Kenneth Branagh
Acting
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
Acting150
movieMayday
2026
Nikolai Ustinov
movieMaverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean
2026
David Lean (voice)
movieAtonement
2026
Michael Reid
movieThe King of Kings
2025
Charles Dickens (voice)
tvBLUE EYE SAMURAI
2023
Abijah Fowler (voice)
movieA Haunting in Venice
2023
Hercule Poirot
movieOppenheimer
2023
Niels Bohr
tvThis England
2022
Boris Johnson
tvRemembers…
2022
Self
movieDeath on the Nile
2022
Hercule Poirot
movieFireheart
2022
Shawn Nolan (voice)
movieTenet
2020
Sator
movieLost Lives
2019
Narrator
movieAll Is True
2018
William Shakespeare
movieAvengers: Infinity War
2018
Asgardian Distress Call (voice) (uncredited)
movieMurder on the Orient Express
2017
Hercule Poirot
movieDunkirk
2017
Commander Bolton
movieMindhorn
2016
Himself
movieJack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
2014
Viktor Cherevin
movieStars in Shorts
2012
Mark Snow
movieLondon 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder
2012
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
movieMy Week with Marilyn
2011
Sir Laurence Olivier
movieDiscovering Hamlet
2011
Hamlet (archive footage)
movieProdigal
2011
Mark Snow
movie1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009
Narrator (voice)
movieThe Boat That Rocked
2009
Dormandy
movieValkyrie
2008
Henning von Tresckow
tvWallander
2008
Kurt Wallander
tv10 Days to War
2008
Colonel Tim Collins
movieAlien Love Triangle
2008
Steven Chesterman
movieSleuth
2007
Other Man on T.V.
tvThe Graham Norton Show
2007
Self / Self - Guest
movieAs You Like It
2006
Self (voice)
movieWalking with Monsters
2005
Narrator (voice)
tvWalking with Monsters
2005
Narrator (voice)
movieWarm Springs
2005
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
movieThe Goebbels Experiment
2005
Narrator (voice)
movieFive Children and It
2004
Uncle Albert
movieCecil B. DeMille: American Epic
2004
Narrator (voice)
tvWorld War I in Colour
2003
Narrator
movieHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2002
Gilderoy Lockhart
movieHow to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog
2002
Peter McGowan
movieThe Tramp and the Dictator
2002
Narrator (voice)
movieRabbit-Proof Fence
2002
A. O. Neville
tvShackleton
2002
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton
movieThe Beasts Within
2001
Narrator (voice)
movieTriumph of the Beasts
2001
Narrator (voice)
tvWalking with Beasts
2001
Narrator
movieConspiracy
2001
Reinhard Heydrich
Schneider's 2nd Stage
2001
Joseph Barnett
tvBig Al
2000
Narrator
movieLon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
2000
Self / Narrator
movieThe Book That Wrote Itself
2000
Kenneth Branagh
movieThe Road to El Dorado
2000
Miguel (voice)
movieThe Periwig-Maker
1999
Periwig-maker (voice)
movieIMAX: Galapagos 3D
1999
Narrator
tvWalking with Dinosaurs
1999
Self - Narrator (voice)
movieWild Wild West
1999
Dr. Arliss Loveless
movieThe Dance of Shiva
1998
Colonel Evans
movieUniversal Horror
1998
Narrator
movieCelebrity
1998
Lee Simon
movieThe Proposition
1998
Father Michael McKinnon
movieThe Gingerbread Man
1998
Rick Magruder
tvParkinson
1998
Self
tvThe View
1997
Self
movieHamlet
1996
Prince Hamlet
movieLooking for Richard
1996
Self - Interviewee
movieOthello
1995
Iago
movieShadow of a Gunman
1995
Donal Davoren
movieAnne Frank Remembered
1995
Narration (voice)
movieMary Shelley's Frankenstein
1994
Victor Frankenstein
tvLate Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
Self - Guest
movieMuch Ado About Nothing
1993
Benedick
movieSwing Kids
1993
Herr Knopp, Gestapo (uncredited)
moviePeter's Friends
1992
Andrew Benson
tvPerformance
1991
Donal Davoren
movieDead Again
1991
Roman Strauss / Mike Church
movieDiscovering Hamlet
1990
Himself / Hamlet
movieLook Back in Anger
1989
Jimmy Porter
movieHenry V
1989
Henry V
tvAmerican Experience
1988
Narrator (voice)
movieThames Wallah
1988
Narrator
tvStrange Interlude
1988
Gordon Evans
tvFortunes of War
1987
Guy Pringle
movieA Month in the Country
1987
James Moon
movieGhosts
1987
Oswald Alving
movieLorna
1987
Billy Martin
movieThe Lady's Not For Burning
1987
Thomas Mendip
movieComing Through
1985
D.H. Lawrence
tvTheatre Night
1985
Oswald Alving
movieA Coming to Terms for Billy
1984
Billy Martin
tvThe Boy in the Bush
1984
Jack Grant
movieA Matter of Choice for Billy
1983
Billy Martin
movieTo the Lighthouse
1983
Charles Tansley
movieEaster 2016
1982
Student
tvWogan
1982
Self
movieToo Late to Talk to Billy
1982
Billy Martin
tvAmerican Playhouse
1982
Gordon Evans
movieChariots of Fire
1981
Cambridge Student at Society Day (uncredited)
tvThe Oscars
1953
Self
tvGolden Globe Awards
1944
Self - Nominee
The Goblin
(voice)
Directing27
movieA Haunting in Venice
2023
Director
movieDeath on the Nile
2022
Director
movieBelfast
2021
Director
movieArtemis Fowl
2020
Director
movieAll Is True
2018
Director
movieCinderella
2015
Director
movieNational Theatre Live: Macbeth
2013
Stage Director
movieThor
2011
Director
movieSleuth
2007
Director
movieThe Magic Flute
2006
Director
movieAs You Like It
2006
Director
Listening
2003
Director
movieLove's Labour's Lost
2000
Director
movieHamlet
1996
Director
movieIn the Bleak Midwinter
1995
Director
movieMuch Ado About Nothing
1993
Director
moviePeter's Friends
1992
Director
Swan Song
1992
Director
movieDead Again
1991
Director
movieHenry V
1989
Director
movieTwelfth Night, or What You Will
1988
Stage Director, Director
Production15
movieA Haunting in Venice
2023
Producer
movieDeath on the Nile
2022
Producer
movieBelfast
2021
Producer
movieArtemis Fowl
2020
Producer
movieAll Is True
2018
Producer
movieThor: The Dark World
2013
Producer
tvWallander
2008
Executive Producer
movieSleuth
2007
Producer
movieThe Magic Flute
2006
Producer
movieAs You Like It
2006
Producer
movieLove's Labour's Lost
2000
Producer
movieMary Shelley's Frankenstein
1994
Co-Producer
movieMuch Ado About Nothing
1993
Producer
moviePeter's Friends
1992
Producer
Writing10
movieBelfast
2021
Writer
movieThe Magic Flute
2006
Screenplay, Adaptation
movieAs You Like It
2006
Writer
movieLove's Labour's Lost
2000
Writer, Screenplay
movieHamlet
1996
Adaptation
movieHenry V
1989
Writer
Crew1
tvWalking with Monsters
2005
Acting Double