19 Quotes & Sayings By Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh was born in London in 1956. He attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in 1977, and after three years there, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. He went on to appear in many productions for the RSC, including "Measure for Measure", "The Real Thing", "The Iceman Cometh", "The Birthday Party", "Love's Labour's Lost", "Henry V", "Much Ado About Nothing", "Titus Andronicus", "The Winter's Tale", "Macbeth" and several others. He was nominated for an Olivier Award in 1984 for his appearance at The Royal National Theatre in the National Theatre's production of Brian Friel's 'Faith Healer'. Then Kenneth appeared in a number of films including John Schlesinger's Gosford Park, which featured Colin Firth and Maggie Smith Read more

Kenneth has also appeared in numerous television plays, including the BBC Television dramatization of Agatha Christie's 'Ordeal by Innocence', 'The Trial of Stephen Buckley' (for which he won the 1992 BAFTA TV Award Best Actor), 'Lace' (for which he was nominated for a BAFTA TV Award Best Actor), 'Nicholas Nickleby' (1994) and 'A Murder of Quality'. Kenneth made his feature film debut with Anthony Minghella's The English Patient (with Juliette Binoche). He then teamed up with Ben Kingsley again for the 1998 Merchant Ivory production of 'Gosford Park', starring Maggie Smith.

Kenneth also starred alongside Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter in the Merchant Ivory production of Michael Radford's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel 'Anna Karenina'. Kenneth had a leading role alongside Paul Bettany and Brendan Gleeson starrer 'Troy', which came out in 2004. Kenneth is married to actress Emma Thompson (deceased) who played Mrs. Dalloway in the film adaptation of Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway.

They have two sons together; actor/writer Henry Branagh; and actor/director Ted Branagh. Ken is currently filming the blockbuster film Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows with Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and Jude Law.

1
Adults are just children who earn money. Kenneth Branagh
2
Being Irish, I always had this love of words. Kenneth Branagh
3
Sometimes I used to think to myself, 'Have I lost a sense of humor?' but I don't think that I have. I think one can be as snarky and sarcastic as lots of people, but I have never found that it makes me particularly happy. Kenneth Branagh
4
'Thor' has got several big battles in it, a reckless, headstrong young hero who has to confront his past and deal with a complicated relationship with his father, it has lots of savage Europeans hacking each other to death at various points, and all of this sounded very much like 'Henry V.' Kenneth Branagh
5
I'll tell you what I'm grateful for, and that's the clarity of understanding that the most important things in life are health, family and friends, and the time to spend on them. Kenneth Branagh
6
There are some amazing stories from all over this country, where people's work and contribution has been acknowledged. To be part of that is an absolutely fantastic feeling. Kenneth Branagh
7
Variety is very, very good. Going from medium to medium, if you get the chance to do it, from theater to television to film, which are all distinctly different, keeps me sharp. What works in one doesn't work in the other, and you have to be looking for the truth of the performance, whatever way that medium might demand. Kenneth Branagh
8
Many of us live in dysfunctional families, and so even if it's in a fairy tale, or perhaps because it's in a fairy tale, we have a chance to look at that side of our reflected lives differently. Kenneth Branagh
9
Variety is very, very good. Going from medium to medium, if you get the chance to do it, from theater to television to film, which are all distinctly different, keeps me sharp. Kenneth Branagh
10
In 'Henry V, ' the story of the assumption of true and responsible leadership by Henry I think is hard-won. He has to lose friends; he has to risk his life. Kenneth Branagh
11
One of the things that makes Hamlet unique among Shakespeare's characters is his courage to face up to the darker elements of his personality. Kenneth Branagh
12
My experience of great storytelling, working with classics, is just finding a way to present it simply but let the story do its own work, or be an invite to the audience's imagination. Kenneth Branagh
13
Friendship is one of the most tangible things in a world which offers fewer and fewer supports. Kenneth Branagh
14
To look out of a car in Scania, you see a painting on the horizontal - one windmill, one tiny farmhouse, acres of beet or grass. Kenneth Branagh
15
Lighten up, just enjoy life, smile more, laugh more, and don't get so worked up about things. Kenneth Branagh
16
My definition of success is control. Kenneth Branagh
17
Shakespeare is rhythmic; he is musical in the sense that he likes poetry, and he's musical because he constantly refers to settings where there's singing and dancing. Kenneth Branagh
18
I think that short films often contain an originality, a creative freedom, an energy and an invention that is inspiring and entertaining. I think they are, as Shakespeare put it, a good deed in a naughty world. Kenneth Branagh