Kenneth Branagh

KENNETH BRANAGH

He was born on December 10, 1960 in Belfast, Northern Ireland (UK).

English actor and director of cinema, theater and TV, scriptwriter, producer.

He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

At the age of 23 he joined the troupe of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and in 1984 in Stradford already played the role of Henry V.

The actor made his film debut with a supporting role in the comedy High Season (1987).

After two years of performances on the London stage, Bran decided that the Royal Shakespeare Theater is not for him, and with David Parfitt organized his own company, "Renaissance Theatre Company" under the patronage of Prince Charles. At this theater, he successfully played Hamlet, staged "King Lear. Many theatergoers compared the young talented and very ambitious actor with Laurence Olivier.

In 1989, Kenneth Branagh became screenwriter, director and starring in the film version of "Henry V" (1989), to the approval of audiences and critics. That film starred Emma Thompson, who soon became Bran's wife, and with her he starred in his next film "Dead Again" (1991). Their marriage lasted until 1996.

After a few not very successful roles, he returned to Shakespearean themes - again, as a director and actor in the film adaptation of the play "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993), which also starred Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington and Keanu Reeves, and starred as Iago in the movie "Othello", directed by Laurence Fishburne.

Kenneth Branagh revisited Shakespeare after a controversial treatment of Frankenstein (1994), which, despite Robert De Niro as the monster and production support from F. Coppola, was met with a lukewarm reception.

In his new work, Hamlet (1996), he cast Charlton Heston, Jack Lemmon, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie.

Branagh is a typical actor and director of the television era, mixing theatrical and cinematic artistic techniques. A short, stocky big man with a handsome head and a sonorous voice, he tries to play out each scene with maximum expression, caring little for a stylistically coherent whole.

This is characteristic of both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) and Hamlet (1996).

Branagh's success above all defined irrepressible energy, overwhelming him, not only in the frame or on stage, but also in life. He plays, directs, produces, writes plays and scripts, promotes numerous projects.

Having realized from his last marriage to Emma Thompson that having an actress as a wife and a screenwriter is quite a troublesome business, Kenneth Branagh preferred, after a series of romances with other actresses, to opt for the modest artist-director Lindsay Brannock. They met while working on the television drama Shackleton. The marriage ceremony took place in a very private setting. Lawrence Atkinson, Brannock's press agent, told Britain's Daily Mail newspaper, "Kenneth hates the whole show-biz lifestyle with the constant partying and just wants to keep their relationship as intimate as possible."

PRIZES AND AWARDS

Oscar nomination:

1989 - Best Director ("Henry V")

1989 - Best Actor (Henry V).

1996 - Best adaptation ("Hamlet")

2011 - Best Supporting Actor (7 Days and Nights with Marilyn)

Golden Globe Award (2021):

Best Screenplay ("Belfast")

Golden Globe nominations:

2001 - Best actor in a mini-series or movie on TV ("Conspiracy")

2011 - Best Supporting Actor (7 Days and Nights with Marilyn)

2021 - Best Director (Belfast)

BAFTA Award (1989):

Best Director ("Henry V: Battle of Agincourt")

BAFTA Nominee:

1989 - Best Actor ("Henry V: Battle of Agincourt")

2011 - Best Supporting Actor (7 Days and Nights with Marilyn)

Emmy Award (2001):

Best Actor in a Mini-Series or TV Movie ("Conspiracy")

Emmy nomination:

2002 - Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie ("Lost in Antarctica")

2005 Best Actor in a miniseries or TV movie ("Warm Springs")

2009 Best Actor in a miniseries or TV movie ("Wallander")

Nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award:

1995 - Best Supporting Actor ("Othello")

2005 Best Actor in a TV movie or mini-series ("Warm Springs")

Oscar 1993

(nominated): Best Short Film ("The Song of Swan")

Venice 1995

Best director ("In the Bleak Midwinter")

BAFTA 2003

(nomination):

Best Actor in a TV Movie ("Conspiracy")

(nomination):

Best Actor in a TV Movie ("Shackleton")

BAFTA 1993

Michael Balcon Award

BAFTA 1988

(nomination):

Best Actor in a Miniseries ("Turns of War")

European Film Academy Award (1990):

Best Actor ("Henry V")

Best Director (Henry V)

Best First Feature (Henry V).