Date of birth: December 10, 1960
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
Height: 5'9.5"
Kenneth Charles Branagh was born on December 10, 1960 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK. His parents are William Branagh and Frances Branagh. He has a brother named William Branagh Jr. who was born in 1955 and a sister named Joyce Branagh born in 1970.
At 23, Kenneth joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he took on starring roles in Henry V and Romeo and Juliet. He soon found the R.S.C. too large and impersonal and formed his own, the Renaissance Theatre Company, which now counts Prince Charles as one of its royal patrons. At 29, he directed and starred in the film Henry V (1989), which co-starred his then-wife, Emma Thompson. The film brought him Best Actor and Best Director Oscar nominations.
In 1993, he brought Shakespeare to mainstream audiences again with his hit adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (1993), which featured an all-star cast that included Denzel Washington and Keanu Reeves. At 30, he published his autobiography and at 34 he directed and starred as Victor Frankenstein in the big-budget adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) with Robert De Niro as the monster himself. The bad reviews may have had some effect on his marriage, though, because in October 1995, Branagh and Thompson announced their plans to divorce. In 1996, Branagh wrote, directed and starred in a lavish adaptation of Hamlet (1996).
In recent years he starred in a series of non-Bard-related roles in Celebrity (1998), Wild Wild West (1999), and as a voice in Road to El Dorado, The (2000).
He has been married twice. The first was Emma Thompson (August 20, 1989 - October 1995). His current wife is Lindsay Brunnock (May 24, 2003 - Present day). His trade mark is the fact that he likes to use very long takes at certain points during his films.
Trivia
- He was originally cast as the lead in Amadeus, in 1984, before the production company decided on casting American actors in the leading roles.
- His education was formed in Rada, London. He grew up in poverty in the shadow of a tobacco factory in Belfast.
- At the age of nine he had moved to Reading, England.
- At age 23, he became the youngest actor in the Royal Shakespeare Company to have ever played the lead in Shakespeare's "Henry V".
- Co-founded the Renaissance Theatre Company with David Parfitt, with Prince Charles as a royal patron.
- Youngest actor to receive the Golden Quill (Gieguld Award), 2000.
- He allegedly declined the C.B.E. (Commander of the order of the British Empire) in 1994.
- He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1983 (1982 season) for Most Promising Newcomer for his performance in "Another Country".
- Was one of the directors considered for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). He had appeared in the previous film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).
- He was nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actor of 2003 for his performance in "Edmond" at the Royal National Theatre: Olivier Stage.
- He was awarded the 1988 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Special Award.
- He was nominated for a 2003 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Edmond" at the Royal National Theatre.
- Claims that Derek Jacobi is the reason he got into acting, and thus Jacobi became a frequent collaborator with him in most of his movies.
- Was 15 when he first saw "Hamlet" performed
- A Member of the RADA Council.
- Appeared with Campbell Scott in Dead Again (1991). Scott later starred in and co-directed Hamlet (2000/II) (TV), and Branagh later starred in and directed Hamlet (1996).
- Wrote many of the In the Bleak Midwinter (1995) characters for specific actors.
- He was one of the guests at Prince Charles's and Camilla Parker-Bowles' wedding on 9 April 2005.
- Is a vice-president of Chichester Cinema at New Park. Maggie Smith and Anita Roddick are also vice-presidents.
- In 1990, he received an honorary doctorate in Literature from Queen's University (located in Belfast, Northern Ireland).
- Former son-in-law of Phyllida Law.
- To date (2005), he has appeared as the title character in four films: Henry V (1989), Frankenstein (1994), Hamlet (1996) and Shackleton (2002).
- Was considered for the role of Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
- Ex-brother-in-law of Sophie Thompson and Richard Lumsden.
- He can speak Italian.
- He can play guitar, piano and tap dance
- He and his ex-wife, Emma Thompson, have both appeared in separate films in the Harry Potter series. Branagh played Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Thompson played Sybil Trelawney in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Depending on what has been cut from the script for the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix could be the first both have appeared on screen together since their divorce.
- Shares two roles with Laurence Oliver: Henry V and Hamlet. He and Olivier also both directed their own performances in both films.
- The last film he made with Emma Thompson was Much Ado About Nothing. Their roles had previously been played in an earlier film by Robert Stephens and Maggie Smith, who were also a couple at the time. Both Branagh and Thompson later worked with Smith in the Harry Potter films.
- Has directed two people who have played Batman: Christian Bale in Henry V, and Michael Keaton in Much Ado About Nothing.
Personal Quotes
"I feel more Irish than English. I feel freer than British, more visceral, with a love of language. Shot through with fire in some way. That's why I resist being appropriated as the current repository of Shakespeare on the planet. That would mean I'm part of the English cultural elite, and I am utterly ill-fitted to be."
"I think the best actors are the most generous, the kindest, the greatest people and at their worst they are vain, greedy and insecure."
"I'm just a foul-mouthed Brit."
Bio by
Nightmare_eden88 Filmography 2009 Sidetracked (TV) (pre-production) - Kurt Wallander
2009 The Boat That Rocked (filming)
2008 Valkyrie (post-production) - Henning von Tresckow
2006 The Magic Flute
2006 The American Experience - Narrator (1 episode)
2006 The Man Behind Hitler TV episode - Narrator
2005 Warm Springs (TV) - Franklin Delano Roosevelt
2004 Five Children and It - Uncle Albert
2002 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Professor Gilderoy Lockhart
2002 Rabbit-Proof Fence - A.O. Neville
Contact Information
Kenneth Branagh LTD
Shepperton Studios
Studios Road
Shepperton Middlesex
TW17 OQD
United Kingdom (UK)
Filmography and contact info from
Imdb.
Have a very Harry day!!
Flourish & Blotts Mod
Branagh, Kenneth - Gilderoy Lockhart 
