History Creator / KennethBranagh

The box-office failure of his return to Shakespeare with ''Love's Labours Lost'' in 2000 sent his directing career into the doldrums for several years. He continued to act, however, taking LargeHam up to eleven with his portrayal of Gilderoy Lockhart in ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', and playing occasional BritishNazis (''Conspiracy'', ''Valkyrie''). In 2011 he got a CastingGag role as Creator/LaurenceOlivier in ''My Week with Marilyn''--Branagh has often been compared to Olivier, as both of them directed themselves in filmed versions of ''Henry V'' and ''Hamlet''. He got a gig directing the 2011 film ''Film/{{Thor}}'', his biggest directing project since ''Hamlet'', and has directed several more films in the years since, including a live-action remake of Creator/{{Disney}}'s beloved ''Film/{{Cinderella|2015}}'' and an AllStarCast adaptation of ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'' in which he stars as Literature/HerculePoirot. An adaptation of ''Literature/DeathOnTheNile'' (directed by and starring him again) followed.

** And again as the Belgian Literature/HerculePoirot in ''Film/MurderOnTheOrientExpress2017'', ''Film/DeathOnTheNile2022'' and ''Film/AHauntingInVenice''.

* CreatorsOddball: His Hercule Poirot films, due to the first time he has done sequels of any kind.

** And again as the Belgian Literature/HerculePoirot in ''Film/MurderOnTheOrientExpress2017'', ''Film/DeathOnTheNile2019'' and ''Film/AHauntingInVenice''.

* He plays the Danish physician Nils Bohr in ''Film/{{Oppenheimer}}''.

** And again as the Belgian Literature/HerculePoirot in ''Film/MurderOnTheOrientExpress2017''.

** ''Film/AHauntingInVenice'' (2023)

* Hercule Poirot:

* Literature/HerculePoirot:

In 1989 he made himself an international star by directing and starring in a spectacularly successful film adaptation of ''Henry V''. From 1989 to 1996 he appeared mostly in films he directed himself, such as another hit Shakespeare adaptation, 1993's ''Much Ado About Nothing'', yet another Shakespeare adaptation with a four-hour ''Hamlet'' in 1996, as well as the thriller ''Dead Again'' and ''Mary Shelley's Frankenstein''. Most of these films also co-starred Emma Thompson; the two were married from 1989 to 1995.

* TheOner: a trademark of his.
* ProductionPosse: Branagh's posse includes Creator/BrianBlessed, Richard Briers, Creator/DerekJacobi, Jimmy Yuill, Gerard Horan, and (while they were married) Creator/EmmaThompson, as well as composer Patrick Doyle and cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos. Recently, he has acted twice under the direction of Creator/ChristopherNolan. Other repeat collaborators include Creator/JudiDench, Creator/NonsoAnozie, Adrian Lester, Creator/JoshGad, former partner Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter, Creator/StellanSkarsgard and {{Lara McDonnell}}.

* PromotedFanboy: Branagh, reportedly, is a big-time ''[[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]]'' geek, and has been since childhood. One suspects his ear for Shakespeare was honed by the faux-Elizabethan dialogue of Marvel's Asgardians.

** ''Film/AHauntingInVenice'' (TBA, announced)

[[UsefulNotes/KnightFever Granted knighthood]] by [[UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen Queen Elizabeth II]] in June 2012, and played Isambard Kingdom Brunel at the London UsefulNotes/OlympicGames opening ceremony that same year.

* ''Literature/HerculePoirot'':

* ProductionPosse: Branagh's posse includes Creator/BrianBlessed, Richard Briers, Creator/DerekJacobi, Jimmy Yuill, Gerard Horan, and (while they were married) Creator/EmmaThompson, as well as composer Patrick Doyle and cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos. Recently, he has acted twice under the direction of Creator/ChristopherNolan. Other repeat collaborators include Creator/JudiDench, Nonso Anozie, Adrian Lester, Creator/JoshGad, former partner Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter, Creator/StellanSkarsgard and {{Lara McDonnell}}.

The box-office failure of his return to Shakespeare with ''Love's Labours Lost'' in 2000 sent his directing career into the doldrums for several years. He continued to act, however, taking LargeHam UpToEleven with his portrayal of Gilderoy Lockhart in ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheChamberOfSecrets'', and playing occasional BritishNazis (''Conspiracy'', ''Valkyrie''). In 2011 he got a CastingGag role as Creator/LaurenceOlivier in ''My Week with Marilyn''--Branagh has often been compared to Olivier, as both of them directed themselves in filmed versions of ''Henry V'' and ''Hamlet''. He got a gig directing the 2011 film ''Film/{{Thor}}'', his biggest directing project since ''Hamlet'', and has directed several more films in the years since, including a live-action remake of Creator/{{Disney}}'s beloved ''Film/{{Cinderella|2015}}'' and an AllStarCast adaptation of ''Literature/MurderOnTheOrientExpress'' in which he stars as Literature/HerculePoirot. An adaptation of ''Literature/DeathOnTheNile'' (directed by and starring him again) followed.

* NiceHat: His Olympic Games role.

* ProductionPosse: Branagh's posse includes Creator/BrianBlessed, Richard Briers, Creator/DerekJacobi, Jimmy Yuill, Gerard Horan, and (while they were married) Creator/EmmaThompson, as well as composer Patrick Doyle and cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos. Recently, he has acted twice under the direction of Creator/ChristopherNolan.

* AbilityOverAppearance: Invoked when he cast Idris Elba as Heimdall (see below). But then again, he already had a reputation of doing this long before Film/{{Thor}} (see his version of ''Film/MuchAdoAboutNothing1993'' with Creator/DenzelWashington as the brother of Creator/KeanuReeves)

In 2022 he became the first person to receive Oscar nominations in seven different categories: Best Picture (as co-producer of ''Belfast''), Best Original Screenplay (''Belfast''), director (''Henry V''), actor (''Henry V''), supporting actor (''My Week With Marilyn''), adapted screenplay (''Hamlet'') and live-action short (''Swan Song'').