Misplaced Pages

#85914

123-570: Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( / ˈ b r æ n ə / BRAN -ə ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire , Branagh trained at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. His accolades include an Academy Award , four BAFTAs , two Emmy Awards , a Golden Globe Award ,

246-776: A Laurence Olivier Award nomination, to the surprise of critics. In 2011, Branagh directed Thor , a film based on the Marvel superhero. Thor , Branagh's return to big-budget directing, was released on 6 May 2011. The film was a part of Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe . It starred Chris Hemsworth , Natalie Portman , Tom Hiddleston , and Anthony Hopkins . The film was a financial and critical success. That same year he portrayed Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn (2011). Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised Branagh's performance writing, "It

369-579: A Screen Actors Guild Award , and an Olivier Award . He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours , and was given Freedom of the City in his native Belfast in 2018. In 2020, he was ranked in 20th place on The Irish Times ' list of Ireland's greatest film actors. He has directed and starred in several 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). He

492-728: A cult following . The following year he acted in the HBO film Conspiracy (2001) portraying SS - Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich . The film is a depiction of the Wannsee Conference , where Nazi officials decided on the Final Solution . Branagh acted alongside Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci . He earned critical acclaim for his performance as well as the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in

615-641: A soliloquy from Hamlet for Queen Elizabeth II during one of her visits to the academy. Branagh's first film appearance was as an uncredited role as a Cambridge student in the sports drama Chariots of Fire (1981). Branagh achieved early success in his native Northern Ireland for his role as Billy, the title character in the BBC's Play for Today trilogy known as the Billy Plays (1982–84), written by Graham Reid and set in Belfast. He received acclaim in

738-406: A Limited Series or Movie and an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of SS leader Reinhard Heydrich in the HBO film Conspiracy (2001). He also received a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his role as Franklin D. Roosevelt in the television film Warm Springs (2005). Kenneth Charles Branagh was born in Belfast on 10 December 1960,

861-514: A Limited or Anthology Series or Movie . In 2002, Branagh played A. O. Neville in the drama film Rabbit-Proof Fence and portrayed a humorous role as Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in the film adaptation of J.K. Rowling 's Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets . He also portrayed Sir Ernest Shackleton in the Channel 4 television film Shackleton (2002). The film is a dramatization of

984-419: A Male Actor in a Supporting Role nomination. Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised his acting writing, "Mr Branagh's superb performance, as the man whose Machiavellian scheming guides the story of Othello's downfall, guarantees this film an immediacy that any audience will understand." Branagh returned to directing, in the acclaimed adaptation of Hamlet (1996). Critics have theorised it might be

1107-629: A Royal Navy Commander in the World War II action-thriller Dunkirk (2017), based on the British military evacuation of the French city of Dunkirk in 1940. Branagh starred alongside Cillian Murphy , Mark Rylance , and Tom Hardy . The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture . That same year Branagh directed and starred in a film adaptation of Agatha Christie 's detective novel Murder on

1230-433: A Shakespearean romantic comedy, the sort of thing that usually turns to mush on the screen, and made a movie that is triumphantly romantic, comic and, most surprising of all, emotionally alive." However, Branagh had a commercial misstep with his adaptation of the horror film Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994). The film starred Branagh, Robert De Niro , Helena Bonham Carter , Tom Hulce , and Ian Holm . It premiered at

1353-583: A biopic of music group the Bee Gees . In March 2022, it was revealed that Branagh left the project due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by John Carney . In October 2022, it was announced that Branagh would direct and star in a third Poirot film titled A Haunting in Venice , based on Christie's Hallowe'en Party . Branagh reunited with Christopher Nolan, portraying the Danish physicist Niels Bohr in

SECTION 10

#1732780160086

1476-676: A ceremony in the Ulster Hall in Belfast on 30 January 2018. He was awarded the Freedom of the Town of Stratford-upon-Avon on 22 April 2022. Branagh stepped down as president of RADA in February 2024 and was succeeded by David Harewood . Belfast Belfast ( / ˈ b ɛ l f æ s t / BEL-fast , /- f ɑː s t / -⁠fahst ; from Irish : Béal Feirste [bʲeːlˠ ˈfʲɛɾˠ(ə)ʃtʲə] )

1599-540: A deep sea port, and extensive shipyards. The Lagan was banked (in 1994 a weir raised its water level to cover what remained of the tidal mud flats) and its various tributaries were culverted On the model pioneered in 2008 by the Connswater Community Greenway some, including the course of the Farset, are now being considered for "daylighting". It remains the case that much of the city centre

1722-466: A film version of Mozart 's opera The Magic Flute . Branagh has also directed the thriller Sleuth (2007), a remake of the 1972 film starring Jude Law and Michael Caine . The film received mixed reviews with critics praising the performances and noting Branagh's darker interpretation of the material. Branagh then took the role of Major General Henning von Tresckow in Valkyrie (2008) and played

1845-447: A loss of manufacturing, and after a cotton boom and bust, from the 1820s Belfast underwent rapid industrial expansion. As the global leader in the production of linen goods—mill, and finishing, work largely employing women and children— it won the moniker " Linenopolis ". Shipbuilding led the development of heavier industry. By the 1900s, her shipyards were building up to a quarter of the total United Kingdom tonnage. This included from

1968-423: A made-for-television fiction program (i.e a telefilm, miniseries, telenovelas, drama series or comedy). Under International Academy rules, only performances from a program entered in the competition are eligible. The same performer can be featured for different productions, as separate submissions. More than one male performance from the same production may also be presented. A performer must appear for at least 10% of

2091-599: A nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . He played supporting roles in Christopher Nolan 's films Dunkirk (2017), Tenet (2020), and Oppenheimer (2023). Branagh has starred in the BBC1 series Fortunes of War (1987), the Channel 4 series Shackleton (2002), and BBC One series Wallander (2008–2016). He received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in

2214-683: A period of intense religious and political conflict . The film was shot in black-and-white with flickers of colour images. The film was shown both at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival where it won the People's Choice Award for the latter. The film was acclaimed by critics with Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian writing, "There is a terrific warmth and tenderness to Branagh’s elegiac, autobiographical movie about

2337-566: A period of twenty years, due largely to redevelopment, 50,000 residents left the area leaving an aging population of 26,000 and more than 100 acres of wasteland. Meanwhile, road schemes , including the terminus of the M1 motorway and the Westlink , demolished a mixed dockland community, Sailortown , and severed the streets linking the Shankill area and the rest of both north and west Belfast to

2460-462: A play written by Branagh set in his native Belfast. Also in 1987, Branagh found his first leading film role as James Moon in the British film adaptation of J.L. Carr 's book A Month in The Country . Here he plays a homosexual ex-army officer who, following the war, has taken on a job to excavate a burial in the churchyard. He instead spends most of his time looking for Saxon treasures. The film

2583-477: A reduced Harland & Wolff shipyard and aerospace and defence contractors. Post Brexit , Belfast and Northern Ireland remain, uniquely, within both the British domestic and European Single trading areas for goods. The city is served by two airports: George Best Belfast City Airport on the Lough shore and Belfast International Airport 15 miles (24 kilometres) west of the city. It supports two universities: on

SECTION 20

#1732780160086

2706-610: A repertory season at the Phoenix Theatre in London. It featured directorial debuts for Judi Dench with Much Ado About Nothing (starring Branagh and Samantha Bond as Benedick and Beatrice), Geraldine McEwan with As You Like It , and Derek Jacobi directing Branagh in the title role in Hamlet , with Sophie Thompson as Ophelia . Critic Milton Shulman of the London Evening Standard wrote: "On

2829-401: A struggle against British occupation. Preceded by loyalist and republican ceasefires, the 1998 "Good Friday" Belfast Agreement returned a new power-sharing legislative assembly and executive to Stormont. In the intervening years in Belfast, some 20,000 people had been injured, and 1,500 killed. Eighty-five percent of the conflict-related deaths had occurred within 1,000 metres of

2952-607: A thousand people were killed. At the end of World War II , the Unionist government undertook programmes of "slum clearance " (the Blitz had exposed the "uninhabitable" condition of much of the city's housing) which involved decanting populations out of mill and factory built red-brick terraces and into new peripheral housing estates. At the same time, a British-funded welfare state "revolutionised access" to education and health care. The resulting rise in expectations; together with

3075-521: A well-publicised relationship until 1999. In 2003, he married film art director Lindsay Brunnock, whom he met during the shooting of Shackleton in 2002. Branagh has said that he considers himself Irish. He has said that he became "much more religious" after listening to Laurence Olivier 's dramatic reading of the Bible every morning in preparation for his role as Olivier in My Week with Marilyn . Branagh has been nominated for eight Academy Awards and

3198-402: Is a complete joy to see Branagh's Olivier erupt in queeny frustration at Marilyn's lateness, space-cadet vagueness, and preposterous Method acting indulgence...[He] revives Olivier with wit, intelligence and charm". Branagh received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 84th Academy Awards losing to Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2011). Branagh participated in

3321-441: Is built on an estuarine bed of "sleech": silt, peat, mud and—a source the city's ubiquitous red brick— soft clay, that presents a challenge for high-rise construction. (In 2007 this soft foundation persuaded St Anne's Cathedral to abandon plans for a bell tower and substitute a lightweight steel spire). The city centre is also subject to tidal flood risk. Rising sea levels could mean, that without significant investment, flooding in

3444-589: Is flanked by the lower-lying Castlereagh and Hollywood hills. The sand and gravel Malone Ridge extends up river to the south-west. From 1820, Belfast began to spread rapidly beyond its 18th century limits. To the north, it stretched out along roads which drew into the town migrants from Scots-settled hinterland of County Antrim . Largely Presbyterian, they enveloped a number of Catholic-occupied " mill-row " clusters: New Lodge , Ardoyne and "the Marrowbone". Together with areas of more substantial housing in

3567-624: Is known for his film adaptations of William Shakespeare , beginning with the critically acclaimed Henry V (1989), later followed by Shakespeare's romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing (1993). The latter film premiered at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or . The film starred Branagh, Thompson, Denzel Washington , Kate Beckinsale , Keanu Reeves , and Michael Keaton . Vincent Canby film critic of The New York Times praised Branagh's direction writing, "Now he has accomplished something equally difficult. He has taken

3690-592: Is searing". The film earned seven Academy Award nominations including for Best Picture and Best Director . Branagh won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay . He also won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film . He reprised his role as Hercule Poirot in 2022's Death on the Nile , a sequel to Murder on the Orient Express which he also directed. In March 2021, Branagh signed on to direct

3813-454: Is set in a 1920s rural Yorkshire village, where Branagh’s character meets a character played by Colin Firth , also in his first major role. Branagh became a major presence in the media and on the British stage when Renaissance collaborated with Birmingham Rep for a 1988 touring season of three Shakespeare plays under the umbrella title of Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road , which also played

Kenneth Branagh - Misplaced Pages Continue

3936-999: Is set to have an Off-Broadway transfer at The Shed in the Fall of 2024. In May 2024, it was announced Branagh would write and direct the psychological thriller film The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde , starring Jodie Comer ; the film is expected to enter production in August 2024. From 1989 to 1995, Branagh was married to English actress Emma Thompson , who appeared with him in Fortunes of War , Look Back in Anger , Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Dead Again , and Peter's Friends . During their marriage, while directing and starring in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), he began an affair with his co-star Helena Bonham Carter . After Thompson divorced him, he and Bonham Carter were in

4059-572: Is that of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the film Warm Springs (2005), for which he received an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nomination. The film received 16 Emmy nominations, winning five (including Outstanding Made for Television Movie ); Branagh did not win the award for his portrayal. In 2006, Branagh directed the film version of As You Like It starring Romola Garai , Bryce Dallas Howard , and Kevin Kline . That same year he also directed

4182-533: Is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland , standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel . It is the second-largest city on the island of Ireland (after Dublin ), with an estimated population of 348,005 in 2022, and a metropolitan area population of 671,559. First chartered as an English settlement in 1613,

4305-506: Is the first individual to be nominated in seven different categories. His first two nominations were for Henry V (one each for directing and acting). He also received similar BAFTA Award nominations for his film work, winning one for his direction. His first BAFTA TV award came in April 2009, for Best Drama Series ( Wallander ). Branagh received two other Academy Award nominations for the 1992 film short subject Swan Song and for his work on

4428-556: Is typically the only outside reference, these range more freely beyond the local conflict frequently expressing solidarity with Palestinians , with Cuba , and with Basque and Catalan separatists. West Belfast is separated from South Belfast, and from the otherwise abutting loyalist districts of Sandy Row and the Donegall Road , by rail lines, the M1 Motorway (to Dublin and the west); industrial and retail parks, and

4551-523: The 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony portraying Isambard Kingdom Brunel during the Industrial Revolution segment "Pandemonium" where he performed one of Caliban 's speeches from Shakespeare's The Tempest . In July 2013, he co-directed Macbeth at Manchester International Festival with Rob Ashford . With Branagh in the title role, Alex Kingston played Lady Macbeth and Ray Fearon featured as Macduff. The final performance of

4674-732: The Barbican in the City of London . It was this production that he adapted for the film version of the play in 1989. He and David Parfitt founded the Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987, following success with several productions on the London Fringe, including Branagh's full-scale production of Romeo and Juliet at the Lyric Studio , co-starring with Samantha Bond . The first major Renaissance production

4797-480: The Bronze Age . The Giant's Ring , a 5,000-year-old henge , is located near the city, and the remains of Iron Age hill forts can still be seen in the surrounding hills. At the beginning of the 14th century, Papal tax rolls record two churches: the "Chapel of Dundela" at Knock ( Irish : cnoc , meaning "hill") in the east, connected by some accounts to the 7th-century evangelist St. Colmcille , and,

4920-659: The Democratic Unionist Party , which had actively campaigned for Brexit, withdrew from the power-sharing executive and collapsed the Stormont institutions to protest the 2020 UK-EU Northern Ireland Protocol . With the promise of equal access to the British and European markets, this designates Belfast as a point of entry to the European Single Market within whose regulatory framework local producers will continue to operate. After two years,

5043-655: The Falls Road and into what are now remnants of an older Catholic enclave around St Mary's Church , the town's first Catholic chapel (opened in 1784 with Presbyterian subscriptions), and Smithfield Market . Eventually, an entire west side of the city, stretching up the Falls Road, along the Springfield Road (encompassing the new housing estates built 1950s and 60s: Highfield, New Barnsley, Ballymurphy, Whiterock and Turf Lodge) and out past Andersonstown on

Kenneth Branagh - Misplaced Pages Continue

5166-772: The Falls area ) by the Department of Justice . These include Cupar Way where tourists are informed that, at 45 feet, the barrier is "three times higher than the Berlin Wall and has been in place for twice as long". With other working-class districts, Shankill suffered from the "collapse of old industrial Belfast". But it was also greatly affected from the 1960s by the city's most ambitious programme of "slum clearance". Red-brick, "two up, two down" terraced streets, typical of 19th century working-class housing, were replaced with flats, maisonettes, and car parks but few facilities. In

5289-566: The Golden Bear and received critical acclaim. The following year he directed the British comedy-drama film Peter's Friends , with a cast including former student friends Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie , Tony Slattery , and Stephen Fry , as well as Imelda Staunton and Rita Rudner . The film received positive reviews with critics comparing it favorably as the British version of The Big Chill (1982). The film earned two Evening Standard British Film Awards for Branagh and Thompson. Branagh

5412-733: The Irish Parliament . Belfast's two MPs remained nominees of the Chichesters ( Marquesses of Donegall ). With their emigrant kinsmen in America, the region's Presbyterians were to share a growing disaffection from the Crown. When early in the American War of Independence , Belfast Lough was raided by the privateer John Paul Jones , the townspeople assembled their own Volunteer militia . Formed ostensibly for defence of

5535-484: The London Film Festival where it received negative reviews. The New York Times film critic Janet Maslin wrote of Branagh's failure, "[He] is in over his head. He displays neither the technical finesse to handle a big, visually ambitious film nor the insight to develop a stirring new version of this story. Instead, this is a bland, no-fault Frankenstein for the '90s, short on villainy but loaded with

5658-747: The Oldpark district , these are wedged between Protestant working-class housing stretching from Tiger's Bay out the Shore Road on one side, and up the Shankill (the original Antrim Road) on the other. The Greater Shankill area, including Crumlin and Woodvale , is over the line from the Belfast North parliamentary/assembly constituency, but is physically separated from the rest of Belfast West by an extensive series of separation barriers — peace walls —owned (together with five daytime gates into

5781-916: The Royal Victoria Hospital at the junction with the Grosvenor Road. Extensively redeveloped and expanded, the hospital has a staff of more than 8,500. Landmarks in the area include the Gothic-revival St Peter's Cathedral (1866, signature twin spires added in 1886); Clonard Monastery (1911), the Conway Mill (1853/1901, re-developed as a community enterprise, arts and education centre in 1983); Belfast City Cemetery (1869) and, best known for its republican graves, Milltown Cemetery (1869). The area's greatest visitor attractions are its wall and gable-end murals. In contrast to those in loyalist areas, where Israel

5904-726: The UK for his stage performances, first winning the 1982 SWET Award for Best Newcomer, for his role as Judd in Julian Mitchell 's Another Country , after leaving RADA . Branagh was part of the new wave of actors to emerge from the academy. Others included Jonathan Pryce , Juliet Stevenson , Alan Rickman , Anton Lesser , Bruce Payne and Fiona Shaw . In 1984, he appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Henry V , directed by Adrian Noble . The production played to sold-out audiences, especially at

6027-552: The United Kingdom , there was widespread violence . 8,000 "disloyal" workers were driven from their jobs in the shipyards: in addition to Catholics, "rotten Prods" – Protestants whose labour politics disregarded sectarian distinctions. Gun battles, grenade attacks and house burnings contributed to as many as 500 deaths. A curfew remained in force until 1924. (see The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922) ) The lines drawn saw off

6150-414: The anti-clerical Spanish Republic characterised as another instance of No-Popery . (Today, the cause of the republic in the Spanish Civil War is commemorated by a " No Pasaran " stained glass window in City Hall). In 1938, nearly a third of industrial workers were unemployed, malnutrition was a major issue, and at 9.6% the city's infant mortality rate (compared with 5.9% in Sheffield , England)

6273-478: The six northeast counties retaining the British connection, and over three decades from the late 1960s during which the British Army was continually deployed on the streets. A legacy of conflict is the barrier-reinforced separation of Protestant and Catholic working-class districts. Since the Good Friday Agreement , the electoral balance in the once unionist -controlled city has shifted, albeit with no overall majority, in favour of Irish nationalists . At

SECTION 50

#1732780160086

6396-400: The slave plantations of the West Indies ; sugar and rum to Baltimore and New York ; and for the return to Belfast flaxseed and tobacco from the colonies . From the 1760s, profits from the trade financed improvements in the town's commercial infrastructure, including the Lagan Canal , new docks and quays, and the construction of the White Linen Hall which together attracted to Belfast

6519-407: The "Chapel of the Ford", which may have been a successor to a much older parish church on the present Shankill (Seanchill , "Old Church") Road , dating back to the 9th, and possibly to St. Patrick in the mid 5th, century. A Norman settlement at the ford, comprising the parish church (now St. George's ), a watermill, and a small fort, was an outpost of Carrickfergus Castle . Established in

6642-414: The "constitutional question": the prospect of a restored Irish parliament in which Protestants (and northern industry) feared being a minority interest. On 28 September 1912, unionists massed at Belfast's City Hall to sign the Ulster Covenant , pledging to use "all means which may be found necessary to defeat the present conspiracy to set up a Home Rule Parliament in Ireland". This was followed by

6765-399: The 1840s, by famine . The plentiful supply of cheap labour helped attract English and Scottish capital to Belfast, but it was also a cause of insecurity. Protestant workers organised and dominated the apprenticed trades and gave a new lease of life to the once largely rural Orange Order . Sectarian tensions, which frequently broke out in riots and workplace expulsions, were also driven by

6888-406: The 1900s her shipyards were building up to a quarter of total United Kingdom tonnage. Sectarian tensions accompanied the growth of an Irish Catholic population drawn by mill and factory employment from western districts. Heightened by division over Ireland's future in the United Kingdom , these twice erupted in periods of sustained violence: in 1920–22 , as Belfast emerged as the capital of

7011-513: The 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 's battle for survival, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA award and an Emmy. That same year Branagh starred at the Crucible Theatre , Sheffield as Richard III . In 2003, he starred in the Royal National Theatre 's production of David Mamet 's Edmond . Branagh directed The Play What I Wrote in England in 2001 and directed a Broadway production in 2003. Branagh has been involved in several made-for-TV films . Among his most acclaimed portrayals

7134-457: The 1960s the great-house demesnes of the city's former mill-owners and industrialists were developed for public housing: loyalist estates such as Seymour Hill and Belvoir. Meanwhile, in Malone and along the river embankments, new houses and apartment blocks have been squeezed in, increasing the general housing density. Beyond the Queen's University area the area's principal landmarks are the 15-storey tower block of Belfast City Hospital (1986) on

7257-536: The 24-episode documentary series Cold War . Branagh also narrated the BBC documentaries Walking with Dinosaurs , World War I in Colour , Walking with Beasts and Walking with Monsters , and the BBC miniseries Great Composers . Branagh found commercial and critical failure with Love's Labour's Lost , which paused his directorial career. That same year he voiced Miguel in the DreamWorks Animated film The Road to El Dorado (2000) alongside Kevin Kline . The film received mixed reviews but has since gained

7380-423: The Belfast of his childhood: spryly written, beautifully acted and shot in a lustrous monochrome, with set pieces, madeleines and epiphanies that feel like a more emollient version of Terence Davies ." Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter noted, "[While] Branagh’s most personal film is imperfect, the emotion that it builds in the final section, as the family plays out a wrenching universal drama of emigration,

7503-405: The British Isles), by local differences in births and deaths between Catholics and Protestants, and by a growing number of, particularly younger, people no longer willing to self-identify on traditional lines. In 1997, unionists lost overall control of Belfast City Council for the first time in its history. The election in 2011 saw Irish nationalist councillors outnumber unionist councillors for

SECTION 60

#1732780160086

7626-439: The Gielgud Award) in 2000. In 2001, he was appointed an honorary Doctor of Literature at the Shakespeare Institute of The University of Birmingham ; the Shakespeare Institute Library keeps the archive of his Renaissance Theatre Company and Renaissance Films. On 10 July 2009, Branagh was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the RomaFictionFest. He was also listed on the Radio Times's TV 100 power list in 2023. He

7749-454: The Kingdom , Volunteer corps were soon pressing their own protest against "taxation without representation". Further emboldened by the French Revolution , a more radical element in the town, the Society of United Irishmen , called for Catholic emancipation and a representative national government. In hopes of French assistance, in 1798 the Society organised a republican insurrection. The rebel tradesmen and tenant farmers were defeated north of

7872-407: The Lisburn Road, and the Lagan Valley Regional Park through which a towpath extends from the City-centre quayside to Lisburn. Northern Ireland's three permanent diplomatic missions are situated on the Malone Road, the consulates of China, Poland and the United States. International Emmy Award for Best Actor The International Emmy for Best Actor is awarded to a male performance in

7995-402: The Minister, Dormandy (a parody of PMG Tony Benn ), in the film The Boat That Rocked (2009). Branagh is the star of the English-language Wallander television series, adaptations of Henning Mankell 's best-selling Wallander crime novels. Branagh plays the eponymous Inspector Kurt Wallander and also serves as the executive producer of the series. The first series of three episodes

8118-419: The Orient Express (2017) as Hercule Poirot . Production began in London in November 2016. Like Branagh's Hamlet in 1996, it is among the very few to use 65mm film cameras since 1970. In 2018, he directed the film All Is True , in which he starred as William Shakespeare . Branagh also directed the fantasy adventure film Artemis Fowl , which was released on Disney+ in June 2020. In May 2019, Branagh

8241-461: The Outstanding Actor, Miniseries, or Movie category of the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards . The role also gained him a nomination for Best Actor at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards . The second Wallander series of three episodes aired initially in January 2010 on the BBC, and the third season aired in July 2012. The fourth and final series was shot from October 2014 to January 2015 and premiered on German TV, dubbed into German, in December 2015; it aired in

8364-490: The Stewartstown Road toward Poleglass , became near-exclusively Catholic and, in political terms, nationalist. Reflecting the nature of available employment as mill workers, domestics and shop assistants, the population, initially, was disproportionately female. Further opportunities for women on the Falls Road arose through developments in education and public health. In 1900, the Dominican Order opened St Mary's [Teacher] Training College , and in 1903 King Edward VII opened

8487-423: The Troubles ; they settled in Berkshire , where Branagh grew up in Reading and attended Whiteknights Primary School and Meadway School in Tilehurst . He appeared in school productions such as Toad of Toad Hall and Oh, What a Lovely War! At school, Branagh learned to speak with an RP accent to avoid bullying. Discussing his identity, he later said, "I feel Irish. I don't think you can take Belfast out of

8610-439: The UK, with its original English soundtrack, in May and June 2016. From September to November 2008, Branagh appeared at Wyndham's Theatre as the title character in the Donmar West End revival of Anton Chekhov 's Ivanov in a new version by Tom Stoppard . His performance was lauded as the "performance of the year" by several critics. It won him the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Male Performance but did not get him

8733-457: The Western film Wild Wild West opposite Will Smith , Kevin Kline , and Salma Hayek , which received negative reviews. During this time Branagh took on voice roles playing the title role in BBC radio broadcasts of Hamlet and Cyrano de Bergerac , and the role of Edmund in King Lear . Branagh has narrated several audiobooks , such as The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad . In 1998, he narrated

8856-632: The boy." He also attributes his "love of words" to his Irish heritage. He attended the amateur Reading Cine & Video Society (now called Reading Film & Video Makers) and was a keen member of Progress Theatre , of which he is now the patron. After disappointing A-level results in English, history, and sociology, he went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London . In 1980, RADA's principal Hugh Cruttwell asked Branagh to perform

8979-485: The challenge to "unionist unity" posed by labour (industry had been paralysed by strikes in 1907 and again in 1919). Until "troubles" returned at the end of the 1960s, it was not uncommon in Belfast for the Ulster Unionist Party to have its council and parliamentary candidates returned unopposed. In 1932, the opening of the new buildings for Northern Ireland's devolved Parliament at Stormont

9102-482: The city centre. New "green field" housing estates were built on the outer edges of the city. The onset of the Troubles overwhelmed attempts to promote these as "mixed" neighbourhoods so that the largest of these developments on the city's northern edge, Rathcoole , rapidly solidified as a loyalist community. In 2004, it was estimated that 98% of public housing in Belfast was divided along religious lines. Among

9225-487: The coming decades will be persistent. The city is overlooked on the County Antrim side (to the north and northwest) by a precipitous basalt escarpment —the near continuous line of Divis Mountain (478 m), Black Mountain (389 m) and Cavehill (368 m)—whose "heathery slopes and hanging fields are visible from almost any part of the city". From County Down side (on the south and south east) it

9348-549: The communal interfaces , largely in the north and west of the city. The security barriers erected at these interfaces are an enduring physical legacy of the Troubles. The 14 neighbourhoods they separate are among the 20 most deprived wards in Northern Ireland. In May 2013, the Northern Ireland Executive committed to the removal of all peace lines by mutual consent. The target date of 2023

9471-764: The company, he announced he would present a season of five shows at London's Garrick Theatre from October 2015 – November 2016. The shows were The Winter's Tale , a double bill of Harlequinade and All On Her Own , Red Velvet , The Painkiller , Romeo and Juliet and The Entertainer . Branagh directed all but The Entertainer , in which he starred. Branagh also starred in The Winter's Tale , Harlequinade and The Painkiller . Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company also includes Judi Dench ( The Winter's Tale ), Zoë Wanamaker ( Harlequinade/All On Her Own ), Derek Jacobi, Lily James and Richard Madden ( Romeo and Juliet ) and Rob Brydon ( The Painkiller ). In September 2015, it

9594-539: The completely sold-out run was broadcast to cinemas on 20 July as part of National Theatre Live . He repeated his performance and directorial duties opposite Ashford and Kingston when the production moved to New York City 's Park Avenue Armory in June 2014. In April 2015, Branagh announced his formation of the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company, in which he would appear as actor-manager . With

9717-500: The death and injury caused, they accelerated the loss of the city's Victorian fabric. Since the turn of the century, the loss of employment and population in the city centre has been reversed. This reflects the growth of the service economy , for which a new district has been developed on former dockland, the Titanic Quarter . The growing tourism sector paradoxically lists as attractions the murals and peace walls that echo

9840-587: The drilling and eventual arming of a 100,000-strong Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). The immediate crisis was averted by the onset of the Great War . The UVF formed the 36th (Ulster) Division whose sacrifices in the Battle of the Somme continue to be commemorated in the city by unionist and loyalist organisations. In 1920–22, as Belfast emerged as the capital of the six counties remaining as Northern Ireland in

9963-483: The first time, with Sinn Féin becoming the largest party, and the cross-community Alliance Party holding the balance of power. In the 2016 Brexit referendum , Belfast's four parliamentary constituencies returned a substantial majority (60 percent) for remaining within the European Union , as did Northern Ireland as a whole (55.8), the only UK region outside London and Scotland to do so. In February 2022,

10086-842: The following year for his role as Vincent Gallagher in the drama series Vincent , produced by Rebecca Hodgson and John Rushton, and aired on ITV . In 2007, Dutch Pierre Bokma shares the prize with British actor Jim Broadbent for his performance in the BBC tv drama series The Street . In subsequent years the Emmy was awarded only to British actors: David Suchet won as Robert Maxwell in Maxwell , Ben Whishaw for its role in Criminal Justice , Bob Hoskins for The Street and Christopher Eccleston for Accused . Argentine Darío Grandinetti won an Emmy in 2012 for his role as Mario in

10209-578: The funds to buy accommodation for the Company's offices, this moving Renaissance out of my flat and bringing me a little closer to sanity." Notable non-Shakespeare films in which Branagh has acted in and directed include the neo-noir romantic thriller Dead Again (1991) starring Branagh, Emma Thompson , Andy Garcia , and Derek Jacobi . The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival where it competed for

10332-682: The great plays of Shakespeare. 'Hamlet' is the most opaque. Branagh's version moved me, entertained me and made me feel for the first time at home in that doomed royal court." The film received four Academy Award nominations including for Best Adapted Screenplay for Branagh. Post- Hamlet , Branagh took a break from directing choosing to act in films directed by auteur directors. He starred in Robert Altman 's legal thriller The Gingerbread Man (1998), Paul Greengrass ' dramedy The Theory of Flight (1998) and Woody Allen 's celebrity satire Celebrity (1998). The following year he starred in

10455-421: The greatest film adaptation of Hamlet of all time. The film is noted for its epic scale and cast. The film ran four hours and was shot completely in 70 mm film . The cast includes Branagh, Kate Winslet , Derek Jacobi , Julie Christie and Rufus Sewell . Critic Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times praised Branagh's direction and acting, declaring, "One of the tasks of a lifetime is to become familiar with

10578-564: The landing at Carrickfergus of William, Prince of Orange , who proceeded through the Belfast to his celebrated victory on 12 July 1690 at the Boyne . Together with French Huguenots , the Scots introduced the production of linen , a flax -spinning industry that in the 18th century carried Belfast trade to the Americas. Fortunes were made carrying rough linen clothing and salted provisions to

10701-623: The late Richard, Lord Attenborough . As the President of RADA and one of the highest profile actors and filmmakers in contemporary British popular culture , Branagh appeared on Debrett's 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK. In October 2017, it was announced that Branagh would be conferred with the Freedom of the City of Belfast . The honour was officially conferred on him by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Nuala McAllister , at

10824-458: The late 12th century, 11 miles (18 km) out along the north shore of the Lough, Carrickfergus was to remain the principal English foothold in the north-east until the scorched- earth Nine Years' War at the end of the 16th century broke the remaining Irish power, the O'Neills . With a commission from James I , in 1613 Sir Arthur Chichester undertook the Plantation of Belfast and

10947-556: The linen trade that had formerly gone through Dublin . Abolitionist sentiment, however, defeated the proposal of the greatest of the merchant houses, Cunningham and Greg , in 1786 to commission ships for the Middle Passage . As "Dissenters" from the established Anglican church (with its episcopacy and ritual), Presbyterians were conscious of sharing, if only in part, the disabilities of Ireland's dispossessed Roman Catholic majority; and of being denied representation in

11070-635: The miniseries Televisión por la inclusión , created by Bernarda Llorente and Claudio Villarruel. In 2013 Sean Bean won an International Emmy for playing a transvestite in BBC One drama series Accused . At the 2014 ceremony, best actor trophy went to Stephen Dillane for his role as Karl Roebuck in The Tunnel . Dutch actor Maarten Heijmans has won the International Emmy for best actor for his portrayal as actor and singer Ramses Shaffy in

11193-594: The north-side of the city centre, Ulster University , and on the southside the longer established Queens University. Since 2021, Belfast has been a UNESCO designated City of Music . The name Belfast derives from the Irish Béal Feirste ( Irish pronunciation: [bʲeːlˠ ˈfʲɛɾˠ(ə)ʃtʲə] ), "Mouth of the Farset " a river whose name in the Irish, Feirste, refers to a sandbar or tidal ford. This

11316-536: The positive side Branagh has the vitality of Olivier , the passion of Gielgud , the assurance of Guinness , to mention but three famous actors who have essayed the role. On the negative side, he has not got the magnetism of Olivier, nor the mellifluous voice quality of Gielgud nor the intelligence of Guinness." A year later, in 1989, Branagh co-starred with Emma Thompson in the Renaissance company's stage revival of Look Back in Anger . Judi Dench directed both

11439-541: The principal landmarks of north Belfast are the Crumlin Road Gaol (1845) now a major visitor attraction, Belfast Royal Academy (1785) - the oldest school in the city, St Malachy's College (1833), Holy Cross Church, Ardoyne (1902), Waterworks Park (1889), and Belfast Zoo (1934). In the mid-19th century rural poverty and famine drove large numbers of Catholic tenant farmers, landless labourers and their families toward Belfast. Their route brought them down

11562-690: The remnants of the Blackstaff (Owenvarra) bog meadows. Belfast began stretching up-river in the 1840s and 50s: out the Ormeau and Lisburn roads and, between them, running along a ridge of higher ground, the Malone Road . From "leafy" avenues of increasingly substantial (and in the course of time "mixed") housing, the Upper Malone broadened out into areas of parkland and villas. Further out still, where they did not survive as public parks, from

11685-414: The same time, new immigrants are adding to the growing number of residents unwilling to identify with either of the two communal traditions. Belfast has seen significant services sector growth, with important contributions from financial technology ( fintech ), from tourism and, with facilities in the redeveloped Harbour Estate , from film. It retains a port with commercial and industrial docks, including

11808-695: The screenplay of Hamlet in 1996. His 5th nomination came for his portrayal of Laurence Olivier in My Week With Marilyn in 2012. This was followed by three nominations in 2022 for Belfast – his first nominations for Original Screenplay and Best Picture, winning for Original Screenplay. He thereby became the first person to have been nominated in seven different categories of the Academy Awards, surpassing Walt Disney , George Clooney , and Alfonso Cuarón , each of whom have received nominations in six categories (the latest equalled Branagh

11931-522: The son of working-class Protestant parents Frances ( née Harper) and William Branagh. His father was a plumber and joiner who ran a company that specialised in fitting partitions and suspended ceilings. He is the middle of three children, with an older brother and a younger sister, and lived in the Tigers Bay area of Belfast. He was educated at Grove Primary School. In early 1970, at the age of nine, Branagh moved with his family to England to escape

12054-582: The standoff was resolved with an agreement to eliminate routine checks on UK-destined goods. Belfast is at the mouth of the River Lagan at the head of Belfast Lough open through the North Channel to the Irish Sea and to the North Atlantic . In the course of the 19th century, the location's estuarine features were re-engineered. With dredging and reclamation, the lough was made to accommodate

12177-561: The streets in August 1969, the British Army committed to the longest continuous deployment in its history, Operation Banner . Beginning in 1970 with the Falls curfew , and followed in 1971 by internment , this included counterinsurgency measures directed chiefly at the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) who characterised their operations, including the bombing of Belfast's commercial centre, as

12300-432: The surrounding area, attracting mainly English and Manx settlers. The subsequent arrival of Scottish Presbyterians embroiled Belfast in its only recorded siege: denounced from London by John Milton as "ungrateful and treacherous guests", in 1649 the newcomers were temporarily expelled by an English Parliamentarian army. In 1689, Catholic Jacobite forces, briefly in command of the town, abandoned it in advance of

12423-528: The television series Ramses . Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman was named best actor at the 44th International Emmy Awards in 2016. Kenneth Branagh won the Emmy for Best Actor for his performance in BBC detective drama Wallender . In 2018, Danish star Lars Mikkelsen won best performance by an actor for his role in the drama television series Ride Upon the Storm . Famous Turkish actor Haluk Bilginer won

12546-469: The theatre and television productions, presented first in Belfast then at the London Coliseum and Lyric Theatre . In 1990, he wrote his autobiography Beginning , recounting his life and acting career up to that point. In the book's introduction, he admits that the main reason for producing the book was "money" and that "The deal was made, and a handsome advance was paid out. The advance provided

12669-610: The total airtime of the featured episode to be eligible. If the performance is part of a series, only one episode must have its first broadcast within the listed eligibility dates. The first recipient of the International Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor was French Thierry Frémont for his role in the telefilm Dans la tête du tueur , a co-production between the TF1 network and GMT Productions and directed by Claude-Michel Rome . British actor Ray Winstone won

12792-480: The town at the Battle of Antrim and to the south at the Battle of Ballynahinch . Britain seized on the rebellion to abolish the Irish Parliament, unlamented in Belfast, and to incorporate Ireland in a United Kingdom . In 1832, British parliamentary reform permitted the town its first electoral contest – an occasion for an early and lethal sectarian riot. While other Irish towns experienced

12915-413: The town's early growth was driven by an influx of Scottish Presbyterians . Their descendants' disaffection with Ireland 's Anglican establishment contributed to the rebellion of 1798 , and to the union with Great Britain in 1800 — later regarded as a key to the town's industrial transformation. When granted city status in 1888, Belfast was the world's largest centre of linen manufacture, and by

13038-551: The tragically misunderstood". He then directed the minor British romantic comedy In the Bleak Midwinter (1995) to positive reviews. Also in 1995, Branagh portrayed Iago in Oliver Parker 's Othello (1995) acting opposite Laurence Fishburne as Othello . The film received largely positive reviews, particularly for Branagh's performance which earned a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by

13161-546: The uncertainty caused by the decline of the city's Victorian-era industries, contributed to growing protest, and counter protest, in the 1960s over the Unionist government 's record on civil and political rights. For reasons that nationalists and unionists dispute, the public protests of the late 1960s soon gave way to communal violence (in which as many as 60,000 people were intimidated from their homes) and to loyalist and republican paramilitarism . Introduced onto

13284-473: The violence of the past. In recent years, "Troubles tourism" has presented visitors with new territorial markers: flags, murals and graffiti in which loyalists and republicans take opposing sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict . The demographic balance of some areas has been changed by immigration (according to the 2021 census just under 10% of the city's population was born outside

13407-527: The war epic Oppenheimer (2023). That same year Branagh returned to the West End stage directing and acting in the title role in a stage adaptation of William Shakespeare 's King Lear at the Wyndham's Theatre in London. Arifa Akbar of The Guardian wrote of the production, "Although Branagh delivers his Lear with slick, almost playful efficiency, it is not his towering achievement". The production

13530-407: The yard of Harland & Wolff the ill-fated RMS Titanic , at the time of her launch in 1911 the largest ship afloat. Other major export industries included textile machinery, rope, tobacco and mineral waters. Industry drew in a new Catholic population settling largely in the west of the town—refugees from a rural poverty intensified by Belfast's mechanisation of spinning and weaving and, in

13653-731: The year after). He is Honorary President of NICVA (the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action). He received an honorary Doctorate in Literature from Queen's University of Belfast in 1990. He is also a patron for the charity Over The Wall. He has also served on the Board of Governors of the British Film Institute . Branagh was the youngest actor to receive the Golden Quill (also known as

13776-508: Was Branagh's Christmas 1987 staging of Twelfth Night at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith , starring Richard Briers as Malvolio and Frances Barber as Viola, and with an original score by actor, musician, and composer Patrick Doyle , who two years later was to compose the music for Branagh's film adaptation of Henry V . This Twelfth Night was later adapted for television. The company's debut season also included Public Enemy ,

13899-496: Was a financial and critical success. Peter Debruge of Variety praised his direction writing, "the underlying property emerges untarnished, as director Kenneth Branagh reverently reimagines Charles Perrault’s fairy tale for a new generation the world over, spelling countless opportunities to exploit fresh interest in the story throughout the Disney universe." Branagh started his first collaboration with Christopher Nolan portraying

14022-660: Was among the highest in United Kingdom. In the spring of 1941, the German Luftwaffe appeared twice over Belfast. In addition to the shipyards and the Short & Harland aircraft factory, the Belfast Blitz severely damaged or destroyed more than half the city's housing stock, and devastated the old town centre around High Street. In the greatest loss of life in any air raid outside of London, more than

14145-576: Was announced that The Winter's Tale , Romeo and Juliet, and The Entertainer would be broadcast in cinemas, in partnership with Picturehouse Entertainment . In 2014 Branagh directed and acted in the action thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) starring Chris Pine , Keira Knightley , and Kevin Costner . The film was a box office hit but received mixed reviews from critics. The following year, Branagh directed Disney 's live-action adaptation of Cinderella (2015) starring Lily James . The film

14268-438: Was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours for services to drama and to the community in Northern Ireland. He received the accolade at Buckingham Palace on 9 November 2012; afterwards, Branagh told a BBC reporter that he felt "humble, elated, and incredibly lucky" to be knighted. In October 2015, it was announced that Branagh would be the new President of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), succeeding

14391-557: Was broadcast on BBC One in November and December 2008. Branagh won the award for best actor at the 35th Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Awards (2009). It was his first major television award win in the UK. He received his first BAFTA TV on 26 April 2009 for the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series . For his performance in the episode One Step Behind , he was nominated in

14514-655: Was cast in Christopher Nolan's Tenet (2020) in which he portrayed the villain Andrei Sator and was praised for his performance. Branagh acted alongside Robert Pattinson , John David Washington , and Elizabeth Debicki . In 2021, Branagh directed the semi-autobiographical film Belfast starring Jude Hill , Catriona Balfe , Jamie Dornan , Ciarán Hinds , and Judi Dench . In the film, Branagh explores his childhood in Northern Ireland during

14637-521: Was formed where the river ran—until culverted late in the 18th century, down High Street— into the Lagan. It was at this crossing, located under or close to the current Queen's Bridge, that the early settlement developed. The compilers of Ulster-Scots use various transcriptions of local pronunciations of "Belfast" (with which they sometimes are also content) including Bilfawst , Bilfaust or Baelfawst. The site of Belfast has been occupied since

14760-432: Was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Director for Henry V , and Best Adapted Screenplay for Hamlet . He directed Swan Song (1992), which earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film . He also directed Peter's Friends (1992), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Thor (2011), and Cinderella (2015). For his semi-autobiographical film Belfast (2021), he

14883-674: Was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director , and won Best Original Screenplay . Branagh directed and starred as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Death on the Nile (2022), and A Haunting in Venice (2023). He has also acted in Celebrity (1998), Wild Wild West (1999), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), and Valkyrie (2008). His portrayal of Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn (2011) earned him

15006-574: Was overshadowed by the protests of the unemployed and ten days of running street battles with the police. The government conceded increases in Outdoor Relief , but labour unity was short lived. In 1935, celebrations of King George V 's Jubilee and of the annual Twelfth were followed by deadly riots and expulsions, a sectarian logic that extended itself to the interpretation of darkening events in Europe. Labour candidates found their support for

15129-503: Was passed with only a small number dismantled. The more affluent districts escaped the worst of the violence, but the city centre was a major target. This was especially so during the first phase of the PIRA campaign in the early 1970s, when the organisation hoped to secure quick political results through maximum destruction. Including car bombs and incendiaries, between 1969 and 1977 the city experienced 2,280 explosions. In addition to

#85914