Kenneth Branagh Video Interview On ‘My Week With Marilyn,’ Michelle Williams

Kenneth Branagh, the acclaimed North Irish actor, stars opposite Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn. Branagh rose to prominence on the success of his celebrated film adaptions of Shakespeare such as 1989’s Henry V. Nonetheless, Branagh has also found other outlets for his creative energies and most recently directed the blockbuster action film Thor.

Now, Branagh is receiving rave reviews for his performance as Laurence Olivier in My Week with Marilyn. When asked what he would have asked Olivier if here still alive, Branagh was enthusiastic. “I’d love to have known what he thought was the secret of Marilyn Monroe and what did he feel about his own performance,” Branagh told uInterview in an exclusive video interview. “I guess I would have said, ‘Sir, you have an opportunity to vent now, please vent without end anything you need to about this entire experience and I shall make notes.’ ”

Branagh has received heaps of critical praise for his films and has won three BAFTA awards and an Emmy. However, Branagh has yet to win an Oscar, despite being nominated five times. And while My Week with Marilyn didn’t land him a gold statue, it did further cement his status as a well-respected and talented actor in the business.

Transcript:

Q: If Olivier were still alive as a resource when you were preparing for this role, what would you have asked him?

A: What a brilliant question! Well, starting off, ‘What was it like, sir? And what do you think of the movie? And what did you think starting off? Were you in love with her? Did you hate her all the way through? Did you come to hate her? Did you never hate her? And what do you think of her performance? And what was the secret? I’d love to have known what he thought was the secret of Marilyn Monroe and what did he feel about his own performance. I guess I would have said, ‘Sir, you have an opportunity to vent now, please vent without end anything you need to about this entire experience and I shall make notes.’

Q: Out of all of the roles you have performed on stage, big screen and small, which character most embodies your own personality?

A: Well, the curious thing, this is sort of a contrary thing to say; the character of Hamlet in Shakespeare, which we made a film of and is one that I am intensely proud of, is a role played by thousands, tens of thousands of actors since the play was first written, and every time you see Hamlet, because it’s an X-ray part that requires everything of the actor playing it, and it’s a straight part, you know, you don’t hide behind physical things or crazy makeup or whatever, it’s a straight role. When any actor plays Hamlet, they reveal a vast amount of themselves. They’re also trying to play the Prince of Denmark, there’s no question, but it’s an X-ray part that reveals to a large extent who that actor is, and so, in a strange way, I think every actor, if they’ve had a chance to play Hamlet, in that performance, shows most of themselves, and I would say that would be true of the times that I’ve played Hamlet, as well. It’s certainly a role that I was honored and awed to play, but am so intensely proud of.