Kenneth Charles Branagh was born inBelfast on 10 December 1960,[4] the son of working-classProtestant parents Frances (née Harper) and William Branagh. His father was a plumber andjoiner who ran a company that specialised in fitting partitions and suspended ceilings.[5][6] He is the middle of three children, with an older brother and a younger sister, and lived in theTigers Bay area of Belfast. He was educated at Grove Primary School.[7][8] In early 1970, at the age of nine, Branagh moved with his family to England to escapethe Troubles; they settled inBerkshire, where Branagh grew up inReading[9][10] and attended Whiteknights Primary School and Meadway School inTilehurst.[11][12] He appeared in school productions such asToad of Toad Hall[13] andOh, What a Lovely War![14]
At school, Branagh learned to speak with anRP 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."[15] He also attributes his "love of words" to his Irish heritage.[16] He attended the amateur Reading Cine & Video Society (now called Reading Film & Video Makers)[17] and was a keen member ofProgress Theatre, of which he is now the patron. After disappointingA-level results in English, history, and sociology,[18] he went on to train at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art inLondon.[19] In 1980, RADA's principalHugh Cruttwell asked Branagh to perform asoliloquy fromHamlet forQueen Elizabeth II during one of her visits to the academy.[20]
Career
1980–1988: Rise to prominence
Branagh has adapted numerous works ofWilliam Shakespeare for the stage and screen
The first major Renaissance production was Branagh's Christmas 1987 staging ofTwelfth Night atRiverside Studios inHammersmith, starringRichard Briers asMalvolio andFrances Barber asViola, and with an original score by actor, musician, and composerPatrick Doyle, who two years later was to compose the music for Branagh's film adaptation ofHenry V. ThisTwelfth Night was later adapted for television. The company's debut season also includedPublic Enemy, a play written by Branagh set in his native Belfast.[23] Also in 1987, Branagh found his first leading film role as James Moon in theBritish film adaptation ofJ.L. Carr's bookA 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. He instead spends most of his time looking for Saxon treasures. The film is set in a 1920s rural Yorkshire village, where Branagh’s character meets a character played byColin Firth, also in his first major role.
Branagh became a major presence in the media and on the British stage when Renaissance collaborated withBirmingham Rep for a 1988 touring season of three Shakespeare plays under the umbrella title ofRenaissance Shakespeare on the Road, which also played a repertory season at thePhoenix Theatre in London. It featured directorial debuts forJudi Dench withMuch Ado About Nothing (starring Branagh and Samantha Bond as Benedick and Beatrice),Geraldine McEwan withAs You Like It, andDerek Jacobi directing Branagh in the title role inHamlet, withSophie Thompson asOphelia. CriticMilton Shulman of the LondonEvening Standard wrote: "On the positive side Branagh has the vitality ofOlivier, the passion ofGielgud, the assurance ofGuinness, 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."[24]
1989–1999: Breakthrough
Branagh starred in numerous films and stage plays withEmma Thompson
A year later, in 1989, Branagh co-starred withEmma Thompson in the Renaissance company's stage revival ofLook Back in Anger. Judi Dench directed both the theatre and television productions, presented first inBelfast then at theLondon Coliseum andLyric Theatre. In 1990, he wrote his autobiographyBeginning, 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."[25]
Branagh is known for his film adaptations ofWilliam Shakespeare, beginning with the critically acclaimedHenry V (1989), later followed by Shakespeare's romantic comedyMuch Ado About Nothing (1993). The latter film premiered at the1993 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for thePalme d'Or. The film starred Branagh, Thompson,Denzel Washington,Kate Beckinsale,Keanu Reeves, andMichael Keaton.Vincent Canby film critic ofThe 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."[26]
However, Branagh had a commercial misstep with his adaptation of thehorror filmMary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994). The film starred Branagh,Robert De Niro,Helena Bonham Carter,Tom Hulce, andIan Holm. It premiered at theLondon Film Festival where it received negative reviews.The New York Times film criticJanet 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-faultFrankenstein for the '90s, short on villainy but loaded with the tragically misunderstood".[27] He then directed the minor British romantic comedyIn the Bleak Midwinter (1995) to positive reviews.
Branagh starred as and directed the filmHamlet (1996)
Branagh returned to directing, in the acclaimed adaptation ofHamlet (1996). Critics have theorised it might be the greatest film adaptation ofHamlet of all time. The film is noted for its epic scale and cast. The film ran four hours and was shot completely in70 mm film. The cast includes Branagh,Kate Winslet,Derek Jacobi,Julie Christie andRufus Sewell. CriticRoger Ebert ofThe 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."[29] The film received fourAcademy Award nominations including forBest Adapted Screenplay for Branagh.
Branagh is the star of the English-languageWallander television series, adaptations ofHenning Mankell's best-sellingWallander crime novels. Branagh plays the eponymous InspectorKurt Wallander and also serves as the executive producer of the series. The first series of three episodes was broadcast onBBC One in November and December 2008.[37] Branagh won the award for best actor at the 35thBroadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Awards (2009). It was his first major television award win in the UK.[38] He received his firstBAFTA TV on 26 April 2009 for theBritish Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series.[39] For his performance in the episodeOne Step Behind, he was nominated in the Outstanding Actor, Miniseries, or Movie category of the61st Primetime Emmy Awards.[40] The role also gained him a nomination for Best Actor at the 2009Crime Thriller Awards.[41] The secondWallander series of three episodes aired initially in January 2010 on the BBC, and the third season aired in July 2012.[42] 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.
In April 2015, Branagh announced his formation of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company, in which he would appear asactor-manager. With the company, he announced he would present a season of five shows at London'sGarrick Theatre from October 2015 – November 2016. The shows wereThe Winter's Tale, a double bill ofHarlequinade andAll On Her Own,Red Velvet,The Painkiller,Romeo and Juliet andThe Entertainer. Branagh directed all butThe Entertainer, in which he starred. Branagh also starred inThe Winter's Tale,Harlequinade andThe Painkiller. Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company also includes Judi Dench (The Winter's Tale),Zoë Wanamaker (Harlequinade/All On Her Own), Derek Jacobi,Lily James andRichard Madden (Romeo and Juliet) andRob Brydon (The Painkiller). In September 2015, it was announced thatThe Winter's Tale,Romeo and Juliet, andThe Entertainer would be broadcast in cinemas, in partnership withPicturehouse Entertainment.[52]
In 2014 Branagh directed and acted in the action thrillerJack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) starringChris Pine,Keira Knightley, andKevin Costner. The film was a box office hit but received mixed reviews from critics. The following year, Branagh directedDisney's live-action adaptation ofCinderella (2015) starringLily James.[53] The film was a financial and critical success. Peter Debruge ofVariety 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."[54]
He reprised his role as Hercule Poirot in 2022'sDeath on the Nile, a sequel toMurder on the Orient Express which he also directed.[63] In March 2021, Branagh signed on to direct a biopic of music group theBee Gees.[64] In March 2022, it was revealed that Branagh left the project due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced byJohn Carney.[65] In October 2022, it was announced that Branagh would direct and star in a third Poirot film titledA Haunting in Venice, based on Christie'sHallowe'en Party.[66][67] Branagh reunited with Christopher Nolan, portraying theDanishphysicistNiels Bohr in the war epicOppenheimer (2023). That same year Branagh returned to theWest End stage directing and acting in thetitle role in a stage adaptation ofWilliam Shakespeare'sKing Lear at theWyndham's Theatre in London.[68]Arifa Akbar ofThe Guardian wrote of the production: "although Branagh delivers his Lear with slick, almost playful efficiency, it is not his towering achievement".[69] The production is set to have anOff-Broadway transfer atThe Shed in the Fall of 2024.[70] In May 2024, it was announced Branagh would write and direct thepsychological thriller filmThe Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde, starringJodie Comer; the film is expected to enter production in August 2024.[71] In June 2025 it was reported that Branagh will play the husband ofMiranda Priestly inThe Devil Wears Prada 2, scheduled to be released in 2026.[72]
During their marriage, while directing and starring inMary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), he began an affair with his co-starHelena Bonham Carter.[73] After Thompson divorced him, he and Bonham Carter were in a well-publicised relationship until 1999.[74]
In 2003, he married film art director Lindsay Brunnock,[75] whom he met during the shooting ofShackleton in 2002.[76]
Branagh has said that he considers himself Irish.[77] He has said that he became "much more religious" after listening toLaurence Olivier's dramatic reading of theBible every morning in preparation for his role as Olivier inMy Week with Marilyn.[78]
Branagh has been nominated for eightAcademy Awards and is the first individual to be nominated in seven different categories.[79] His first two nominations were forHenry V (one each for directing and acting). He also received similarBAFTA 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 filmshort subjectSwan Song and for his work on the screenplay ofHamlet in 1996. His 5th nomination came for his portrayal ofLaurence Olivier inMy Week With Marilyn in 2012. This was followed by three nominations in 2022 forBelfast – 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, surpassingWalt Disney,George Clooney, andAlfonso Cuarón, each of whom have received nominations in six categories (the latest equalled Branagh the year after).
He is Honorary President ofNICVA (the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action). He received an honoraryDoctorate in Literature fromQueen's University of Belfast in 1990. He is also a patron for the charity Over The Wall.[80] He has also served on the Board of Governors of theBritish Film Institute.[81] Branagh was the youngest actor to receive theGolden Quill (also known as the Gielgud Award) in 2000. In 2001, he was appointed an honorary Doctor of Literature at theShakespeare Institute ofThe University of Birmingham; the Shakespeare Institute Library keeps the archive of his Renaissance Theatre Company and Renaissance Films.[82]
On 10 July 2009, Branagh was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the RomaFictionFest.[83] He was also listed on theRadio Times's TV 100 power list in 2023.[84]
He was appointed aKnight Bachelor in the2012 Birthday Honours for services to drama and to the community in Northern Ireland.[1][85] He received the accolade atBuckingham Palace on 9 November 2012; afterwards, Branagh told a BBC reporter that he felt "humble, elated, and incredibly lucky" to be knighted.[1]
