Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh

Born December 10, 1960 (Age: 65) Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

Biography

Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. His accolades include an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Olivier Award. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 2012 and was given Freedom of the City in his native Belfast in 2018. In 2020, he was ranked in 20th place on The Irish Times's list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Branagh 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 Director and won Best Original Screenplay. Branagh directed and starred as Hercule Poirot in the Hercule Poirot film series (2017–present). 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), 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), the television film Warm Springs (2005), and the BBC One series Wallander (2008–2016). He received a Primetime Emmy Award and an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for portraying SS leader Reinhard Heydrich in the HBO film Conspiracy (2001).
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. His accolades include an Academy Award, four BAFTAs, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Olivier Award. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 2012 and was given Freedom of the City in his native Belfast in 2018. In 2020, he was ranked in 20th place on The Irish Times's list of Ireland's greatest film actors. Branagh 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 Director and won Best Original Screenplay. Branagh directed and starred as Hercule Poirot in the Hercule Poirot film series (2017–present). 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), 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), the television film Warm Springs (2005), and the BBC One series Wallander (2008–2016). He received a Primetime Emmy Award and an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for portraying SS leader Reinhard Heydrich in the HBO film Conspiracy (2001).
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Filmography

No Image

The Thomas Crown Affair

2027 as Age: 66
The King of Kings

The King of Kings

2025 as Charles Dickens (voice) Age: 64
A Haunting in Venice

A Haunting in Venice

2023 as Hercule Poirot Age: 62
Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer

2023 as Niels Bohr Age: 62
Death on the Nile

Death on the Nile

2022 as Hercule Poirot Age: 61
Looking at the World in a New Way: The Making of ‘Tenet’

Looking at the World in a New Way: The Making of ‘Tenet’

2020 as Self Age: 60
Tenet

Tenet

2020 as Sator Age: 59
All Is True

All Is True

2018 as William Shakespeare Age: 58
Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War

2018 as Asgardian Distress Call (voice) (uncredited) Age: 57
Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express

2017 as Hercule Poirot Age: 56
Dunkirk

Dunkirk

2017 as Commander Bolton Age: 56
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

2014 as Viktor Cherevin Age: 53
Marvel Studios: Building a Cinematic Universe

Marvel Studios: Building a Cinematic Universe

2012 as Self Age: 51
My Week with Marilyn

My Week with Marilyn

2011 as Sir Laurence Olivier Age: 50
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope

2011 as Self Age: 50
The Boat That Rocked

The Boat That Rocked

2009 as Dormandy Age: 48
Valkyrie

Valkyrie

2008 as Henning von Tresckow Age: 48
Sleuth

Sleuth

2007 as Other Man on T.V. Age: 46
Five Children and It

Five Children and It

2004 as Uncle Albert Age: 43
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

2002 as Gilderoy Lockhart Age: 41
Rabbit-Proof Fence

Rabbit-Proof Fence

2002 as A. O. Neville Age: 41
Lon Chaney: A thousand faces

Lon Chaney: A thousand faces

2000 as Self / Narrator Age: 39
The Book That Wrote Itself

The Book That Wrote Itself

2000 as Kenneth Branagh Age: 39
The Road to El Dorado

The Road to El Dorado

2000 as Miguel (voice) Age: 39
Love's Labour's Lost

Love's Labour's Lost

2000 as Berowne Age: 39
No Image

The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs

2000 as Narrator Age: 39
Altman on His Own Terms

Altman on His Own Terms

2000 as Self Age: 39
IMAX: Galapagos 3D

IMAX: Galapagos 3D

1999 as Narrator Age: 38
Wild Wild West

Wild Wild West

1999 as Dr. Arliss Loveless Age: 38
The Dance of Shiva

The Dance of Shiva

1998 as Colonel Evans Age: 38
Celebrity

Celebrity

1998 as Lee Simon Age: 37
The Proposition

The Proposition

1998 as Father Michael McKinnon Age: 37
The Gingerbread Man

The Gingerbread Man

1998 as Rick Magruder Age: 37
Hamlet

Hamlet

1996 as Prince Hamlet Age: 36
Looking for Richard

Looking for Richard

1996 as Self - Interviewee Age: 35
Othello

Othello

1995 as Iago Age: 35
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

1994 as Victor Frankenstein Age: 33
Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing

1993 as Benedick Age: 32
Dead Again

Dead Again

1991 as Roman Strauss / Mike Church Age: 30
Henry V

Henry V

1989 as Henry V Age: 28
Chariots of Fire

Chariots of Fire

1981 as Cambridge Student at Society Day (uncredited) Age: 20