Complex sentence: He starred with Sir Laurence Olivier in "Lost Empires" (1986), a TV adaptation of J. B. Priestley's novel, then in 1987 he appeared alongside Kenneth Branagh in the film version of J. L. Carr's "A Month in the Country".
Split into simpler sentences: He starred with Sir Laurence Olivier in "Lost Empires" (1986), a TV adaptation of J. B. Priestley's novel. That same year he appeared alongside Kenneth Branagh in the film version of J. L. Carr's "A Month in the Country".