Kenneth Branagh Trivia Quiz

Answer: 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.

Answer: 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.

Answer: 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.

Answer: 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.

Answer: 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.

Answer: 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!

Answer: "Sense and Sensibility"

"Ken & Em" worked together on many projects during the late 1980s and early 1990s. "Much Ado About Nothing" was perhaps their most successful venture. They also starred together in a stage revival of John Osborne's "Look Back in Anger". "Sense and Sensibility", the film of Jane Austen's novel, was Emma Thompson's project.

She won an Academy Award for her screenplay, but Ken was in no way connected to the movie.

Answer: 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.

Answer: "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.

Answer: "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.

Answer: "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.

Answer: "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.

Answer: 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.

Answer: 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.

Answer: Morecambe 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.