Kenneth Branagh
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).
Filmography
The Thomas Crown Affair
The Thomas Crown Affair
Mayday
as Nikolai Ustinov
Mayday
as Nikolai Ustinov
Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean
as David Lean (voice)
Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean
as David Lean (voice)
The Devil Wears Prada 2
as Stuart
The Devil Wears Prada 2
as Stuart
The Devil Wears Prada 2 Red Carpet World Premiere
as Stuart Simmons
The Devil Wears Prada 2 Red Carpet World Premiere
as Stuart Simmons
Tea with Judi Dench featuring Kenneth Branagh
as Self
Tea with Judi Dench featuring Kenneth Branagh
as Self
The King of Kings
as Charles Dickens (voice)
The King of Kings
as Charles Dickens (voice)
A Haunting in Venice
as Hercule Poirot
A Haunting in Venice
as Hercule Poirot
Oppenheimer
as Niels Bohr
Oppenheimer
as Niels Bohr
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
as Self
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
as Self
Denzel Washington: A Model American
as Self
Denzel Washington: A Model American
as Self
Death on the Nile
as Hercule Poirot
Death on the Nile
as Hercule Poirot
Fireheart
as Shawn Nolan (voice)
Fireheart
as Shawn Nolan (voice)
Looking at the World in a New Way: The Making of ‘Tenet’
as Self
Looking at the World in a New Way: The Making of ‘Tenet’
as Self
Avengers: Infinity War
as Asgardian Distress Call (voice) (uncredited)
Avengers: Infinity War
as Asgardian Distress Call (voice) (uncredited)
Murder on the Orient Express
as Hercule Poirot
Murder on the Orient Express
as Hercule Poirot
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
as Viktor Cherevin
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
as Viktor Cherevin
National Theatre Live: Macbeth
as Macbeth
National Theatre Live: Macbeth
as Macbeth
My Week with Marilyn
as Sir Laurence Olivier
My Week with Marilyn
as Sir Laurence Olivier
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
as Self
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
as Self
Prodigal
as Mark Snow
Prodigal
as Mark Snow
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
as Narrator (voice)
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
as Narrator (voice)
Valkyrie
as Henning von Tresckow
Valkyrie
as Henning von Tresckow
Alien Love Triangle
as Steven Chesterman
Alien Love Triangle
as Steven Chesterman
Sleuth
as Other Man on T.V.
Sleuth
as Other Man on T.V.
Warm Springs
as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Warm Springs
as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
as Gilderoy Lockhart
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
as Gilderoy Lockhart
How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog
as Peter McGowan
How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog
as Peter McGowan
The Tramp and the Dictator
as Narrator (voice)
The Tramp and the Dictator
as Narrator (voice)
Rabbit-Proof Fence
as A. O. Neville
Rabbit-Proof Fence
as A. O. Neville
The Beasts Within
as Narrator (voice)
The Beasts Within
as Narrator (voice)
Triumph of the Beasts
as Narrator (voice)
Triumph of the Beasts
as Narrator (voice)
Conspiracy
as Reinhard Heydrich
Conspiracy
as Reinhard Heydrich
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
as Self / Narrator
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
as Self / Narrator
The Book That Wrote Itself
as Kenneth Branagh
The Book That Wrote Itself
as Kenneth Branagh
The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs
as Narrator
The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs
as Narrator
Altman on His Own Terms
as Self
Altman on His Own Terms
as Self
Celebrity
as Lee Simon
Celebrity
as Lee Simon
The Proposition
as Father Michael McKinnon
The Proposition
as Father Michael McKinnon
The Gingerbread Man
as Rick Magruder
The Gingerbread Man
as Rick Magruder
Looking for Richard
as Self - Interviewee
Looking for Richard
as Self - Interviewee
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
as Victor Frankenstein
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
as Victor Frankenstein
Peter's Friends
as Andrew Benson
Peter's Friends
as Andrew Benson
A Month in the Country
as James Moon
A Month in the Country
as James Moon
Ghosts
as Oswald Alving
Ghosts
as Oswald Alving
To the Lighthouse
as Charles Tansley
To the Lighthouse
as Charles Tansley