Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (born 10 December 1960) is a Northern Irish actor and filmmaker. Born inΒ BelfastΒ and raised primarily inΒ Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained atΒ RADAΒ in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024.Β His accoladesΒ include anΒ Academy Award, fourΒ BAFTAs, twoΒ Emmy Awards, aΒ Golden Globe Award, and anΒ Olivier Award. He was appointed aΒ Knight BachelorΒ in 2012Β and was givenΒ Freedom of the CityΒ in his native Belfast in 2018.Β In 2020, he was ranked in 20th place onΒ The Irish Times'sΒ list of Ireland's greatest film actors.
Branagh has directed and starred in several film adaptations ofΒ William Shakespeare's plays, includingΒ Henry VΒ (1989),Β Much Ado About NothingΒ (1993),Β OthelloΒ (1995),Β HamletΒ (1996), andΒ As You Like ItΒ (2006). He was nominated for Academy Awards forΒ Best ActorΒ andΒ Best Director forΒ Henry V andΒ Best Adapted ScreenplayΒ forΒ Hamlet. He directedΒ Swan SongΒ (1992), which earned a nomination for theΒ Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. He also directedΒ Peter's FriendsΒ (1992),Β Mary Shelley's FrankensteinΒ (1994),Β ThorΒ (2011), andΒ Cinderella (2015). For his semi-autobiographical filmΒ Belfast (2021), he was nominated for the Academy Awards forΒ Best PictureΒ andΒ Director and wonΒ Best Original Screenplay.
Branagh directed and starred asΒ Hercule PoirotΒ in theΒ Hercule PoirotΒ film seriesΒ (2017βpresent). He has also acted inΒ CelebrityΒ (1998),Β Wild Wild WestΒ (1999),Β The Road to El DoradoΒ (2000),Β Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsΒ (2002), andΒ ValkyrieΒ (2008). His portrayal ofΒ Laurence OlivierΒ inΒ My Week with MarilynΒ (2011) earned him a nomination for theΒ Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He played supporting roles inΒ Christopher Nolan's filmsΒ DunkirkΒ (2017),Β TenetΒ (2020), andΒ OppenheimerΒ (2023).
Branagh has starred in theΒ BBC1Β seriesΒ Fortunes of WarΒ (1987), theΒ Channel 4Β seriesΒ ShackletonΒ (2002), the television filmΒ Warm SpringsΒ (2005), and theΒ BBC OneΒ seriesΒ Wallander (2008β2016). He received aΒ Primetime Emmy AwardΒ and anΒ International Emmy Award for Best ActorΒ for portrayingΒ SSΒ leaderΒ Reinhard HeydrichΒ in theΒ HBOΒ filmΒ ConspiracyΒ (2001).
