Kenneth Charles Branagh was born on December 10, 1960 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK to parents William Branagh, a carpenter born in 1930, and Frances Branagh, also born in 1930. 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, which costarred 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, 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 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. In recent years he starred in a series of non-Bard-related roles in Celebrity, Wild Wild West, and as a voice in _Road to El Dorado, The (2000)_ .


Denies rumor that he is dating Alicia Silverstone. [November 1999] Originally cast as the lead in Amadeus (1984) before the production company decided on casting American actors in the leading roles. Grew up in poverty in the shadow of a tobacco factory in Belfast. Co-founded the Renaissance Theatre Company with David Parfitt, with Prince Charles as a royal patron. He allegedly declined the C.B.E. (Commander of the order of the British Empire) in 1994. 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 awarded the 1988 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Special Award. 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. A Member of the RADA Council. Wrote many of the In the Bleak Midwinter (1995) characters for specific actors. Is a vice-president of Chichester Cinema at New Park. Maggie Smith and Anita Roddick are also vice-presidents. Former son-in-law of Phyllida Law. Was considered for the role of Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). He can speak Italian. He and his ex-wife, Emma Thompson, have appeared in separate films in the Harry Potter series. Branagh played Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), and Thompson played Sybil Trelawney in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). Depending on what has been cut from the script for the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) could be the first time both have appeared together in the same film since their divorce. Also appearing in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) is his ex-girlfriend, Helena Bonham Carter. The last film he made with Emma Thompson was Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Their roles had previously been played in an earlier film by Robert Stephens and Maggie Smith, who were also a couple at the time. Branagh and Thompson appeared together in "Fortunes of War" (1987) and Henry V (1989), which also featured Stephens, and in the Harry Potter films with Smith. One of only three actors to have their name mentioned by a character in the Blackadder series (Alongside Charles Chaplin ("Blackadder Goes Forth" (1989), and Delia Smith (Blackadder Back & Forth (1999)). Blackadder mentioned his name in Blackadder: Back and Forth whilst talking to William Shakespeare on the topic of 'Hamlet'. Was originally considered for the part of the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). Nominated for the 2009 Evening Standard Theatre Award as Best Actor in a play for his role as Ivanov in the play Ivanov at Wyndham's Theatre in London as part of the Donmar West End Season. Middle brother of William Branagh Jr. and Joyce Branagh.