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Kenneth Branagh
Actor

Kenneth Branagh

10 Dec 1960Born
65Age
118Credits
Belfast, Northern Ireland, UKBirthplace

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.

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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).

Known for

Filmography

The 80 most recent of 118 credits.

  1. TBAGoblinFilm: (voice)
  2. TBAAllosaurus A Walking With Dinosaurs SpecialFilm: Narrator
  3. TBALairdSeries: Laird of Castle Drummoch (1 episode)
  4. TBAThe Last Disturbance of Madeline HyndeFilm: Director, Screenplay
  5. 2027The Thomas Crown AffairFilm
  6. 2026AtonementFilm: Michael Reid
  7. 2026MaydayFilm: Nikolai Ustinov
  8. 2026Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David LeanFilm: David Lean (voice)
  9. 2026The Devil Wears Prada 2Film: Stuart
  10. 2025The American RevolutionSeries: (voice) (6 episodes)
  11. 2025The King of KingsFilm: Charles Dickens (voice)
  12. 2023BLUE EYE SAMURAISeries: Abijah Fowler (voice) (8 episodes)
  13. 2023A Haunting in VeniceFilm: Hercule Poirot, Director
  14. 2023OppenheimerFilm: Niels Bohr
  15. 2022This EnglandSeries: Boris Johnson (6 episodes)
  16. 2022Death on the NileFilm: Hercule Poirot, Director
  17. 2022FireheartFilm: Shawn Nolan (voice)
  18. 2021BelfastFilm: Writer, Director
  19. 2020TenetFilm: Sator
  20. 2020Artemis FowlFilm: Director
  21. 2019Lost LivesFilm: Narrator
  22. 2018All Is TrueFilm: William Shakespeare, Director
  23. 2018Avengers: Infinity WarFilm: Asgardian Distress Call (voice) (uncredited)
  24. 2017Murder on the Orient ExpressFilm: Hercule Poirot, Director
  25. 2017DunkirkFilm: Commander Bolton
  26. 2016Branagh Theatre Live: The EntertainerFilm: Archie Rice
  27. 2016Branagh Theatre Live: Romeo and JulietFilm: Director
  28. 2015Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's TaleFilm: Leontes, Director
  29. 2015CinderellaFilm: Director
  30. 2014Jack Ryan: Shadow RecruitFilm: Viktor Cherevin, Director
  31. 2013National Theatre Live: MacbethFilm: Macbeth
  32. 2012Stars in ShortsFilm: Mark Snow
  33. 2012London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of WonderFilm: Isambard Kingdom Brunel
  34. 2011My Week with MarilynFilm: Sir Laurence Olivier
  35. 2011Discovering HamletFilm: Hamlet (archive footage)
  36. 2011ProdigalFilm: Mark Snow
  37. 2011ThorFilm: Director
  38. 20091939: Hollywood's Greatest YearFilm: Narrator (voice)
  39. 2009The Boat That RockedFilm: Dormandy
  40. 2008ValkyrieFilm: Henning von Tresckow
  41. 2008WallanderSeries: Kurt Wallander (12 episodes)
  42. 200810 Days to WarSeries: Colonel Tim Collins (1 episode)
  43. 2008Alien Love TriangleFilm: Steven Chesterman
  44. 2007SleuthFilm: Other Man on T.V., Director
  45. 2006The Magic FluteFilm: Screenplay, Director
  46. 2006As You Like ItFilm: Writer, Director
  47. 2005Walking with MonstersFilm: Narrator (voice)
  48. 2005Walking with MonstersSeries: Narrator (voice) (3 episodes)
  49. 2005Warm SpringsFilm: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
  50. 2005The Goebbels ExperimentFilm: Narrator (voice)
  51. 2004Five Children and ItFilm: Uncle Albert
  52. 2004Cecil B. DeMille: American EpicFilm: Narrator (voice)
  53. 2003ListeningFilm: Writer, Director
  54. 2003World War I in ColourSeries: Narrator (6 episodes)
  55. 2002Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsFilm: Gilderoy Lockhart
  56. 2002How to Kill Your Neighbor's DogFilm: Peter McGowan
  57. 2002The Tramp and the DictatorFilm: Narrator (voice)
  58. 2002Rabbit-Proof FenceFilm: A. O. Neville
  59. 2002ShackletonSeries: Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (2 episodes)
  60. 2001The Beasts WithinFilm: Narrator (voice)
  61. 2001Triumph of the BeastsFilm: Narrator (voice)
  62. 2001Walking with BeastsSeries: Narrator (6 episodes)
  63. 2001ConspiracyFilm: Reinhard Heydrich
  64. 2001Schneider's 2nd StageFilm: Joseph Barnett
  65. 2000Big AlSeries: Narrator (2 episodes)
  66. 2000The Book That Wrote ItselfFilm: Kenneth Branagh
  67. 2000The Road to El DoradoFilm: Miguel (voice)
  68. 2000Love's Labour's LostFilm: Berowne, Writer, Director, Screenplay
  69. 2000The Making of Walking with DinosaursFilm: Narrator
  70. 1999The Periwig-MakerFilm: Periwig-maker (voice)
  71. 1999IMAX: Galapagos 3DFilm: Narrator
  72. 1999Wild Wild WestFilm: Dr. Arliss Loveless
  73. 1999The Theory of FlightFilm: Richard
  74. 1998The Dance of ShivaFilm: Colonel Evans
  75. 1998Universal HorrorFilm: Narrator
  76. 1998CelebrityFilm: Lee Simon
  77. 1998Cold WarSeries (24 episodes)
  78. 1998The PropositionFilm: Father Michael McKinnon
  79. 1998The Gingerbread ManFilm: Rick Magruder
  80. 1996HamletFilm: Prince Hamlet, Director

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.