Kenneth Branagh
Acting
Born: December 10, 1960 (age 65) · Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
Highest Rated
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
Avengers: Infinity War
2018
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2002
Thor
2011
Thor: The Dark World
2013
Dunkirk
2017
Oppenheimer
2023
Tenet
2020
Murder on the Orient Express
2017
Cinderella
2015
Death on the Nile
2022
The Road to El Dorado
2000
Valkyrie
2008
Photos (6)
Movies (77)
Avengers: Infinity War
Asgardian Distress Call (voice) (uncredited)
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Stuart
Oppenheimer
Niels Bohr
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Gilderoy Lockhart
Tenet
Sator
Dunkirk
Commander Bolton
Murder on the Orient Express
Hercule Poirot
Death on the Nile
Hercule Poirot
A Haunting in Venice
Hercule Poirot
The Road to El Dorado
Miguel (voice)
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Viktor Cherevin
Valkyrie
Henning von Tresckow
Wild Wild West
Dr. Arliss Loveless
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Victor Frankenstein
Chariots of Fire
Cambridge Student at Society Day (uncredited)
The King of Kings
Charles Dickens (voice)
My Week with Marilyn
Sir Laurence Olivier
Much Ado About Nothing
Benedick
The Boat That Rocked
Dormandy
Dead Again
Roman Strauss / Mike Church
The Gingerbread Man
Rick Magruder
Fireheart
Shawn Nolan (voice)
Celebrity
Lee Simon
Sleuth
Other Man on T.V.
Conspiracy
Reinhard Heydrich
Hamlet
Prince Hamlet
Swing Kids
Herr Knopp, Gestapo (uncredited)
Rabbit-Proof Fence
A. O. Neville
Henry V
Henry V
All Is True
William Shakespeare
Branagh Theatre Live: The Entertainer
Archie Rice
The Proposition
Father Michael McKinnon
Discovering Hamlet
Hamlet (archive footage)
Five Children and It
Uncle Albert
Peter's Friends
Andrew Benson
Othello
Iago
Warm Springs
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Love's Labour's Lost
Berowne
The Goebbels Experiment
Narrator (voice)
Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean
David Lean (voice)
Lorna
Billy Martin
Anne Frank Remembered
Narration (voice)
High Season
Rick
The Dance of Shiva
Colonel Evans
The Periwig-Maker
Periwig-maker (voice)
The Tramp and the Dictator
Narrator (voice)
Universal Horror
Narrator
Stars in Shorts
Mark Snow
A Month in the Country
James Moon
National Theatre Live: Macbeth
Macbeth
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Narrator (voice)
To the Lighthouse
Charles Tansley
The Theory of Flight
Richard
Prodigal
Mark Snow
Cecil B. DeMille: American Epic
Narrator (voice)
How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog
Peter McGowan
Alien Love Triangle
Steven Chesterman
London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Lost Lives
Narrator
Easter 2016
Student
Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale
Leontes
Look Back in Anger
Jimmy Porter
The Book That Wrote Itself
Kenneth Branagh
Symphony for the Spire
1992
Walking with Monsters
Narrator (voice)
Ghosts
Oswald Alving
Thames Wallah
Narrator
Coming Through
D.H. Lawrence
IMAX: Galapagos 3D
Narrator
A Matter of Choice for Billy
Billy Martin
The Lady's Not For Burning
Thomas Mendip
The Beasts Within
Narrator (voice)
Triumph of the Beasts
Narrator (voice)
A Coming to Terms for Billy
Billy Martin
Shadow of a Gunman
Donal Davoren
Too Late to Talk to Billy
Billy Martin
The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs
Narrator
TV Shows (22)
Play for Today
3 eps
American Playhouse
Gordon Evans · 3 eps
American Experience
Narrator (voice) · 1 eps
Omnibus
1 eps
Performance
Donal Davoren · 1 eps
BLUE EYE SAMURAI
Abijah Fowler (voice) · 8 eps
TFI Friday
1 eps
Wallander
Kurt Wallander · 12 eps
The American Revolution
(voice) · 6 eps
This England
Boris Johnson · 6 eps
Fortunes of War
Guy Pringle · 7 eps
Walking with Beasts
Narrator · 6 eps
Cold War
24 eps
10 Days to War
Colonel Tim Collins · 1 eps
Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton · 2 eps
Theatre Night
Oswald Alving · 1 eps
Big Al
Narrator · 2 eps
The Boy in the Bush
Jack Grant · 4 eps
Strange Interlude
Gordon Evans · 3 eps
Walking with Monsters
Narrator (voice) · 3 eps
World War I in Colour
Narrator · 6 eps
Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood
6 eps
Self / Appearances (42)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self · 1 eps
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self · 1 eps
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self · 1 eps
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 1 eps
The Graham Norton Show
Self · 6 eps
The Graham Norton Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Real Time with Bill Maher
Self · 1 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · 2 eps
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
Self · 2 eps
The View
Self · 1 eps
El hormiguero
Self · 1 eps
Leute heute
Self · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self · 1 eps
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest · 1 eps
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self · 2 eps
Wogan
Self · 1 eps
The Oscars
Self · 2 eps
Parkinson
Self · 1 eps
Remembers…
Self · 1 eps
Walking with Dinosaurs
Self - Narrator (voice) · 6 eps
Looking for Richard
Self - Interviewee
Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe
Self
Mindhorn
Himself
As You Like It
Self (voice)
With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story
Self
Denzel Washington: A Model American
Self
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter
Self
Altman on His Own Terms
Self
Thor: From Asgard to Earth
Self
A Night at the Movies: The Suspenseful World of Thrillers
Self
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
Self
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
Self / Narrator
Tea with Judi Dench featuring Kenneth Branagh
Self
Looking at the World in a New Way: The Making of ‘Tenet’
Self
A Night at the Movies: The Gigantic World of Epics
Self
It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein
Self
Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aqaba
Self
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out
Self
Wild Wild West: Evil Devices
Himself
Discovering Hamlet
Himself / Hamlet
It's a Whole New West: The Making of 'Wild, Wild West'
Self
James Ellis: An Actor's Life
Himself
Upcoming (3)
Directing (25)
Thor
Director
Cinderella
Director
Murder on the Orient Express
Director
Death on the Nile
Director
A Haunting in Venice
Director
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Director
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Director
Artemis Fowl
Director
Much Ado About Nothing
Director
Belfast
Director
Dead Again
Director
Sleuth
Director
Hamlet
Director
Henry V
Director
All Is True
Director
Peter's Friends
Director
As You Like It
Director
Love's Labour's Lost
Director
The Magic Flute
Director
In the Bleak Midwinter
Director
Branagh Theatre Live: Romeo and Juliet
Director
National Theatre Live: Macbeth
Stage Director
Twelfth Night, or What You Will
Stage Director
Twelfth Night, or What You Will
Director
Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter's Tale
Director
Writing (10)
Much Ado About Nothing
Writer
Belfast
Writer
Hamlet
Adaptation
Henry V
Writer
As You Like It
Writer
Love's Labour's Lost
Writer
Love's Labour's Lost
Screenplay
The Magic Flute
Screenplay
The Magic Flute
Adaptation
In the Bleak Midwinter
Writer
Producing (15)
Thor: The Dark World
Producer
Murder on the Orient Express
Producer
Death on the Nile
Producer
A Haunting in Venice
Producer
Wallander
Executive Producer
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Co-Producer
Artemis Fowl
Producer
Much Ado About Nothing
Producer
Belfast
Producer
Sleuth
Producer
All Is True
Producer
Peter's Friends
Producer
As You Like It
Producer
Love's Labour's Lost
Producer
The Magic Flute
Producer