Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh is a renowned British actor and filmmaker of Irish origin. Known as a modern-day 'champion of Shakespeare', he has directed and starred in numerous film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays, such as Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Hamlet, and As You Like It. These critically-acclaimed Shakespeare adaptations have marked him as one of the most successful directors of Shakespeare adaptations in film history. His performance in several roles hasn’t gone unnoticed; he has been nominated multiple times for prestigious awards such as Academy Awards, BAFTAs, Golden Globe Awards and Emmy awards, amongst others. He was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours, and was also given Freedom of the City in his native Belfast in 2018.Outside of Shakespeare, he's also known for his roles in big-budget films like Thor and the Harry Potter series. In 2020, he was ranked in 20th place on The Irish Times' list of Ireland's greatest film actors.

His early life was marked by his sudden move from Belfast, Northern Ireland to Reading, Berkshire due to political unrest. Trained at the esteemed Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, he went on to have a successful acting career, both on stage and on screen. He is known for his deductive proficiency seen in his portrayal of Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. Besides acting, his directorial endeavors have also been applauded; movies like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, As You Like It, Thor, and Cinderella bear testimony to his prowess as a director.