Celebrating his 60th birthday today, we look back on the life career (so far) of British acting legend Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh.
Branagh was one of three children, born to Frances and William Branagh. He was born on 10 December 1960 in Belfast. At the young age of nine, his family packed up and moved to Reading in Berkshire to escape “the troubles” – an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century.
As the family was now settled in a new home, he was educated at the Meadway School where his acting career began after he appeared in school productions including Toad of Toad Hall and Oh, What a Lovely War!
Later, he attended the amateur Reading Cine & Video Society as a member, as well as being a keen member of Progress Theatre – a theatre company in Reading. It is the Progress Theatre that is he now a patron for, simply showing how this company was close to both his heart and his career.
For some actors, you find that they were never academically strong, however this never stopped them from pursuing the career which made them the starts they are today. For Kenneth in particular, he received disappointing results in his A Levels, however this again didn’t stop him as he later trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art – located in London.
His career in the Theatre
Image credit: Film Blerg
Branagh’s early days in the theatre saw success in his home ground as he appeared as Billy, the title character in Play for Today – from the trilogy known as Billy Plays, running from 1982 to 1984 and wrote by Graham Reid.
Kenneth went on to receive acclaim in the UK for his theatre performances. His first award came about in 1982 at the SWET awards, winning award for the Best Newcomer, based on his performance as Judd in Another Country. As a young theatre actor in the early 80s, he was considered under this new wave of actors that were starting to emerge from the academy.
The next few years brought success after success for Branagh as a theatre actor, appearing in productions such as Henry V – in association with the Royal Shakespeare company. In 1987, he and David Parfitt founded the Renaissance Theatre company after several successful productions on the London “Fringe”.
Branagh was becoming a larger presence on the British stage after a collaboration with Birmingham Rep in 1988 for a tour of three Shakespeare plays. Within this touring season, this included the directorial debuts for various actors including Judi Dench in Much Ado About Nothing, Geraldine McEwan with As You Like It and Derek Jacobi in Hamlet.
Over the next few years Branagh continued to appear in various theatre productions and in April 2015, Kenneth formed the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company where he appeared as the actor-manager.
His Career in Film
Many of you will know Branagh for his career in film, especially in the film adaptations of some of William Shakespeare’s finest work. Some stand out adaptations included Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Hamlet (1996), Love’s Labour’ Lost (2000) and As You Like It (2006).
He may be mainly a Shakespearian actor at heart, but we know him from many other films including Wild Wild West – a film which saw him star alongside Will Smith in 1999. Films that may be more notable to us include his role as Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002.
Between the years of 1989 and 1996, Branagh spent most of his time directing his own films including Peter’s Friends (1993), a film with a star-studded cast including Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Tony Slattery, Stephen Fry and Imelda Staunton. As well as this, he directed the Marvel film Thor.
His directing however did not stop him acting as he stepped back into his acting shoes and starred in more notable films including My Week with Marilyn in 2011 where he received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the 84th Academy Awards. He also worked under a notable British director known as Christopher Nolan in the 2017 action thriller Dunkirk.
His Personal Life
Kenneth Branagh has been known to be with some notable actress’s that we also admire in the film world. From 1989 to 1995, Branagh was married to beloved British actress Emma Thompson. The pair appeared in Fortunes of War,Look Back In Anger, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Dead Again and Peter’s Friends together.
However, whilst they were married, he began an affair with another beloved British actress – who has also appeared in the Harry Potter franchise like Branagh and Thompson – in 1994 when they appeared in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein together.
Later in 1999, him and Thompson divorced and in 2003 he married director Lindsay Brunnock after shooting Shackleton in the previous year.
Branagh is a key figure in the acting world and remains a favourite amongst British audiences. It is only right we celebrate his career and look forward to much more of his true talent for the future.
By Katie Green
Feature image: The Telegraph