Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, where he later served as president from 2015 to 2024.

Branagh has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Olivier Award. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 2012 and was honored with the Freedom of the City in his native Belfast in 2018. In 2020, he was ranked 20th on The Irish Times' list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

Branagh is well-known for his film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays, including Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Othello (1995), Hamlet (1996), and As You Like It (2006). His work earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Best Director for Henry V, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Hamlet.

His directorial works also include Swan Song (1992), Peter's Friends (1992), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Thor (2011), and Cinderella (2015). For the semi-autobiographical film Belfast (2021), he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

As an actor, Branagh has appeared in films such as Celebrity (1998), Wild Wild West (1999), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), and Valkyrie (2008). His portrayal of Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn (2011) earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He has also played supporting roles in Christopher Nolan's films Dunkirk (2017), Tenet (2020), and Oppenheimer (2023).

On television, Branagh starred in series such as Fortunes of War (1987), Shackleton (2002), Warm Springs (2005), and Wallander (2008–2016). He received a Primetime Emmy Award and an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for his role in the HBO film Conspiracy (2001).