Claim: Kenneth Branagh is a film director.

Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh -LRB- -LSB- ˈbrænə -RSB- born 10 December 1960 -RRB- is a Northern Irish actor , director , producer , and screenwriter originally from Belfast . Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art -LRB- RADA -RRB- in London , and in 2015 succeeded Richard Attenborough as its President . He has directed or starred in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare 's plays , including Henry V -LRB- 1989 -RRB- -LRB- for which he was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Director -RRB- , Much Ado About Nothing -LRB- 1993 -RRB- , Othello -LRB- 1995 -RRB- , Hamlet -LRB- 1996 -RRB- -LRB- for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay -RRB- , Love 's Labour 's Lost -LRB- 2000 -RRB- , and As You Like It -LRB- 2006 -RRB- .   Branagh has also starred in numerous other films and television series including Fortunes of War -LRB- 1987 -RRB- , Woody Allen 's Celebrity -LRB- 1998 -RRB- , Wild Wild West -LRB- 1999 -RRB- , The Road to El Dorado -LRB- 2000 -RRB- , Conspiracy -LRB- 2001 -RRB- , Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , Warm Springs -LRB- 2005 -RRB- , Valkyrie -LRB- 2008 -RRB- , The Boat That Rocked -LRB- 2009 -RRB- , Wallander -LRB- 2008 -- present -RRB- , and My Week with Marilyn -LRB- 2011 -RRB- as Sir Laurence Olivier -LRB- Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor -RRB- . He has directed such notable films as Dead Again -LRB- 1991 -RRB- , in which he also starred , Swan Song -LRB- 1992 -RRB- -LRB- Academy Award nominated for Best Live Action Short Film -RRB- , Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein -LRB- 1994 -RRB- in which he also starred , The Magic Flute -LRB- 2006 -RRB- , Sleuth -LRB- 2007 -RRB- , the blockbuster superhero film Thor -LRB- 2011 -RRB- , the action thriller Jack Ryan : Shadow Recruit -LRB- 2014 -RRB- in which he also co-stars , and Cinderella -LRB- 2015 -RRB- .   He also narrated the BBC documentary miniseries ' Walking with Dinosaurs -LRB- starred in 1999 -RRB- -LRB- as well as The Ballad of Big Al -RRB- , Walking with Beasts -LRB- 2001 -RRB- and Walking with Monsters -LRB- 2005 -RRB- . Branagh has been nominated for five Academy Awards , five Golden Globes , and has won three BAFTAs , and an Emmy . He was appointed a knight bachelor in the 2012 Birthday Honours and was knighted on 9 November 2012 .