Fun Trivia : Branagh, Kenneth

Structure Sub-topic of: Celebrities A-B Quizzes Interesting Questions, Facts and Information There are a total of 15 general entries.

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

Branagh, Kenneth

In which country of the United Kingdom was Kenneth Branagh born?

Kenneth Branagh


Northern Ireland. Despite his perfect English accent, Ken was born in Belfast (on December 10th, 1960). According to his autobiography, he had a very strong Belfast accent until the family moved to England when he was nine years old.



Kenneth Branagh showed an early aptitude for drama, and starred in a school production of "Toad of Toad Hall." Which drama college did he later attend?

Kenneth Branagh


Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. While at RADA, Ken won the Bancroft Gold Medal. He actually won a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama as well as RADA, but chose the latter.



Kenneth Branagh's breakthrough performance in the UK was in the BBC's "Fortunes of War", a drama set during the Second World War. What was Ken's character's name?

Kenneth Branagh


Guy Pringle. The others were all characters in the series too. "Fortunes of War" was first shown in the UK in 1987, and was adapted from the semi-autobiographical books of Olivia Manning. It followed the story of newly-weds Guy and Harriet, as they live in war-torn Romania, Greece, and Egypt. I still have the tape (much played) that I recorded from the TV all those years ago.



It was on the set of "Fortunes of War" that Kenneth Branagh met his future wife. Her name?

Kenneth Branagh


Emma Thompson. Emma Thompson played his screen wife, Harriet. The couple married in 1989. Caroline Langrishe played a small role in "Fortunes of War" and also starred as Olivia in Ken's stage production of "Twelfth Night". Helena Bonham Carter was linked to him later, when she starred in his film of "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein". Sophie Thompson, Emma's sister, played several roles in Branagh's first major tour of Shakespearean plays in 1987 to 1988.



Ken's first major stage role was with the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) in Stratford. He played a king, whom he was also to portray on film a few years later, a role which earnt him an Academy Award nomination. Which king?

Kenneth Branagh


Henry V. Ken was 23 when he starred with the RSC for the first time. After that year, he set up his own theatre company, Renaissance, with friend David Parfitt. He played Richard III on stage in 2002, for the Sheffield Crucible Theatre.



Kenneth Branagh began his own theatre company in 1987. The first production was Branagh's own play, "Public Enemy". Later that year, the company went on tour with three of Shakespeare's plays, "Much Ado About Nothing", "As You Like It" and "Hamlet". Branagh gathered a fine group of actors and directors for these plays, and the media dubbed him "the new Olivier", much to his disgust. What was the name of his new company?

Kenneth Branagh


Renaissance. I have vivid memories of Ken playing Touchstone in "As You Like It" - he wore a bright orange checked suit. On the night I went, he was supposed to carry Sophie Thompson offstage, but walked right into a cut-out tree which promptly fell over, and he then dropped her. Despite that, the shows were brilliant!



What role did Kenneth Branagh play in the making of "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein"?

Kenneth Branagh


He directed, starred and co-produced. Ken has directed and produced many films. This 1994 film was not a critical success, but has won many fans since it was released.



In 1996 Kenneth Branagh adapted, directed and starred in a movie version of one of Shakespeare's most famous plays. It was not a great hit in cinemas, as it lasted for over four hours. However, it was a critical success, and has become popular on video and DVD. The play?

Kenneth Branagh


"Hamlet". The film looks stunning, and the actors' performances are consistently very high. Kenneth Branagh has played the troubled Dane on stage three times - in 1984 for the RSC, in 1987 for Renaissance, and again in 1992-3 for the RSC. I didn't see his first Hamlet, but the other two were very good productions, though the later interpretation was more interesting, in my opinion.



In which early movie of Kenneth Branagh's did he play an archeologist, working in a small English village?

Kenneth Branagh


"A Month in the Country". "A Month in the Country" was a delightful film, released in 1987. Set in the months following the end of the First World War, Branagh played Charles Moon. He co-starred with a very young Colin Firth, who was later to become more well known as Mr Darcy in the BBC's "Pride And Prejudice". The movie is well worth checking out.



In which movie series has Kenneth Branagh played a part?

Kenneth Branagh


"Harry Potter". Ken played Gilderoy Lockhart in the second Harry Potter movie, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". His character is dashing, yet vain and narcissistic. He steals the show.



In which film, released in 2002, does Ken play a civil servant involved in the abduction of three young girls from their families?

Kenneth Branagh


"Rabbit Proof Fence". Again, these are all films with which Branagh has been involved. "Rabbit Proof Fence" is the moving story of three Aboriginal girls who are taken from their families and placed as servants in a white family in Australia. They decide to escape and attempt to return to their homes, and follow the rabbit-proof fence that leads the many hundred mile journey home.



Which British hero did Kenneth Branagh portray in a TV series in 2002?

Kenneth Branagh


Sir Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton led an ill-fated exedition to cross the South Pole in 1914. His ship, the Endurance, was trapped in the ice, and sank. However, Shackleton brought all his men home alive, after many months of great hardship and danger.



In 2001 Kenneth Branagh played a charming, charismatic and thoroughly evil army general in the TV movie "Conspiracy". In which historical period was it set?

Kenneth Branagh


World War II. Branagh's character was attempting to persuade others to accept his plan for extermination of the Jews from Europe. The play was based on secret minutes that survived from the real-life meeting which took place in Wannsee between senior Nazi officials in 1942. The movie was horrific and gripping, and Ken's portrayal of charming and charismatic evil earnt him an Emmy Award.



In 2001-2002, Kenneth Branagh directed "The Play What I Wrote" for London's West End. It is a touching and hilarious tribute to which well-known and well-loved British double-act?

Kenneth Branagh


Morcambe and Wise. "The Play What I Wrote" features a different star of stage or screen each night, alongside the main actors. The title is a reference to Ernie Wise's frequent pleas to his famous guests to play a part in "the play what I wrote". It won an Olivier Award in 2002 for Best New Comedy.