Kenneth Branagh

Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh is an absolute powerhouse of the acting and filmmaking world. From Belfast to Hollywood, this five-time Academy Award and five-time Golden Globe Award nominee has been a force to be reckoned with since his training at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. After succeeding Richard Attenborough as its president in 2015, Branagh was knighted in the 2012 Birthday Honours and became a Freeman of his beloved city of Belfast in 2018. Not only has Branagh starred in incredible films such as Celebrity (1998), Wild Wild West (1999), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), and My Week with Marilyn (2011), but he has also directed and starred in some of the most memorable film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays, including Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Othello (1995), and Hamlet (1996). His 2012 feature film, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, earned him critical acclaim as well. His most recent projects include directing and starring in the 2017 thriller Murder on the Orient Express and the 2022 mystery drama Death on the Nile. He also helmed the Marvel superhero film Thor (2011) and the live-action adaptation of Disney's Cinderella (2015). It's no wonder Branagh was listed among Ireland's greatest film actors in 2020. And if that's not enough, this actor, director, producer, and screenwriter even has his own joke to lighten the mood: "A director is someone who can turn a two-hour movie into a three-hour movie and make you think it was your idea!"