| # | Fact |
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| 1 | In 2015 he programmed a season of work at London's Garrick Theatre under the auspices of the Kenneth Brannagh Theatre Company. |
| 2 | Has no children from either his first or second marriage. |
| 3 | Along with Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier, Woody Allen, Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood and Roberto Benigni, he is one of only seven men to receive Academy Award nominations for both Best Actor and Best Director for the same film: Welles for Citizen Kane (1941), Olivier for Hamlet (1948), Allen for Annie Hall (1977), Beatty for both Heaven Can Wait (1978) and Reds (1981), Branagh for Henry V (1989), Eastwood for Unforgiven (1992) and Benigni for Life Is Beautiful (1997). |
| 4 | He has appeared in every film that he has directed except for A Midwinter's Tale (1995), As You Like It (2006), The Magic Flute (2006), Thor (2011) and Cinderella (2015). |
| 5 | Of his fifteen directorial efforts, only three - Dead Again (1991), Peter's Friends (1992) and A Midwinter's Tale (1995) - were not based on preexisting material: (1) Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Hamlet (1996), Love's Labour's Lost (2000) and As You Like It (2006) were all adaptations of plays by William Shakespeare, (2) Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) was an adaptation of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel "Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus", (3) The Magic Flute (2006) was based on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 1791 opera "Die Zauberflöte", (4) Sleuth (2007) was an adaptation of the 1970 play of the same name by Anthony Shaffer, (4) Thor (2011) was based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, (5) Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014) was based on the "Jack Ryan" novel series by Tom Clancy, (6) Cinderella (2015) was based on Charles Perrault's fairy tale of the same name and, more directly, Cinderella (1950) and (7) Murder on the Orient Express (1974) was based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie. |
| 6 | Is one of 13 actors who have received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a real-life king. The others in chronological order are Charles Laughton for The Private Life of Henry VIII. (1933), Robert Morley for Marie Antoinette (1938), Basil Rathbone for If I Were King (1938), Laurence Olivier for Henry V (1944) and Richard III (1955), José Ferrer for Joan of Arc (1948), Yul Brynner for The King and I (1956), John Gielgud for Becket (1964), Peter O'Toole for Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968), Robert Shaw for A Man for All Seasons (1966), Richard Burton for Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), Nigel Hawthorne for The Madness of King George (1994), and Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010). |
| 7 | He has directed Richard Clifford in five films: Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Love's Labour's Lost (2000) and As You Like It (2006). |
| 8 | To date, he is the last actor to have received an Academy Award nomination for his role in a Shakespearean film. He was nominated for Best Actor for playing the title character in Henry V (1989), which he also directed. |
| 9 | Although he played Cherie Lunghi's son in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), he is only eight years her junior in real life. |
| 10 | He has directed Alex Lowe in three films: Peter's Friends (1992), Much Ado About Nothing (1993) and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994). |
| 11 | He made two films with Robert Sean Leonard in 1993: Swing Kids (1993) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993). |
| 12 | Despite having lived in Britain for the majority of his life and being associated closely with it, he considers himself more Irish than British. |
| 13 | He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn (2011). Olivier himself was nominated for the award for his role as Dr. Christian Szell in Marathon Man (1976). |
| 14 | He has directed Brian Blessed in four films: Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Hamlet (1996) and As You Like It (2006). |
| 15 | He directed his then wife Emma Thompson in four films: Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), Peter's Friends (1992) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993). |
| 16 | He has directed Derek Jacobi in five films: Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), Hamlet (1996), Cinderella (2015) and Murder on the Orient Express (2017). |
| 17 | He directed Richard Briers in nine films: Henry V (1989), Peter's Friends (1992), Swan Song (1992), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), A Midwinter's Tale (1995), Hamlet (1996), Love's Labour's Lost (2000) and As You Like It (2006). |
| 18 | He has directed Jimmy Yuill in seven films: Henry V (1989), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Hamlet (1996), Love's Labour's Lost (2000), The Magic Flute (2006) and As You Like It (2006). |
| 19 | He has two roles in common with Laurence Olivier, whom he played in My Week with Marilyn (2011): (1) Olivier played King Henry V in Henry V (1944) while Branagh played him in Henry V (1989) and (2) Olivier played the title character in Hamlet (1948) while Branagh played him in Hamlet (1996). In each case, Olivier and Branagh directed the relevant film. |
| 20 | Release of the book, "Ken & Em: A Biography of Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson" by Ian Shuttleworth. [1995] |
| 21 | Filming and producing the three part Wallander (2008) series for BBC TV, on location in Sweden. The series is based on three of the 'Kurt Wallander' novels by Swedish writer Henning Mankell. The three novels on which the series is based are called: "Sidetracked", "One Step Behind" and "Firewall". [April 2008] |
| 22 | Filming his scenes for TV series 10 Days to War (2008) on location in Jordan. [2008] |
| 23 | Filming Warm Springs (2005) in Georgia and Atlanta, USA, playing Franklin D. Roosevelt. [November 2004] |
| 24 | Filming his scenes for Bryan Singer's movie Valkyrie (2008) on location in Germany. [2007] |
| 25 | Filming scenes for Richard Curtis' Pirate Radio (2009). [March 2008] |
| 26 | Berkshire, England: Actor [June 2012] |
| 27 | Was involved as director for a while in the early stages of production of Dragonheart. |
| 28 | Was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on November 9, 2012 at Buckingham Palace. |
| 29 | His top ten films of all time are: Napoleon (1927), Citizen Kane (1941), Brief Encounter (1945), Black Narcissus (1947), The Third Man (1949), The Searchers (1956), Manhattan (1979), Raging Bull (1980), Tootsie (1982) and Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987). |
| 30 | He has been a fan of "Thor" since childhood. When Marvel Studios selected Branagh as the director of the film adaptation, they sent him the complete collection of the Marvel Thor comics series as reference material for the character. |
| 31 | He was awarded the Knight Bachelor of the Order of the British Empire in the 2012 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Drama and to the community in Northern Ireland. |
| 32 | Often circles the camera around his actors when they are performing a monologue or having a conversation in one of his Shakespearean films. |
| 33 | Was considered for the role of Paul Smecker in The Boondock Saints (1999). The role ultimately went to Willem Dafoe. |
| 34 | Middle brother of William Branagh Jr. and Joyce Branagh. |
| 35 | Has directed many other Harry Potter cast members in his own movies. Ex-wife Emma Thompson appeared with him in Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), and Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Robbie Coltrane appeared in Henry V (1989). Julie Christie and Timothy Spall appeared in Hamlet (1996). Imelda Staunton appeared in Much Ado About Nothing (1993). John Cleese, Robert Hardy, and Helena Bonham Carter appeared in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994). |
| 36 | Nominated for the 2009 Evening Standard Theatre Award as Best Actor in a play for his role as Ivanov in the play Ivanov at Wyndham's Theatre in London as part of the Donmar West End Season. |
| 37 | Won the 2004 Evening Standard Theatre Award as Best Actor for his performance as the title character in Edmond at the Royal National Theatre. |
| 38 | Was originally considered for the part of the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). |
| 39 | Mentioned in the theme song for The Adventures of George the Projectionist (2006). |
| 40 | One of only three actors to have their names mentioned by a character in the Blackadder series, alongside Charles Chaplin (Blackadder Goes Forth (1989), and Delia Smith (Blackadder Back & Forth (1999)). Blackadder mentioned his name in Blackadder Back & Forth (1999) whilst talking to William Shakespeare on the topic of 'Hamlet'. |
| 41 | Has directed two people who have played Batman: Christian Bale in Henry V (1989), and Michael Keaton in Much Ado About Nothing (1993). |
| 42 | The last film he made with Emma Thompson was Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Their roles had previously been played in an earlier film by Robert Stephens and Maggie Smith, who were also a couple at the time. Branagh and Thompson appeared together in Fortunes of War (1987) and Henry V (1989), which also featured Stephens, and in the Harry Potter films with Smith. |
| 43 | Shares two film roles with Laurence Olivier: Henry V and Hamlet. He and Olivier also both directed their own performances in both films. He also directed Sleuth (2007), a remake of the 1972 film, in which Olivier starred. This time, Michael Caine played Olivier's part, while Jude Law played the second of two roles he shared with Caine - having previously appeared in Alfie (2004). Kenneth Branagh has also played the title role in a Naxos Audiobook CD of "Richard III', by William Shakespeare, another role that Olivier also played. Branagh portrayed Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn (2011) and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance. |
| 44 | He and his ex-wife, Emma Thompson, have appeared in separate films in the Harry Potter series. Branagh played Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), and Thompson played Sybil Trelawney in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). Depending on what has been cut from the script for the fifth film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) could be the first time both have appeared together in the same film since their divorce. Also appearing in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) is his ex-girlfriend, Helena Bonham Carter. |
| 45 | He can play guitar, piano and tap. |
| 46 | He can speak Italian. |
| 47 | Ex-brother-in-law of Sophie Thompson and Richard Lumsden. |
| 48 | Was considered for the role of Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). |
| 49 | To date (2008), he has appeared as the title character in five films: Henry V (1989), Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), Hamlet (1996), Shackleton (2002), Wallander (2008). |
| 50 | Former son-in-law of Phyllida Law and Eric Thompson. |
| 51 | In 1990, he received an honorary doctorate in Literature from Queen's University (located in Belfast, Northern Ireland). |
| 52 | Is a vice-president of Chichester Cinema at New Park. Maggie Smith and Anita Roddick are also vice-presidents. |
| 53 | He was one of the guests at Prince Charles's and Camilla Parker-Bowles' wedding on 9 April 2005. |
| 54 | Wrote many of the A Midwinter's Tale (1995) characters for specific actors. |
| 55 | Appeared with Campbell Scott in Dead Again (1991). Scott later starred in and co-directed Hamlet (2000), and Branagh later starred in and directed Hamlet (1996). |
| 56 | A Member of the RADA Council. |
| 57 | Was age 15 when he first saw "Hamlet" performed. |
| 58 | Claims that Derek Jacobi is the reason he got into acting, and thus Jacobi became a frequent collaborator with him in most of his movies. |
| 59 | He was nominated for a 2004 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in "Edmond" at the Royal National Theatre. |
| 60 | He was awarded the 1988 London Critics Circle Theatre Award (Drama Theatre Award) for Special Award. |
| 61 | He was nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actor of 2003 for his performance in "Edmond" at the Royal National Theatre: Olivier Stage. |
| 62 | Was one of the directors considered for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). He had appeared in the previous film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002). |
| 63 | He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1983 (1982 season) for Most Promising Newcomer for his performance in "Another Country". |
| 64 | He allegedly declined the C.B.E. (Commander of the order of the British Empire) in 1994. |
| 65 | Youngest actor to receive the Golden Quill (Gielgud Award), 2000. |
| 66 | Co-founded the Renaissance Theatre Company with David Parfitt, with Prince Charles as a royal patron. |
| 67 | At age 23, he became the youngest actor in the Royal Shakespeare Company to ever play the lead in Shakespeare's "Henry V". |
| 68 | Grew up in poverty in the shadow of a tobacco factory in Belfast. |
| 69 | Educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), London |
| 70 | Originally cast as the lead in Amadeus (1984) before the production company decided on casting American actors in the leading roles. |
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