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Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh

Acting

Born: December 10, 1960Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

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).

Known For
Filmography

The Thomas Crown Affair

2027
Mayday

Mayday

Nikolai Ustinov

2026
The Devil Wears Prada 2

The Devil Wears Prada 2

2026
Tea with Judi Dench

Tea with Judi Dench

Self

2025
The King of Kings

The King of Kings

Charles Dickens (voice)

2025
A Haunting in Venice

A Haunting in Venice

Hercule Poirot

2023
Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer

Niels Bohr

2023
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba

Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba

Self

2022
Denzel Washington: A Model American

Denzel Washington: A Model American

Self

2022
Death on the Nile

Death on the Nile

Hercule Poirot

2022
Fireheart

Fireheart

Shawn Nolan (voice)

2022
Looking at the World in a New Way: The Making of ‘Tenet’

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

Self

2020
Tenet

Tenet

Sator

2020
Lost Lives

Lost Lives

2019
All Is True

All Is True

William Shakespeare

2018
Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War

Asgardian Distress Call (voice) (uncredited)

2018
Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express

Hercule Poirot

2017
Dunkirk

Dunkirk

Commander Bolton

2017
Branagh Theatre Live: The Entertainer

Branagh Theatre Live: The Entertainer

Archie Rice

2016
Mindhorn

Mindhorn

Himself

2016
Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale

Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale

Leontes

2015
Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe

Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe

Self

2014
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Viktor Cherevin

2014
National Theatre Live: Macbeth

National Theatre Live: Macbeth

Macbeth

2013
Stars in Shorts

Stars in Shorts

Mark Snow

2012
Marvel Studios: Building a Cinematic Universe

Marvel Studios: Building a Cinematic Universe

Self

2012
London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder

London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

2012
My Week with Marilyn

My Week with Marilyn

Sir Laurence Olivier

2011
Discovering Hamlet

Discovering Hamlet

Hamlet (archive footage)

2011
Thor: From Asgard to Earth

Thor: From Asgard to Earth

Self

2011
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope

Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope

Self

2011
Prodigal

Prodigal

Mark Snow

2011
With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story

Self

2010
A Night at the Movies: The Gigantic World of Epics

A Night at the Movies: The Gigantic World of Epics

Self

2009
A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers

A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers

Self

2009
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

Narrator (voice)

2009
The Boat That Rocked

The Boat That Rocked

Dormandy

2009
Valkyrie

Valkyrie

Henning von Tresckow

2008
Alien Love Triangle

Alien Love Triangle

Steven Chesterman

2008
Sleuth

Sleuth

Other Man on T.V.

2007
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out

Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out

Self

2007
James Ellis: An Actor's Life

James Ellis: An Actor's Life

Himself

2007
As You Like It

As You Like It

Self (voice)

2006
Walking with Monsters

Walking with Monsters

Narrator (voice)

2005
Warm Springs

Warm Springs

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

2005
The Goebbels Experiment

The Goebbels Experiment

Narrator (voice)

2005
Five Children and It

Five Children and It

Uncle Albert

2004
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter

The Magic Touch of Harry Potter

Self

2004
Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic

Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic

Narrator (voice)

2004

Following the Rabbit-Proof Fence

Himself / Narrator

2003
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Gilderoy Lockhart

2002
How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog

How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog

Peter McGowan

2002
The Tramp and the Dictator

The Tramp and the Dictator

Narrator (voice)

2002
Rabbit-Proof Fence

Rabbit-Proof Fence

A. O. Neville

2002
The Beasts Within

The Beasts Within

Narrator (voice)

2001
Triumph of the Beasts

Triumph of the Beasts

Narrator (voice)

2001
Conspiracy

Conspiracy

Reinhard Heydrich

2001

Schneider's 2nd Stage

Joseph Barnett

2001
Lon Chaney: A thousand faces

Lon Chaney: A thousand faces

Self / Narrator

2000
The Book That Wrote Itself

The Book That Wrote Itself

Kenneth Branagh

2000
Love's Labour's Lost

Love's Labour's Lost

Berowne

2000
The Road to El Dorado

The Road to El Dorado

Miguel (voice)

2000

The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs

Narrator

2000
Altman on His Own Terms

Altman on His Own Terms

Self

2000
Wild Wild West: Evil Devices

Wild Wild West: Evil Devices

Himself

1999

Wild Wild West: Loveless's Ladies

Himself

1999
The Periwig-Maker

The Periwig-Maker

Periwig-maker (voice)

1999
IMAX: Galapagos 3D

IMAX: Galapagos 3D

Narrator

1999
Wild Wild West

Wild Wild West

Dr. Arliss Loveless

1999
It's a Whole New West: The Making of 'Wild, Wild West'

It's a Whole New West: The Making of 'Wild, Wild West'

Self

1999
The Theory of Flight

The Theory of Flight

Richard

1999
The Dance of Shiva

The Dance of Shiva

Colonel Evans

1998
Universal Horror

Universal Horror

Narrator

1998
Celebrity

Celebrity

Lee Simon

1998
The Proposition

The Proposition

Father Michael McKinnon

1998
The Gingerbread Man

The Gingerbread Man

Rick Magruder

1998
Hamlet

Hamlet

Prince Hamlet

1996
Looking for Richard

Looking for Richard

Self - Interviewee

1996
Othello

Othello

Iago

1995
Shadow of a Gunman

Shadow of a Gunman

Donal Davoren

1995
Anne Frank Remembered

Anne Frank Remembered

Narration (voice)

1995
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Victor Frankenstein

1994
It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein

It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein

Self

1994
Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing

Benedick

1993
Swing Kids

Swing Kids

Herr Knopp, Gestapo (uncredited)

1993
Peter's Friends

Peter's Friends

Andrew Benson

1992
Symphony for the Spire

Symphony for the Spire

1992
Dead Again

Dead Again

Roman Strauss / Mike Church

1991
Discovering Hamlet

Discovering Hamlet

Himself / Hamlet

1990
Look Back in Anger

Look Back in Anger

Jimmy Porter

1989
Henry V

Henry V

Henry V

1989
Thames Wallah

Thames Wallah

Narrator

1988
A Month in the Country

A Month in the Country

James Moon

1987
High Season

High Season

Rick

1987
Ghosts

Ghosts

Oswald Alving

1987
Lorna

Lorna

Billy Martin

1987
The Lady's Not For Burning

The Lady's Not For Burning

Thomas Mendip

1987
Coming Through

Coming Through

D.H. Lawrence

1985
A Coming to Terms for Billy

A Coming to Terms for Billy

Billy Martin

1984
A Matter of Choice for Billy

A Matter of Choice for Billy

Billy Martin

1983
To the Lighthouse

To the Lighthouse

Charles Tansley

1983
Easter 2016

Easter 2016

Student

1982
Too Late to Talk to Billy

Too Late to Talk to Billy

Billy Martin

1982
Chariots of Fire

Chariots of Fire

Cambridge Student at Society Day (uncredited)

1981