I feel more Irish than English. I feel freer than British, more visceral, with a love of language. Shot through with fire in some way. That's why I resist being appropriated as the current repository of Shakespeare on the planet. That would mean I'm part of the English cultural elite, and I am utterly ill-fitted to be.
Kenneth Charles Branagh; AKA Ken, Kenny, KenBran; EST 10th December 1960, Belfast
Actor, writer, director, producer, winner of hearts, wearer of unusual facial hair, theatre company founder, interpreter of universal stories, player of guitar and piano, tap dancer, rocker of grey hair. Just a bit of a great bloke, really.
Run by Jenna
Hits:
Branagh is tremendous as Olivier: this is a part he was born to play. It’s a marvel to see the corners of his mouth extend outwards, in a grimace of distaste, and his eyes become dead black discs, like the eyes of a diamondback rattlesnake preparing to digest a large mammal. The Kenny/Larry combination results in a nuclear fission of camp-theatricality. It 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 sometimes appears to be channelling the older and more sinister Olivier of Marathon Man, a movie in which the great man was again paired with a Method performer. But Branagh revives Olivier with wit, intelligence and charm.