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Kenneth Branagh

Actor

Kenneth Branagh

Born December 10, 1960 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK66 films

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.

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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).

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The best way into Kenneth Branagh's work
Avengers: Infinity War posterFirst watchAvengers: Infinity War20188.2as Asgardian Distress Call (voice) (uncredited)As the Avengers and their allies have continued to protect the world from threats too large for any one hero to handle, a new danger has emerged from the cosmic shadows: Thanos.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach

Filmography

66 films as actor
  1. TBAGoblin(voice)
  2. 2027The Thomas Crown Affair
  3. 2026AtonementMichael Reid
  4. 2026MaydayNikolai Ustinov
  5. 2026The Devil Wears Prada 2Stuart
  6. 2025The King of KingsCharles Dickens (voice)
  7. 2023A Haunting in VeniceHercule Poirot
  8. 2023OppenheimerNiels Bohr
  9. 2022Death on the NileHercule Poirot
  10. 2022FireheartShawn Nolan (voice)
  11. 2020TenetSator
  12. 2018All Is TrueWilliam Shakespeare
  13. 2018Avengers: Infinity WarAsgardian Distress Call (voice) (uncredited)
  14. 2017Murder on the Orient ExpressHercule Poirot
  15. 2017DunkirkCommander Bolton
  16. 2016Branagh Theatre Live: The EntertainerArchie Rice
  17. 2015Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's TaleLeontes
  18. 2014Jack Ryan: Shadow RecruitViktor Cherevin
  19. 2013National Theatre Live: MacbethMacbeth
  20. 2012Stars in ShortsMark Snow
  21. 2011My Week with MarilynSir Laurence Olivier
  22. 2011ProdigalMark Snow
  23. 2009The Boat That RockedDormandy
  24. 2008ValkyrieHenning von Tresckow
  25. 2008Alien Love TriangleSteven Chesterman
  26. 2007SleuthOther Man on T.V.
  27. 2005Warm SpringsFranklin Delano Roosevelt
  28. 2004Five Children and ItUncle Albert
  29. 2002Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsGilderoy Lockhart
  30. 2002How to Kill Your Neighbor's DogPeter McGowan
  31. 2002Rabbit-Proof FenceA. O. Neville
  32. 2001ConspiracyReinhard Heydrich
  33. 2001Schneider's 2nd StageJoseph Barnett
  34. 2000The Book That Wrote ItselfKenneth Branagh
  35. 2000The Road to El DoradoMiguel (voice)
  36. 2000Love's Labour's LostBerowne
  37. 1999The Periwig-MakerPeriwig-maker (voice)
  38. 1999Wild Wild WestDr. Arliss Loveless
  39. 1999The Theory of FlightRichard
  40. 1998The Dance of ShivaColonel Evans
  41. 1998CelebrityLee Simon
  42. 1998The PropositionFather Michael McKinnon
  43. 1998The Gingerbread ManRick Magruder
  44. 1996HamletPrince Hamlet
  45. 1995OthelloIago
  46. 1995Shadow of a GunmanDonal Davoren
  47. 1994Mary Shelley's FrankensteinVictor Frankenstein
  48. 1993Much Ado About NothingBenedick
  49. 1993Swing KidsHerr Knopp, Gestapo (uncredited)
  50. 1992Peter's FriendsAndrew Benson
  51. 1991Dead AgainRoman Strauss / Mike Church
  52. 1989Look Back in AngerJimmy Porter
  53. 1989Henry VHenry V
  54. 1988Thames WallahNarrator
  55. 1987A Month in the CountryJames Moon
  56. 1987High SeasonRick
  57. 1987GhostsOswald Alving
  58. 1987LornaBilly Martin
  59. 1987The Lady's Not For BurningThomas Mendip
  60. 1985Coming ThroughD.H. Lawrence
  61. 1984A Coming to Terms for BillyBilly Martin
  62. 1983A Matter of Choice for BillyBilly Martin
  63. 1983To the LighthouseCharles Tansley
  64. 1982Easter 2016Student
  65. 1982Too Late to Talk to BillyBilly Martin
  66. 1981Chariots of FireCambridge Student at Society Day (uncredited)