Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh, professionally known as Kenneth Branagh, is a British actor, producer, director, and screenwriter, who is well known for his film and TV adaptations of a number of Shakespeare’s plays as well as for blockbusters like 'Thor' and 'Cinderella.' Trained at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he later served as its president, succeeding Richard Attenborough. Interested in dramatics from a young age, Kenneth Branagh joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he received acclaim for his performances in Shakespeare’s plays like ‘Hamlet’ and ‘Henry V’. He co-founded the Renaissance Theatre Company, and started adapting Shakespearean plays into films, making them accessible to the masses. This Irish-born British actor/director became one of the two non-American actors to be nominated for Oscars for writing, directing, and acting, and one amongst the only eight actors to have received this honor. A man wearing many professional hats, he has been active in the television industry as well. He played the title role in BBC radio broadcasts of ‘Hamlet’ and ‘King Lear,’ and has narrated several audiobooks. He received an honorary Doctorate in Literature from Queen's University of Belfast and has been conferred with the Freedom of the City of Belfast. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the RomaFictionFest in 2009.