Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland; educated at RADA, London. Shining star of the British stage who co-founded (with David Parfitt) the Renaissance Theatre Company, under whose banner Branagh successfully played Hamlet, staged his original play Public Enemy and mounted an acclaimed interpretation of King Lear. Branagh gained international recognition as the director and star of the 1989 screen version of HENRY V. Here he appeared with frequent co-star Emma Thompson, whom he married in 1989 and divorced in 2000. Branagh's next feature was a contemporary noir thriller, DEAD AGAIN (1991), where he again played (in dual roles) opposite Thompson. Though a commercial success, the film was dismissed by many reviewers for emphasizing style over substance. His next feature, the light comedy with a message, PETER'S FRIENDS (1992), was a British BIG CHILL set in Cambridge. That same year, Branagh directed SWAN SONG, an Oscar®-nominated short based on a Chekhov short story starring Sir John Gielgud. After appearing in a small but pivotal role in SWING KIDS (1993), he returned to comfortable ground with his big screen adaptation of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (1993), an all-star romp through Tuscany with Thompson, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton and Keanu Reeves. The film did well commercially and enhanced Branagh's reputation as a canny popularizer of Shakespeare for modern movie audiences. Recent notable credits include MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN (1994, also producer & director), OTHELLO and IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER (a.k.a. A MIDWINTER'S TALE, director & writer) (both1995), LOOKING FOR RICHARD and HAMLET (also director & writer) (both 1996), THE GINGERBREAD MAN, CELEBRITY and THE PROPOSITION (all 1998), WILD WILD WEST (1999), LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST (2000, also producer, director & writer), "Conspiracy" (2001, TV), "Shackleton" (TV), RABBIT-PROOF FENCE, HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS and ALIEN LOVE TRIANGLE (all 2002), FIVE CHILDREN AND IT (2004), "Warm Springs" (2005, TV - as Franklin Delano Roosevelt), THE MAGIC FLUTE (2006, also director), and VALKYRIE (scheduled for 2008). As writer & director, he's recently helmed LISTENING (2003), AS YOU LIKE IT (2006, also producer) and SLEUTH (2007, producer & director only). In 2003, Branagh married art director Lindsay Brunnock.  Nominated for Achievement in Directing 1989: HENRY V  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role 1989: HENRY V  Nominated for Achievement in Live Action Short Films 1992: SWAN SONG - Producer  Nominated for Achievement in Writing (Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published) 1996: HAMLET 4 nominations