Kenneth Branagh, in full Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh, (conceived December 10, 1960, Belfast, Northern Ireland), Irish-conceived English entertainer, chief, and author who is most popular for his film transformations of Shakespearean plays.
At age nine Branagh moved with his family from Northern Ireland to London. He started acting in school plays and moved on from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1981. A month and a half later he made his expert stage debut. In 1984 he joined the lofty Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), where he got approval for his exhibitions in Hamlet and Henry V. Frequently contrasted with Laurence Olivier (whom he would later depict), Branagh was noted for his attractive and frequently capricious exhibitions. In 1987 he passed on the RSC to help establish the Renaissance Theater Company, for which he filled in as entertainer, author, and chief.