brunnock,White p. 271 whom he met during the shooting of Shackleton in 2002.WEB,www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/kenneth_branagh_biog/8, Kenneth Branagh Biography, Tiscali UK, 17 January 2007, dead,www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/kenneth_branagh_biog/8," title="web.archive.org/web/20070713060829www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/kenneth_branagh_biog/8,">web.archive.org/web/20070713060829www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/kenneth_branagh_biog/8, 13 July 2007, Branagh has said that he considers himself Irish.WEB, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Belfast and the BBC, YouTube,www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTcTDVVtIj0, He has said that he became “much more religious” after listening to Laurence Olivier’s dramatic reading of the Bible every morning in preparation for his role as Olivier in My Week with Marilyn.WEB, Kenneth Branagh on Sir Laurence Olivier in ‘My Week With Marilyn’: ‘He Was Impatient’,www.branaghcompendium.com/artic-mwwm_moviefone_november2011.html, 18 November 2011, www.branaghcompendium.com, 11 May 2020,

Filmography

(File:KennethBranaghApr2011.jpg|thumb|Kenneth Branagh in London in 2011){| class=“wikitable“|+Directed features! Year! Title! Distributor| 1989Henry V (1989 film)>Henry V| The Samuel Goldwyn Company| 1991| Dead Again| Paramount Pictures| 1992| Peter’s Friends The Samuel Goldwyn Company| 1993Much Ado About Nothing (1993 film)>Much Ado About Nothing| 1994Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (film)>Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein| TriStar Pictures| 1995In the Bleak Midwinter (film)>In the Bleak Midwinter| Sony Pictures Classics| 1996Hamlet (1996 film)>Hamlet| Sony Pictures Releasing| 2000Love’s Labour’s Lost (film)>Love’s Labour’s Lost| Pathé / Miramax 2006The Magic Flute (2006 film)>The Magic Flute| Revolver Entertainment / Les films du losangeAs You Like It (2006 film)>As You Like It| HBO Films / Lionsgate Films| 2007Sleuth (2007 film)>Sleuth| Sony Pictures Classics| 2011Thor (film)>Thor Paramount Pictures| 2014| (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit)| 2015Cinderella (2015 American film)>Cinderella| Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures| 2017Murder on the Orient Express (2017 film)>Murder on the Orient Express20th Century Studios>20th Century Fox| 2018| All Is True| Sony Pictures Classics| 2020Artemis Fowl (film)>Artemis Fowl| Disney+| 2021Belfast (film)>Belfast| Focus Features| 2022Death on the Nile (2022 film)>Death on the Nile 20th Century Studios| 2023| A Haunting in Venice

Awards and honours

Branagh has been nominated for eight Academy Awards and is the first individual to be nominated in seven different categories.WEB,variety.com/2022/awards/awards/kenneth-branagh-oscar-nomination-record-1235172548/, Kenneth Branagh Becomes First Person Nominated in Seven Oscar Categories, Davis, Clayton, Variety, 8 February 2022, 9 February 2022, en, His first two nominations were for Henry V (one each for directing and acting). He also received similar BAFTA Award nominations for his film work, winning one for his direction. His first BAFTA TV award came in April 2009, for Best Drama Series (Wallander). Branagh received two other Academy Award nominations for the 1992 film short subject Swan Song and for his work on the screenplay of Hamlet in 1996. His 5th nomination came for his portrayal of Laurence Olivier in My Week With Marilyn in 2012. This was followed by three nominations in 2022 for Belfast – his first nominations for Original Screenplay and Best Picture, winning for Original Screenplay. He thereby became the first person to have been nominated in seven different categories of the Academy Awards, surpassing Walt Disney, George Clooney, and Alfonso Cuarón, each of whom have received nominations in six categories (the latest equalled Branagh the year after).He is Honorary President of NICVA (the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action). He received an honorary Doctorate in Literature from Queen’s University of Belfast in 1990. He is also a patron for the charity Over The Wall.Over The Wall official website Branagh was the youngest actor to receive the Golden Quill (also known as the Gielgud Award) in 2000. In 2001, he was appointed an honorary Doctor of Literature at the Shakespeare Institute of The University of Birmingham; the Shakespeare Institute Library keeps the archive of his Renaissance Theatre Company and Renaissance Films.WEB, Honorary Graduates of the University of Birmingham since 2000,www.birmingham.ac.uk/documents/university/governance/honorary-degrees-of-the-university-of-birmingham-since-2000.pdf,web.archive.org/web/20201129094547/https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/university/governance/Honorary-Degrees-of-the-University-of-Birmingham-since-2000.pdf, 2020-11-29, live, The University of Birmingham, en, 6 February 2022, On 10 July 2009, Branagh was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the RomaFictionFest.NEWS, Lyman, Eric J., 12 June 2009, Rome fest to honor Kenneth Branagh,www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rome-fest-honor-kenneth-branagh-85330, The Hollywood Reporter, Nielsen Business Media, live,www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rome-fest-honor-kenneth-branagh-85330," title="web.archive.org/web/20140109114113www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rome-fest-honor-kenneth-branagh-85330,">web.archive.org/web/20140109114113www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rome-fest-honor-kenneth-branagh-85330, 9 January 2014, 27 September 2015, He was also listed on the Radio Times’s TV 100 power list in 2023.WEB, RadioTimes.com TV 100 2022 – the full list,www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/tv-100-2022-full-list/, 2023-09-03, Radio Times, en-GB, He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to drama and to the community in Northern Ireland.NEWS, Birthday Honours: Branagh, Winslet and royal designer Burton on list,www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18456061, BBC News, 16 June 2012, 16 June 2012, {{London Gazette |issue=60173 |date=16 June 2012 |page=1 |supp=y}} He received the accolade at Buckingham Palace on 9 November 2012; afterwards, Branagh told a BBC reporter that he felt “humble, elated, and incredibly lucky” to be knighted.In October 2015, it was announced that Branagh would be the new President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), succeeding the late Richard, Lord Attenborough.NEWS, Furness, Hannah, 3 October 2015, Sir Kenneth Branagh made president of RADA to upstage the posh brigade,www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-news/11907947/Sir-Kenneth-Branagh-made-president-of-RADA-to-upstage-the-posh-brigade.html, TheTelegraph, 3 October 2015, As the President of RADA and one of the highest profile actors and filmmakers in contemporary British popular culture, Branagh appeared on Debrett’s 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK.NEWS, Debrett’s 500 List: Stage & Screen,www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/debretts-500-list-stage-screen/,ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/debretts-500-list-stage-screen/, 10 January 2022, subscription, live, The Telegraph, 21 January 2017, 10 January 2022, {{cbignore}} In October 2017, it was announced that Branagh would be conferred with the Freedom of the City of Belfast.WEB, Sir Kenneth Branagh to receive Belfast’s highest honour,www.belfastcity.gov.uk/News/News-84421.aspx, Belfast City Council, en-GB, 29 January 2018, The honour was officially conferred on him by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Nuala McAllister, at a ceremony in the Ulster Hall in Belfast on 30 January 2018. He was awarded the Freedom of the Town of Stratford-upon-Avon on 22 April 2022.NEWS, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Kenneth Branagh given Freedom of Stratford-upon-Avon,www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-61192667, BBC News, en, 22 April 2022, 24 April 2022, WEB, Suart, Paul, 23 March 2022, Famed duo Dame Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh coming to Stratford-upon-Avon,www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/local-news/famed-duo-dame-judi-dench-23455670, The Coventry Telegraph, 24 April 2022, WEB, STRATFORD-UPON-AVON TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL TOWN COUNCIL MEETING 22 February 2022,www.stratford-tc.gov.uk/files/Special_TC_Meeting_Mins_22.2.22.pdf,web.archive.org/web/20220603155307/https://www.stratford-tc.gov.uk/files/Special_TC_Meeting_Mins_22.2.22.pdf, 2022-06-03, live, Stratford-upon-Avon Town Council, en, 24 April 2022, Branagh stepped down as president of RADA in February 2024 and was succeeded by David Harewood.NEWS, Gallagher, Charlotte, David Harewood: Homeland star named new president of drama school Rada,www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68295042, 15 February 2024, BBC, 15 February 2024, {| class=“wikitable“|+ Awards and nominations received by films directed by Branagh! rowspan=“2” | Year! rowspan=“2” | Title! colspan=“2” style="text-align:center;” width=160| Academy Awards! colspan=“2” style="text-align:center;” width=160| BAFTA Awards! colspan=“2” style="text-align:center;” width=160| Golden Globe Awards! Nominations! Wins! Nominations! Wins! Nominations! Wins| 1989Henry V (1989 film)>Henry V3161||| 1991| Dead Again||1|1|| 1993Much Ado About Nothing (1993 film)>Much Ado About Nothing||1|1|| 1994Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (film)>Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein1|1|||| 1996Hamlet (1996 film)>Hamlet4|2|||| 2006As You Like It (2006 film)>As You Like It||||1|| 2015Cinderella (2015 American film)>Cinderella1|1|||| 2021Belfast (film)>Belfast716171!colspan=“2“|Total!align=center|16!align=center|2!align=center|18!align=center|2!align=center|10!align=center|1

Discography

• Shakespeare’s Richard III (complete) for Naxos Audiobooks
• In the Ravine & Other Short Stories by Anton Chekhov (unabridged) for Naxos Audiobooks
• Felix Mendelssohn’s incidental music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (speaker) live recording for Sony Classical, conducted by Claudio Abbado
• The Diary of Samuel Pepys 1660–1669 (abridged) for Hodder Headline Audio Classics
• The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis for Harper Books
• Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 30” for the 2002 compilation album, When Love Speaks (EMI Classics)
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein [Abridged]
• Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness for Audible.com.
• “The Duck and the Kangaroo”, read for Fairy Tales, an album of poems and music for children (orchidclassics.com)

Notes

{{reflist|group=note}}

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

• Kenneth Branagh (1990 [1989]) Beginning, London: Chatto and Windus, {{ISBN|0-7011-3388-0}}; New York: W. W. Norton & Co, {{ISBN|0-393-02862-3}}.
• Ian Shuttleworth (1994) Ken & Em, London: Headline. {{ISBN|0-7472-4718-8}}.
• Mark White (2005) Kenneth Branagh, London: Faber and Faber. {{ISBN|0-571-22068-1}}.

External links

{{Commons category}}

• {{IMDb name}}
• {{Charlie Rose guest|469}}
• www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/kenneth-branagh/biography/71" title="web.archive.org/web/20120927054756www.talktalk.co.uk/entertainment/film/biography/artist/kenneth-branagh/biography/71">Biography on Tiscali film section
• home.nyc.rr.com/alweisel/premierekennethbranagh.htm" title="web.archive.org/web/20050410224403home.nyc.rr.com/alweisel/premierekennethbranagh.htm">Kenneth Branagh interview from Premiere (1996)
• Branagh Collection at Queen’s University, Belfast

{{Kenneth Branagh}}{{NavboxesList of awards and nominations received by Kenneth Branagh>Awards for Kenneth Branagh|list ={{Academy Award Best Original Screenplay}}{{BAFTA Award for Best Direction}}{{BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award}}{{British Academy Television Award for Best Actor 2000–2019}}{{BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards}}{{Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay}}{{Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best Actor}}{{International Emmy for Best Performance by an Actor}}{{EmmyAward MiniseriesLeadActor 2001-2025}}{{European Film Award for Best Actor}}{{Golden Globe Award Best Screenplay}}{{Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Play}}{{London Film Critics Circle Award for Supporting Actor of the Year}}{{London Film Critics Circle Award for British Supporting Actor of the Year}}{{National Board of Review Award for Best Director}}{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best New Director}}{{San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor}}{{Satellite Award Best Original Screenplay}}{{OlivierAward SpecialAward}}{{Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Original Screenplay}}}}{{British Triple Crown of Acting winners}}{{Authority control}}