Sir Kenneth Branagh (b. 10 December 1960) is an Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated Northern Irish-born British actor and film director. He portrayed Gilderoy Lockhart in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Career[]
Branagh is well known for his Shakespeare adaptations. His acting career started with the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, in which he played an artist, though uncredited. His other appearances included the 1987 films A Month in the Country and High Season, Othello (1995), the 1998 films The Gingerbread Man and Celebrity, the 2002 films Rabbit-Proof Fence and How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog, and Five Children and It (2004).
Outside his Shakespeare work, Branagh has also delved into SF and fantasy, playing Dr Frankenstein in a popular mid-90s version of the Frankenstein story, and as Dr Loveless in a film version of the TV series The Wild Wild West. He has also delved into the detective genre, portraying Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (2018), Death on the Nile (2022) and A Haunting in Venice (2023).
His small-screen roles included the TV series To the Lighthouse, TV films Coming Through (1985), and Look Back In Anger (1989).
He voiced the character Miguel in The Road to El Dorado in 2000.
In 2001, Branagh won an Emmy Award for the TV movie Conspiracy. His remake of Sleuth, with Michael Caine and Jude Law, was released in 2007.
In 2011, he directed a film adaptation of the comic book superhero Thor.
Personal life[]
Branagh was married from 1989 to 1995 to Emma Thompson, whom he co-starred with in a number of Shakespeare adaptations. Branagh was later involved with Helena Bonham Carter, who portrays Bellatrix Lestrange in the films.
In 2012, he was knighted at the 2012 Birthday Honours for his services to drama and to the community in Northern Ireland.[1]
Selective filmography[]
Actor only[]
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Another Country | Olivier | Best Newcomer | Won |
| 1985 | Henry V (play) | Olivier | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 1987 | Fortunes of War | BAFTA TV | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 1988 | As You Like It (play) | Olivier | Best Comedy Performance | Nominated |
| 2001 | Conspiracy | BAFTA TV | Best Actor | Nominated |
| Golden Globe | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | ||
| Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Won | ||
| 2002 | Shackleton | BAFTA TV | Best Actor | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Nominated | ||
| Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | N/A | |||
| 2004 | Edmond | Olivier | Best Actor | Nominated |
| 2005 | Warm Springs | Golden Globe | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated |
| Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Nominated | ||
| Satellite | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | ||
| 2009 | Wallander | BAFTA TV | Best Actor | Won |
| Golden Globe | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | ||
| Primetime Emmy | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie | Nominated | ||
| Satellite | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | International Emmy | Best Performance by an Actor | Won | |
| 2011 | My Week with Marilyn | Academy | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |
| BAFTA Film | Best Supporting Role | Nominated | ||
| Golden Globe | Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Nominated | ||
| Satellite | Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Nominated | ||
Actor and/or other roles[]
|
|
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result | D | P | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Henry V | Academy | Best Actor | Nominated | Yes | No | Yes |
| Best Director | Nominated | ||||||
| BAFTA Film | Best Direction | Won | |||||
| Best Actor | Nominated | ||||||
| Evening Standard British Film |
Best Film | Won | |||||
| 1991 | Dead Again | Berlin Film Festival | Golden Bear | Nominated | Yes | No | |
| 1992 | Swan Song | Academy | Best Live Action Short Film | Nominated | Yes | No | |
| Peter's Friends | Evening Standard British Film |
Peter Sellers Award for Comedy | Won | Yes | No | ||
| Goya | Best European Film | Nominated | |||||
| 1993 | Much Ado About Nothing | Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | Nominated | Yes | ||
| Golden Globe | Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Nominated | |||||
| 1994 | Mary Shelley's Frankenstein | Saturn | Best Actor | Nominated | Yes | No | |
| Hamlet | Grammy | Best Spoken Word Album | Nominated | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 1996 | Academy | Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) | Nominated | ||||
| Evening Standard British Film |
Special Jury Award | Won | |||||
| 1995 | In the Bleak Midwinter | Venice Film Festival | Golden Lion | Nominated | Yes | No | Yes |
| Golden Osella | Won | ||||||
| 2000 | Love's Labour's Lost | N/A | Yes | ||||
| 2003 | Listening | Yes | No | Yes | |||
| 2006 | As You Like It | Yes | |||||
| The Magic Flute | Yes | No | Yes | ||||
| 2007 | Sleuth | Venice Film Festival | Golden Lion | Nominated | Yes | No | |
| Queer Lion | Nominated | ||||||
| Queer Lion - Special Mention | Won | ||||||
| 2011 | Thor | Empire | Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Won | Yes | No | |
| Saturn | Best Fantasy Film | Nominated | |||||
| 2014 | Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit | Saturn | Best Action or Adventure Film | Nominated | Yes | No | |
| 2015 | Cinderella | Saturn | Best Fantasy Film | Won | Yes | No | |
| Teen Choice | Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Nominated | |||||
| 2017 | Murder on the Orient Express | Saturn | Best Thriller Film | Nominated | Yes | No | |
| Teen Choice | Choice Drama | Nominated | |||||
| 2018 | All Is True | N/A | Yes | No | |||
| 2020 | Artemis Fowl | Yes | No | ||||
| 2021 | Belfast | Yes | |||||
| 2022 | Death on the Nile | Yes | No | ||||
| 2023 | A Haunting in Venice | British Film Designers Guild Awards | Best Production Design - Motion Picture - Period | Won | No | No | No |
Behind the scenes[]
- Kenneth Branagh was married for several years to Emma Thompson (Sybill Trelawney) and has directed and starred alongside her in:
- Henry V (1989), which also featured Robbie Coltrane (Rubeus Hagrid) and Patrick Doyle (composer of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).
- Dead Again (1991), which also featured Patrick Doyle.
- Peter's Friends (1992), which also featured Stephen Fry (UK audiobook narrator) and Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge).
- Much Ado About Nothing (1993), which also featured Patrick Doyle and Imelda Staunton.
- Interestingly enough, Branagh was offered the chance to direct Prisoner of Azkaban,[citation needed] which marks the first appearance of Professor Trelawney in the series, before Alfonso Cuaron got the job.
- Branagh directed the comedy play The Play What I Wrote, which starred Toby Jones (voice of Dobby). Celebrities would appear as the mystery guest during the show, Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) were amongst those celebrities.
- He directed the 1994 film Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the 2015 film Cinderella, which starred Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) with music by Patrick Doyle.
- He and Bonham Carter additionally worked together in the 1998 film The Theory of Flight.
- He directed and also starred in the following films with music by Patrick Doyle:
- Hamlet (1996), which also featured Julie Christie (Rosmerta), Ray Fearon (voice of Firenze), and Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew).
- Love's Labour's Lost (2000), which also featured Carmen Ejogo (Seraphina Picquery)
- Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)
- Murder on the Orient Express (2017), which also featured Johnny Depp (Gellert Grindelwald).
- All Is True (2018)
- Death on the Nile (2022), which also featured Dawn French (Fat Lady).
- He directed the following films with music by Patrick Doyle:
- As You Like It (2006)
- Sleuth (2007), which also featured Jude Law (Albus Dumbledore).
- Thor (2011)
- Artemis Fowl (2020), which also featured Colin Farrell (Percival Graves).
- Branagh has starred alongside several other actors and actresses from the Wizarding World franchise in various projects:
- Emma Thompson in the 1987 TV series Fortunes of War.
- Robert Hardy (Cornelius Fudge) in the 2002 film Shackleton.
- Bill Nighy (Rufus Scrimgeour) and Jamie Parker (Harry Potter in the original West End Palace Theatre production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) in the 2008 film Valkyrie.
- Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy, and Rhys Ifans (Xenophilius Lovegood) in the 2009 film The Boat That Rocked.
- Toby Jones, Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Eddie Redmayne (Newton Scamander), Zoë Wanamaker (Rolanda Hooch), and Geraldine Somerville (Lily Evans) in the 2011 film My Week with Marilyn.
- Robert Pattinson (Cedric Diggory) and Clémence Poésy (Fleur Delacour) in the 2020 film Tenet.
- Ciarán Hinds (Aberforth Dumbledore) in the 2021 film Belfast.
External links[]
Kenneth Branagh at the Internet Movie Database
Kenneth Branagh on Wikipedia
Kenneth Branagh filmography on Wikipedia- List of awards and nominations received by Kenneth Branagh on Wikipedia