Talk:Kenneth Branagh

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Kenneth Branagh is a candidate to become a selected biography for the Northern Ireland Portal. A selected biography article should be relevant to Northern Ireland, well written and interesting. Please feel free to leave comments.
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The following comments were left by the quality and importance raters: (Branagh/Comments|action=edit}} edit · refresh)

Wikipedia:WikiProject Belfast:

May be start w/r/t biography project, but has a bit of interesting detail and is in my view B w/r/t Belfast project. however is not that important to Belfast so... mid. ++Lar: t/c 17:10, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
I upgraded importance to high as Branagh is one of the most famous of Belfast people. Also, he gained some local acclaim for his role as Billy in the Billy Plays before his more mainstream, international reknown. --Mal 03:52, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia:WikiProject Biography:

Needs expansion, filmography should be split ....(Complain)(Let us to it pell-mell) 05:59, 7 August 2006 (UTC)
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[edit] Photo

Not a very good photo. Anyone got a better one? Djbrianuk 16:29, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Someone should post a photo from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein hehe, he looked good in that :D (tyger 19:15, 21 June 2006 (UTC))


[edit] Edits: Validated sources

I removed the comments regarding Branagh playing the new Batman as well as being a canidate for Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am sure of the former, but if anybody can find a source for the latter, feel free to restore it. It appears that the prankster who inserted Batman did not insert the Obi Wan comment, so I suppose it could possibly be true. —Preceding unsigned comment added by User:KMils (talk • contribs)

Some time after it was confirmed that the prequel films were going to be made, I remember having heard this. Further to that, I seem to remember hearing that he was considered too old for the part, and that is why he had been ultimately rejected. I don't have any source (nor can I remember the source I originally read it in .. probably some semi-official internet fansite), but I have re-inserted the information under a new trivia section, and I will look for a source. --Mal 19:51, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Auto peer review suggestions

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You may wish to browse through User:AndyZ/Suggestions for further ideas. Thanks, Mal 06:28, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Theatre

Hi, I wonder, why there is no short list of his theatre work? E.g.his 'Hamlet' with the RSC or his 'Richard III' in Sheffield.I think, that his work in the theatre is important enough to be listed here. Anne-theater 23.42 CET 5th, May 2007

[edit] British, Irish, Northern Irish?

I have removed the description of him as a 'British' actor. Such a claim should not be used uncited given his origins in Belfast. Claiming someone from Belfast as British or Irish without adequate research is likely to be offensive to some, and inaccurate. The fact that he refused a British royal honour is indicative that such a statement should not be made without further backup. Some people from Belfast do not regard themselves as British, and some do not regard themselves as Irish. Editors should not unilaterally impose their own interpretation of someones nationality. Without further clarification I would propose 'Northern Irish'. 71.204.133.75 22:09, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

If certain British citizens are so offended by their own Britishness, they're free to emigrate elsewhere. Otherwise, it's an inescapable fact of life. Branagh was born in a part of the UK, and he is therefore undeniably British, whether he personally likes this fact or not. It's also true to say he's Northern Irish. (It's even also true to say he's Irish, in the sense of coming from the island of Ireland). What's wrong with saying he's a British actor from Northern Ireland? Sean Connery is a British actor from Scotland. Richard Burton was a British actor from Wales. Roger Moore is a British actor from England. They're all British. -- JackofOz 22:19, 3 July 2007 (UTC)
Branagh was born in an area whose citizens can have British or Irish or both nationalities, and passports. Neither Scottish or Welsh citizens can automatically get a different passport as no other existing sovereign state has a claim on these territories. Common practice in the case of NI persons is to describe then as NI actors/people - or as Irish or British depending on the individuals own views. To avoid giving offence it is best not to superimpose the Irish Question/British occupation or whatever one wishes to call it - on articles where it has no significant relevance. Describing someone as British by virtue of their birth in Belfast is unwise without further reference as to the individuals views - in the the absence of this (unnecessary) referencing, you should describe him as a Northern Irish actor. As to the inane, xenophobic/nationalist comment 'If certain British citizens are so offended by their own Britishness, they're free to emigrate elsewhere.' I would suggest you study history - and English: British refers to England, Scotland and Wales only - which is why said passport says United Kingdom of Great Britain AND Northern Ireland. The UK has never claimed NI to be Britain, it claims it to be a part of the UK - and with the Northern Ireland Act 1998, this is only claimed as a part of a joint process with Ireland. Referring to someone from Belfast as 'British' with no further work is Original Research at best, and POV or trolling at worst. 71.204.133.75 00:12, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
Thanks for the flattery. To the extent that I stand corrected, I stand corrected. Is it the case that a NI person with an Irish passport can change his mind and obtain a British one? Or vice-versa? And can they do this as often as their whims and caprices dictate? Would our articles on such people have to be updated every time this happens? Can they hold both Irish and UK passports simultaneously, and if so, where would we stand? I'm just curious about how far this issue might have to be taken in an extreme case. JackofOz 00:58, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
Actually they can get both. And the liklyhood of switch is about the same as someone from Southern Japan flipping between being Korean or Japanese. About the only flip-flop I ever heard of was a Beirut Hostage who later got Irish citizenship as far less countries would be hostile to efforts to release him. It doesn't happen, hopefully in the future as passions are replace by peace, that maybe the case - but then its likely that EU citizenship will be far more relevant than local alliegences, and thus rendering it all irrelevant. 71.204.133.75 22:25, 7 July 2007 (UTC)
Your point about Branagh refusing a British honour does not, of itself, say anything about his Britishness or lack thereof. Many UK citizens (including many from Great Britain) have refused British honours for reasons that generally have nothing to do with a desire to not be associated with British institutions. Indeed, in some cases they’ve refused only because of the "lowly" status of the honour, eg. they declined the offer of a OBE or CBE because what they really wanted was a knighthood or an OM or CH, which, in some cases, was subsequently offered and accepted. Maybe Kenneth is hanging in there until he's made Sir Kenneth, who knows. -- JackofOz 00:58, 4 July 2007 (UTC)
Kenneth is known to be Anglican, that means there is a high degree of probability he considers himself British, but this is not a certainty. I think this is all a red herring, this article in no way benefited from making a first sentence declaration of his 'Britishness', which served merely to politice it. You'll note I did not advocate switching it to "Irish Actor", as neither would that have benefited the article enough to merit a line one listing. Saying he is British, absolutely, as a matter of birth in Belfast makes as much sense as saying Darwin is part of Indonesia because some nationalist general in Indonesia believes it is part of a greater Indonesia. Then there's the matter of whether you would call all Irish people British, after all Britain will give a passport at any stage to someone born in Ireland before 1922; which will then confer their grandchildren with the possibility of being a Subject of Britain in addition to or instead of a Citizen of Ireland. The bottom line is in the case of NI, an individual's nationality is not as clear cut as in a widely recognised, and unoccupied nation state, and is generally down to the individual. It's just unnecessary in this article, needless politisation. 71.204.133.75 22:25, 7 July 2007 (UTC)