Kenneth Branagh

• Birthplace: Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Birthday: December 10, 1960

Once hailed as the “new Laurence Olivier,” Shakespearean-trained actor and director Kenneth Branagh struggled throughout his career to balance his near-obsessive drive to work with the need for a somewhat normal, settled life. After his directorial breakthrough with his excellent interpretation of The Bard’s “Henry V” (1989), Branagh had what appeared to many to be the picture-perfect life – a beautiful wife in Emma Thompson, a thriving career – thanks to his deft thriller “Dead Again” (1991) – and a reputation replete with …more