Kenneth Branagh

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

144

Gender

Male

Birthday

1960-12-10 (65 years old)

Place of Birth

Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

Kenneth Branagh

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. 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

  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

    The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

  • Late Night with Seth Meyers

    Late Night with Seth Meyers

  • The Kelly Clarkson Show

    The Kelly Clarkson Show

  • Golden Globe Awards

    Golden Globe Awards

  • The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

    The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

  • The Graham Norton Show

    The Graham Norton Show

  • The Graham Norton Show

    The Graham Norton Show

  • The View

    The View

  • Real Time with Bill Maher

    Real Time with Bill Maher

  • Avengers: Infinity War

    Avengers: Infinity War

  • Late Night with Conan O'Brien

    Late Night with Conan O'Brien

  • Oppenheimer

    Oppenheimer

  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

    Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

  • American Experience

    American Experience

  • Wogan

    Wogan

  • El hormiguero

    El hormiguero

  • Leute heute

    Leute heute

  • The Devil Wears Prada 2

    The Devil Wears Prada 2

  • Parkinson

    Parkinson

  • The Oscars

    The Oscars

  • Play for Today

    Play for Today

  • The Ellen DeGeneres Show

    The Ellen DeGeneres Show

  • Tenet

    Tenet

  • Dunkirk

    Dunkirk

  • Lost Lives

    Lost Lives

  • BLUE EYE SAMURAI

    BLUE EYE SAMURAI

  • Performance

    Performance

  • Swing Kids

    Swing Kids

  • Murder on the Orient Express

    Murder on the Orient Express

  • Celebrity

    Celebrity

  • Discovering Hamlet

    Discovering Hamlet

  • High Season

    High Season

  • Wallander

    Wallander

  • Death on the Nile

    Death on the Nile

  • 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

    1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

  • Hamlet

    Hamlet

  • Henry V

    Henry V

  • A Haunting in Venice

    A Haunting in Venice

  • Lorna

    Lorna

  • Sleuth

    Sleuth

  • Valkyrie

    Valkyrie

  • The American Revolution

    The American Revolution

  • Ghosts

    Ghosts

  • The Road to El Dorado

    The Road to El Dorado

  • IMAX: Galapagos 3D

    IMAX: Galapagos 3D

  • Strange Interlude

    Strange Interlude

  • Looking for Richard

    Looking for Richard

  • Easter 2016

    Easter 2016

  • The King of Kings

    The King of Kings

  • Wild Wild West

    Wild Wild West

  • Peter's Friends

    Peter's Friends

  • Anne Frank Remembered

    Anne Frank Remembered

  • Prodigal

    Prodigal

  • Warm Springs

    Warm Springs

  • Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

    Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

  • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

    Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

  • The Boat That Rocked

    The Boat That Rocked

  • Walking with Dinosaurs

    Walking with Dinosaurs

  • Fireheart

    Fireheart

  • Chariots of Fire

    Chariots of Fire

  • 10 Days to War

    10 Days to War

  • Conspiracy

    Conspiracy

  • The Gingerbread Man

    The Gingerbread Man

  • Much Ado About Nothing

    Much Ado About Nothing

  • My Week with Marilyn

    My Week with Marilyn

  • Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic

    Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic

  • This England

    This England

  • Shackleton

    Shackleton

  • Cold War

    Cold War

  • Walking with Beasts

    Walking with Beasts

  • Dead Again

    Dead Again

  • Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe

    Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe

  • Mindhorn

    Mindhorn

  • Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces

    Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces

  • Fortunes of War

    Fortunes of War

  • All Is True

    All Is True

  • Denzel Washington: A Model American

    Denzel Washington: A Model American

  • Big Al

    Big Al

  • Stars in Shorts

    Stars in Shorts

  • Rabbit-Proof Fence

    Rabbit-Proof Fence

  • Five Children and It

    Five Children and It

  • Theatre Night

    Theatre Night

  • As You Like It

    As You Like It

  • The Periwig-Maker

    The Periwig-Maker

  • Othello

    Othello

  • The Magic Touch of Harry Potter

    The Magic Touch of Harry Potter

  • The Boy in the Bush

    The Boy in the Bush

  • Walking with Monsters

    Walking with Monsters

  • Alien Love Triangle

    Alien Love Triangle

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

    Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope

  • The Proposition

    The Proposition

  • Love's Labour's Lost

    Love's Labour's Lost

  • Thompson

    Thompson

  • Mayday

    Mayday

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

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

  • With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story

    With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story

  • Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood

    Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood

  • Marvel Studios: Building a Cinematic Universe

    Marvel Studios: Building a Cinematic Universe

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

    Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba

  • Branagh Theatre Live: The Entertainer

    Branagh Theatre Live: The Entertainer

  • Altman on His Own Terms

    Altman on His Own Terms

  • The Thomas Crown Affair

    The Thomas Crown Affair

  • Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale

    Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale

  • London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder

    London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder

  • Universal Horror

    Universal Horror

  • Wild Wild West: Evil Devices

    Wild Wild West: Evil Devices

  • Walking with Monsters

    Walking with Monsters

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

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

  • World War 1 in Colour

    World War 1 in Colour

  • The Goblin

    The Goblin

  • Tea with Judi Dench

    Tea with Judi Dench

  • A Month in the Country

    A Month in the Country

  • Look Back in Anger

    Look Back in Anger

  • Thor: From Asgard to Earth

    Thor: From Asgard to Earth

  • Thames Wallah

    Thames Wallah

  • It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein

    It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein

  • The Beasts Within

    The Beasts Within

  • The Tramp and the Dictator

    The Tramp and the Dictator

  • National Theatre Live: Macbeth

    National Theatre Live: Macbeth

  • Discovering Hamlet

    Discovering Hamlet

  • Too Late to Talk to Billy

    Too Late to Talk to Billy

  • The Theory of Flight

    The Theory of Flight

  • The Dance of Shiva

    The Dance of Shiva

  • A Coming to Terms for Billy

    A Coming to Terms for Billy

  • Wild Wild West: Loveless's Ladies

    Wild Wild West: Loveless's Ladies

  • Coming Through

    Coming Through

  • The Book That Wrote Itself

    The Book That Wrote Itself

  • Following the Rabbit-Proof Fence

    Following the Rabbit-Proof Fence

  • Atonement

    Atonement

  • To the Lighthouse

    To the Lighthouse

  • Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out

    Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out

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

    A Night at the Movies: The Gigantic World of Epics

  • Schneider's 2nd Stage

    Schneider's 2nd Stage

  • A Matter of Choice for Billy

    A Matter of Choice for Billy

  • The Lady's Not For Burning

    The Lady's Not For Burning

  • How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog

    How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog

  • Symphony for the Spire

    Symphony for the Spire

  • James Ellis: An Actor's Life

    James Ellis: An Actor's Life

  • The Goebbels Experiment

    The Goebbels Experiment

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

    A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers

  • The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs

    The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs

  • Triumph of the Beasts

    Triumph of the Beasts

  • Shadow of a Gunman

    Shadow of a Gunman