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Kenneth Charles Branagh (born December 10 1960) is an Emmy Award-winning actor and film director.

Branagh was born in Belfast, and educated at Grove Primary School. At the age of nine he relocated with his family to Reading in England. He received an honorary doctorate in Literature (D.Litt.) from Queen's University of Belfast in 1990.

The actor achieved some early measure of success in his native Northern Ireland for his role as the title character in the BBC's Play for Today series known as the Billy Plays, written by Graham Reid and set in Belfast.

He has worked on both stage and screen. He received initial acclaim in the UK for his stage performances, including the title role in Hamlet. More recently, in 2003, he starred in the National Theatre's well-received production of Edmond by David Mamet.

He is probably best known for his popular film adaptations of the works of William Shakespeare, beginning with Henry V in 1989 (for which he received Academy Award nominations both for his acting and directing) and including versions of Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Othello (1995), Love's Labour's Lost (2000), Hamlet for which he was nominated for best adapted screenplay, (1996) and As You Like It (2006). His 1996 version of Hamlet was the first time that the uncut text of the play (over 4 hours and 4000 lines long) had been made into a motion picture - all other film versions of the play have had several lines and, many times, entire scenes removed.

Branagh has been nominated for four Academy Awards, including the two for directing and acting in Henry V and another for the screenplay of Hamlet. He was awarded his Emmy for his performance in the film Conspiracy. More about Kenneth Branagh...