name	Anton Chekhov
alt	Chekhov seated at a desk
birth name	Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
birth date	January 29, 1860
birth place	Taganrog, Russian Empire
death date	July 15, 1904
death place	Badenweiler, German Empire
occupation	Physician, short story writer, playwright
nationality	Russian
influences	Ivan Turgenev, Nikolai Gogol, Henrik Ibsen, Leo Tolstoy, Honoré de Balzac, Guy de Maupassant, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Émile Zola, Nikolai Leskov, Dmitry Grigorovich, Aleksandr Ostrovsky
influenced	Constantin Stanislavski, Maxim Gorky, Mikhail Bulgakov, John Cheever, Cornel West, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Katherine Mansfield, Vladimir Nabokov, J. D. Salinger, Tennessee Williams, Virginia Woolf, Frank O'Connor, Bob Dylan, Alice Munro, Raymond Carver, David Means, Guram Dochanashvili, Charles Bukowski, Ivan Bunin, Sreda literary group, Jhumpa Lahiri, Abdulla Qahhor
signature	Подпись_Антон_Чехов.png }}

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (, ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Chekhov practiced as a doctor throughout most of his literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress."

Chekhov renounced the theatre after the disastrous reception of ''The Seagull'' in 1896, but the play was revived to acclaim in 1898 by Constantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre, which subsequently also produced Chekhov's ''Uncle Vanya'' and premiered his last two plays, ''Three Sisters'' and ''The Cherry Orchard''. These four works present a challenge to the acting ensemble as well as to audiences, because in place of conventional action Chekhov offers a "theatre of mood" and a "submerged life in the text."

Chekhov had at first written stories only for financial gain, but as his artistic ambition grew, he made formal innovations which have influenced the evolution of the modern short story. His originality consists in an early use of the stream-of-consciousness technique, later adopted by James Joyce and other modernists, combined with a disavowal of the moral finality of traditional story structure. He made no apologies for the difficulties this posed to readers, insisting that the role of an artist was to ask questions, not to answer them.

Biography

Childhood

Anton Chekhov was born on 29 January 1860, the third of six surviving children, in Taganrog, a port on the Sea of Azov in southern Russia. His father, Pavel Yegorovich Chekhov, the son of a former serf, ran a grocery store. A director of the parish choir, devout Orthodox Christian, and physically abusive father, Pavel Chekhov has been seen by some historians as the model for his son's many portraits of hypocrisy. Chekhov's mother, Yevgeniya, was an excellent storyteller who entertained the children with tales of her travels with her cloth-merchant father all over Russia. "Our talents we got from our father," Chekhov remembered, "but our soul from our mother." In adulthood, Chekhov criticised his brother Alexander's treatment of his wife and children by reminding him of Pavel's tyranny:

Chekhov attended a school for Greek boys, followed by the Taganrog ''gymnasium'', now renamed the Chekhov Gymnasium, where he was kept down for a year at fifteen for failing a Greek exam. He sang at the Greek Orthodox monastery in Taganrog and in his father's choirs. In a letter of 1892, he used the word "suffering" to describe his childhood and recalled:

In 1876, Chekhov's father was declared bankrupt after over-extending his finances building a new house, and to avoid the debtor's prison fled to Moscow, where his two eldest sons, Alexander and Nikolay, were attending university. The family lived in poverty in Moscow, Chekhov's mother physically and emotionally broken. Chekhov was left behind to sell the family possessions and finish his education.

Chekhov remained in Taganrog for three more years, boarding with a man called Selivanov who, like Lopakhin in ''The Cherry Orchard'', had bailed out the family for the price of their house. Chekhov had to pay for his own education, which he managed by—among other jobs—private tutoring, catching and selling goldfinches, and selling short sketches to the newspapers. He sent every ruble he could spare to Moscow, along with humorous letters to cheer up the family. During this time, he read widely and analytically, including Cervantes, Turgenev, Goncharov, and Schopenhauer; and he wrote a full-length comedy drama, ''Fatherless'', which his brother Alexander dismissed as "an inexcusable though innocent fabrication." Chekhov also enjoyed a series of love affairs, one with the wife of a teacher.

In 1879, Chekhov completed his schooling and joined his family in Moscow, having gained admission to the medical school at Moscow University.

Early writings

Chekhov now assumed responsibility for the whole family. To support them and to pay his tuition fees, he wrote daily short, humorous sketches and vignettes of contemporary Russian life, many under pseudonyms such as "Antosha Chekhonte" (Антоша Чехонте) and "Man without a Spleen" (Человек без селезенки). His prodigious output gradually earned him a reputation as a satirical chronicler of Russian street life, and by 1882 he was writing for ''Oskolki'' (''Fragments''), owned by Nikolay Leykin, one of the leading publishers of the time. Chekhov's tone at this stage was harsher than that familiar from his mature fiction.

In 1884, Chekhov qualified as a physician, which he considered his principal profession though he made little money from it and treated the poor free. In 1884 and 1885, Chekhov found himself coughing blood, and in 1886 the attacks worsened; but he would not admit tuberculosis to his family and friends, confessing to Leikin, "I am afraid to submit myself to be sounded by my colleagues." He continued writing for weekly periodicals, earning enough money to move the family into progressively better accommodation. Early in 1886 he was invited to write for one of the most popular papers in St. Petersburg, ''Novoye Vremya'' (''New Times''), owned and edited by the millionaire magnate Alexey Suvorin, who paid per line a rate double Leikin's and allowed him three times the space. Suvorin was to become a lifelong friend, perhaps Chekhov's closest.

Before long, Chekhov was attracting literary as well as popular attention. The sixty-four-year-old Dmitry Grigorovich, a celebrated Russian writer of the day, wrote to Chekhov after reading his short story ''The Huntsman'', "You have ''real'' talent—a talent which places you in the front rank among writers in the new generation." He went on to advise Chekhov to slow down, write less, and concentrate on literary quality.

Chekhov replied that the letter had struck him "like a thunderbolt" and confessed, "I have written my stories the way reporters write up their notes about fires—mechanically, half-consciously, caring nothing about either the reader or myself." The admission may have done Chekhov a disservice, since early manuscripts reveal that he often wrote with extreme care, continually revising. Grigorovich's advice nevertheless inspired a more serious, artistic ambition in the twenty-six-year-old. In 1887, with a little string-pulling by Grigorovich, the short story collection ''At Dusk'' (''V Sumerkakh'') won Chekhov the coveted Pushkin Prize "for the best literary production distinguished by high artistic worth."

Turning points

That year, exhausted from overwork and ill health, Chekhov took a trip to Ukraine which reawakened him to the beauty of the steppe. On his return, he began the novella-length short story ''The Steppe'', "something rather odd and much too original," eventually published in ''Severny Vestnik'' (''The Northern Herald''). In a narrative which drifts with the thought processes of the characters, Chekhov evokes a chaise journey across the steppe through the eyes of a young boy sent to live away from home, his companions a priest and a merchant. ''The Steppe'', which has been called a "dictionary of Chekhov's poetics", represented a significant advance for Chekhov, exhibiting much of the quality of his mature fiction and winning him publication in a literary journal rather than a newspaper.

In autumn 1887, a theater manager named Korsh commissioned Chekhov to write a play, the result being ''Ivanov'', written in a fortnight and produced that November. Though Chekhov found the experience "sickening", and painted a comic portrait of the chaotic production in a letter to his brother Alexander, the play was a hit and was praised, to Chekhov's bemusement, as a work of originality. Mikhail Chekhov considered ''Ivanov'' a key moment in his brother's intellectual development and literary career. From this period comes an observation of Chekhov's which has become known as "Chekhov's gun", noted by Ilia Gurliand from a conversation: "If in Act I you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act."

The death of Chekhov's brother Nikolay from tuberculosis in 1889 influenced ''A Dreary Story'', finished that September, about a man who confronts the end of a life which he realizes has been without purpose. Mikhail Chekhov, who recorded his brother's depression and restlessness after Nikolay's death, was researching prisons at the time as part of his law studies, and Anton Chekhov, in a search for purpose in his own life, himself soon became obsessed with the issue of prison reform.

Sakhalin

In 1890, Chekhov undertook an arduous journey by train, horse-drawn carriage, and river steamer to the far east of Russia and the katorga, or penal colony, on Sakhalin Island, north of Japan, where he spent three months interviewing thousands of convicts and settlers for a census. The letters Chekhov wrote during the two-and-a-half month journey to Sakhalin are considered to be among his best. His remarks to his sister about Tomsk were to become notorious.

The inhabitants of Tomsk later retaliated by erecting a mocking statue of Chekhov.

Chekhov witnessed much on Sakhalin that shocked and angered him, including floggings, embezzlement of supplies, and forced prostitution of women. He wrote, "There were times I felt that I saw before me the extreme limits of man's degradation." He was particularly moved by the plight of the children living in the penal colony with their parents. For example:

Chekhov later concluded that charity and subscription were not the answer, but that the government had a duty to finance humane treatment of the convicts. His findings were published in 1893 and 1894 as ''Ostrov Sakhalin'' (''The Island of Sakhalin''), a work of social science – not literature – worthy and informative rather than brilliant. Chekhov found literary expression for the "Hell of Sakhalin" in his long short story ''The Murder'', the last section of which is set on Sakhalin, where the murderer Yakov loads coal in the night, longing for home. Chekhov's writing on Sakhalin is the subject of brief comment and analysis in Japanese writer Haruki Murakami's novel 1Q84.

Melikhovo

In 1892, Chekhov bought the small country estate of Melikhovo, about forty miles south of Moscow, where he lived until 1899 with his family. "It's nice to be a lord," he joked to his friend Ivan Leontyev (who wrote humorous pieces under the pseudonym Shcheglov), but he took his responsibilities as a landlord seriously and soon made himself useful to the local peasants. As well as organising relief for victims of the famine and cholera outbreaks of 1892, he went on to build three schools, a fire station, and a clinic, and to donate his medical services to peasants for miles around, despite frequent recurrences of his tuberculosis.

Mikhail Chekhov, a member of the household at Melikhovo, described the extent of his brother's medical commitments:

Chekhov's expenditure on drugs was considerable, but the greatest cost was making journeys of several hours to visit the sick, which reduced his time for writing. Chekhov's work as a doctor, however, enriched his writing by bringing him into intimate contact with all sections of Russian society: for example, he witnessed at first hand the peasants' unhealthy and cramped living conditions, which he recalled in his short story ''Peasants''. Chekhov visited the upper classes as well, recording in his notebook: "Aristocrats? The same ugly bodies and physical uncleanliness, the same toothless old age and disgusting death, as with market-women."

Chekhov began writing his play ''The Seagull'' in 1894, in a lodge he had built in the orchard at Melikhovo. In the two years since moving to the estate, he had refurbished the house, taken up agriculture and horticulture, tended orchard and pond, and planted many trees, which, according to Mikhail, he "looked after… as though they were his children. Like Colonel Vershinin in his ''Three Sisters'', as he looked at them he dreamed of what they would be like in three or four hundred years."

The first night of ''The Seagull'' on 17 October 1896 at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in Petersburg was a fiasco, booed by the audience, and the play's reception stung Chekhov into renouncing the theatre. But the play so impressed the theatre director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko that he convinced his colleague Constantin Stanislavski to direct it for the innovative Moscow Art Theatre in 1898. Stanislavski's attention to psychological realism and ensemble playing coaxed the buried subtleties from the text and restored Chekhov's interest in playwriting. The Art Theatre commissioned more plays from Chekhov and the following year staged ''Uncle Vanya'', which Chekhov had completed in 1896.

Yalta

In March 1897 Chekhov suffered a major hemorrhage of the lungs while on a visit to Moscow. With great difficulty he was persuaded to enter a clinic, where the doctors diagnosed tuberculosis on the upper part of his lungs and ordered a change in his manner of life.

After his father's death in 1898, Chekhov bought a plot of land on the outskirts of Yalta and built a villa there, into which he moved with his mother and sister the following year. Though he planted trees and flowers in Yalta, kept dogs and tame cranes, and received guests such as Leo Tolstoy and Maxim Gorky, Chekhov was always relieved to leave his "hot Siberia" for Moscow or travels abroad. He vowed to move to Taganrog as soon as a water supply was installed there. In Yalta he completed two more plays for the Art Theatre, composing with greater difficulty than in the days when he "wrote serenely, the way I eat pancakes now"; he took a year each over ''Three Sisters'' and ''The Cherry Orchard''.

On 25 May 1901 Chekhov married Olga Knipper—quietly, owing to his horror of weddings—a former protegée and sometime lover of Nemirovich-Danchenko whom he had first met at rehearsals for ''The Seagull''. Up to that point, Chekhov, called "Russia's most elusive literary bachelor", had preferred passing liaisons and visits to brothels over commitment; he had once written to Suvorin:

The letter proved prophetic of Chekhov's marital arrangements with Olga: he lived largely at Yalta, she in Moscow, pursuing her acting career. In 1902, Olga suffered a miscarriage; and Donald Rayfield has offered evidence, based on the couple's letters, that conception may have occurred when Chekhov and Olga were apart, although Russian scholars have conclusively refuted that claim. The literary legacy of this long-distance marriage is a correspondence which preserves gems of theatre history, including shared complaints about Stanislavski's directing methods and Chekhov's advice to Olga about performing in his plays.

In Yalta, Chekhov wrote one of his most famous stories, ''The Lady with the Dog'' (also called ''Lady with Lapdog''), which depicts what at first seems a casual liaison between a married man and a married woman in Yalta. Neither expects anything lasting from the encounter, but they find themselves drawn back to each other, risking the security of their family lives.

Death

By May 1904, Chekhov was terminally ill with tuberculosis. Mikhail Chekhov recalled that "everyone who saw him secretly thought the end was not far off, but the nearer [he] was to the end, the less he seemed to realise it." On 3 June he set off with Olga for the German spa town of Badenweiler in the Black Forest, from where he wrote outwardly jovial letters to his sister Masha describing the food and surroundings and assuring her and his mother that he was getting better. In his last letter, he complained about the way the German women dressed.

Chekhov's death has become one of "the great set pieces of literary history", retold, embroidered, and fictionalised many times since, notably in the short story ''Errand'' by Raymond Carver. In 1908, Olga wrote this account of her husband's last moments:

Chekhov's body was transported to Moscow in a refrigerated railway car for fresh oysters, a detail which offended Gorky. Some of the thousands of mourners followed the funeral procession of a General Keller by mistake, to the accompaniment of a military band. Chekhov was buried next to his father at the Novodevichy Cemetery.

Legacy

A few months before he died, Chekhov told the writer Ivan Bunin he thought people might go on reading him for seven years. "Why seven?" asked Bunin. "Well, seven and a half," Chekhov replied. "That's not bad. I've got six years to live." Always modest, Chekhov could hardly have imagined the extent of his posthumous reputation. The ovations for ''The Cherry Orchard'' in the year of his death showed him how high he had risen in the affection of the Russian public—by then he was second in literary celebrity only to Tolstoy, who outlived him by six years—but after his death, Chekhov's fame soon spread further afield. Constance Garnett's translations won him an English-language readership and the admiration of writers such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Katherine Mansfield. The issues surrounding the close similarities between Mansfield's 1910 story ''The Child Who Was Tired'' and Chekhov's ''Sleepy'' are summarised in William H. New's ''Reading Mansfield and Metaphors of Reform'' The Russian critic D.S. Mirsky, who lived in England, explained Chekhov's popularity in that country by his "unusually complete rejection of what we may call the heroic values." In Russia itself, Chekhov's drama fell out of fashion after the revolution but was later adapted to the Soviet agenda, with the character Lopakhin, for example, reinvented as a hero of the new order, taking an axe to the cherry orchard.

One of the first non-Russians to praise Chekhov's plays was George Bernard Shaw, who subtitled his ''Heartbreak House'' "A Fantasia in the Russian Manner on English Themes" and noted similarities between the predicament of the British landed class and that of their Russian counterparts as depicted by Chekhov: "the same nice people, the same utter futility."

In America, Chekhov's reputation began its rise slightly later, partly through the influence of Stanislavski's system of acting, with its notion of subtext: "Chekhov often expressed his thought not in speeches," wrote Stanislavski, "but in pauses or between the lines or in replies consisting of a single word… the characters often feel and think things not expressed in the lines they speak." The Group Theatre, in particular, developed the subtextual approach to drama, influencing generations of American playwrights, screenwriters, and actors, including Clifford Odets, Elia Kazan and, in particular, Lee Strasberg. In turn, Strasberg's Actors Studio and the "Method" acting approach influenced many actors, including Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro, though by then the Chekhov tradition may have been distorted by a preoccupation with realism. In 1981, the playwright Tennessee Williams adapted ''The Seagull'' as ''The Notebook of Trigorin''.

Despite Chekhov's eminence as a playwright, some writers believe his short stories represent the greater achievement. Raymond Carver, who wrote the short story ''Errand'' about Chekhov's death, believed Chekhov the greatest of all short-story writers:

Ernest Hemingway, another writer influenced by Chekhov, was more grudging: "Chekhov wrote about 6 good stories. But he was an amateur writer." And Vladimir Nabokov once complained of Chekhov's "medley of dreadful prosaisms, ready-made epithets, repetitions." But he also declared ''The Lady with the Dog'' "one of the greatest stories ever written" and described Chekhov as writing "the way one person relates to another the most important things in his life, slowly and yet without a break, in a slightly subdued voice."

For the writer William Boyd, Chekhov's breakthrough was to abandon what William Gerhardie called the "event plot" for something more "blurred, interrupted, mauled or otherwise tampered with by life."

Virginia Woolf mused on the unique quality of a Chekhov story in ''The Common Reader'' (1925):

Chekhov's works have been translated into many languages. The famous Uzbek writer Abdulla Qahhor translated many of Chekhov's stories into the Uzbek language. Qahhor was influenced by Chekov and considered the Russian dramatist to be his teacher.

Bibliography

See also

Melikhovo, Chekhov's country estate near Moscow

Alexander Chekhov

Maria Chekhova

Nikolay Chekhov

Flash fiction

List of short stories by Anton Chekhov

Physician writer

White Dacha, Chekhov's House in Yalta

Gallery

File:Three sisters 001.jpg|English translation of ''Three Sisters'' File:Chekhov's Fest.JPG|Chekhov International Theatre Festival poster File:Seagull RSC.jpg|Modern production of ''The Seagull'' File:Chekhov Anton grave.jpg|Grave of Anton Chekhov''

References

Sources

Allen, David, ''Performing Chekhov'', Routledge (UK), 2001, ISBN 978-0-415-18934-7

Bartlett, Rosamund, and Anthony Phillips (translators), ''Chekhov: A Life in Letters'', Penguin Books, 2004, ISBN 978-0-14-044922-8

Bartlett, Rosamund, ''Chekhov: Scenes from a Life'', Free Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-7432-3074-2

Benedetti, Jean (editor and translator), ''Dear Writer, Dear Actress: The Love Letters of Olga Knipper and Anton Chekhov'', Methuen Publishing Ltd, 1998 edition, ISBN 978-0-413-72390-1

Benedetti, Jean, ''Stanislavski: An Introduction'', Methuen Drama, 1989 edition, ISBN 978-0-413-50030-4

Chekhov, Anton, ''About Love and Other Stories'', translated by Rosamund Bartlett, Oxford University Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-19-280260-6

Chekhov, Anton, ''The Undiscovered Chekhov: Fifty New Stories'', translated by Peter Constantine, Duck Editions, 2001, ISBN 978-0-7156-3106-5

Chekhov, Anton, ''Easter Week'', translated by Michael Henry Heim, engravings by Barry Moser, Shackman Press, 2010

Chekhov, Anton, ''Forty Stories'', translated and with an introduction by Robert Payne, New York, Vintage, 1991 edition, ISBN 978-0-679-73375-1

Chekhov, Anton, ''Letters of Anton Chekhov to His Family and Friends with Biographical Sketch'', translated by Constance Garnett, Macmillan, 1920. Full text at Gutenberg. Retrieved 16 February 2007.

Chekhov, Anton, ''Note-Book of Anton Chekhov,'' translated by S. S. Koteliansky and Leonard Woolf, B.W. Huebsch, 1921. Full text at Gutenberg. Retrieved 16 February 2007.

Chekhov, Anton, ''The Other Chekhov'', edited by Okla Elliott and Kyle Minor, with story introductions by Pinckney Benedict, Fred Chappell, Christopher Coake, Paul Crenshaw, Dorothy Gambrell, Steven Gillis, Michelle Herman, Jeff Parker, Benjamin Percy, and David R. Slavitt. New American Press, 2008 edition, ISBN 978-0-9729679-8-3

Chekhov, Anton, ''Seven Short Novels'', translated by Barbara Makanowitzky, W.W.Norton & Company, 2003 edition, ISBN 978-0-393-00552-3

Finke, Michael C., ''Chekhov's 'Steppe': A Metapoetic Journey'', an essay in ''Anton Chekhov Rediscovered'', ed Savely Senderovich and Munir Sendich, Michigan Russian Language Journal, 1988, ISBN 9999838855

Finke, Michael C., ''Seeing Chekhov: Life and Art'', Cornell UP, 2005, ISBN 978-0-8014-4315-2

Gerhardie, William, ''Anton Chekhov'', Macdonald, (1923) 1974 edition, ISBN 978-0-356-04609-9

Gorky, Maksim, Alexander Kuprin, and I.A. Bunin, ''Reminiscences of Anton Chekhov'', translated by S. S. Koteliansky and Leonard Woolf, B.W.Huebsch, 1921. Read at eldritchpress. Retrieved 16 February 2007.

Gottlieb, Vera, and Paul Allain (eds), ''The Cambridge Companion to Chekhov'', Cambridge University Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0-521-58917-8

Jackson, Robert Louis, ''Dostoevsky in Chekhov's Garden of Eden—'Because of Little Apples','' in ''Dialogues with Dostoevsky'', Stanford University Press, 1993, ISBN 978-0-8047-2120-2

Klawans, Harold L., ''Chekhov's Lie'', 1997, ISBN 1-888799-12-9. About the challenges of combining writing with the medical life.

Malcolm, Janet, ''Reading Chekhov, a Critical Journey'', Granta Publications, 2004 edition, ISBN 978-1-86207-635-8

Miles, Patrick (ed), ''Chekhov on the British Stage'', Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 978-0-521-38467-4

Nabokov, Vladimir, ''Anton Chekhov'', in ''Lectures on Russian Literature'', Harvest/HBJ Books, [1981] 2002 edition, ISBN 978-0-15-602776-2.

Pitcher, Harvey, ''Chekhov's Leading Lady: Portrait of the Actress Olga Knipper'', J Murray, 1979, ISBN 978-0-7195-3681-6

Prose, Francine, ''Learning from Chekhov'', in ''Writers on Writing'', ed. Robert Pack and Jay Parini, UPNE, 1991, ISBN 978-0-87451-560-2

Rayfield, Donald, ''Anton Chekhov: A Life'', Henry Holt & Co, 1998, ISBN 978-0-8050-5747-8

Simmons, Ernest J., ''Chekhov: A Biography'', University of Chicago Press, (1962) 1970 edition, ISBN 978-0-226-75805-3

Stanislavski, Constantin, ''My Life in Art'', Methuen Drama, 1980 edition, ISBN 978-0-413-46200-8

Styan, John Louis, ''Modern Drama in Theory and Practice'', Cambridge University Press, 1981, ISBN 978-0-521-29628-1

Wood, James, ''What Chekhov Meant by Life'', in ''The Broken Estate: Essays in Literature and Belief'', Pimlico, 2000 edition, ISBN 978-0-7126-6557-5

Zeiger, Arthur, ''The Plays of Anton Chekov'', Claxton House, Inc., New York, NY, 1945.

Tufarulo,G,M.- La Luna è morta e lo specchio infranto. Miti letterari del Novecento, vol.1- G. Laterza, Bari, 2009- ISBN 978-88-8231-491-0.

External links

Biographical

Biography at ''books and writers'' (Petri Liukkonen)

Biography at ''The Literature Network''

"Chekhov's Legacy" by Cornel West at NPR, 2004

The International competition of philological, culture and film studies works dedicated to Anton Chekhov's life and creative work Misc

Campaign to save Chekhov's house in Yalta

Works

Works by and about Anton Chekhov at Internet Archive. Scanned books, color, some illustrated, original editions.

Recorded Stories of Anton Chekhov at Internet Archive. Translated by Constance Garnett, Marion Fell, and others. Presented in mp3 and ogg format.

. All Constance Garnett's translations of the short stories and letters are available, plus the edition of the ''Note-book'' translated by S. S. Koteliansky and Leonard Woolf – see the "References" section for print publication details of all of these. Site also has translations of all the plays.

201 Stories by Anton Chekhov, translated by Constance Garnett presented in chronological order of Russian publication with annotations.

Works of Anton Chekhov available to read online at ReadmeFree

Антон Павлович Чехов Texts of Chekhov's works in the original Russian. Retrieved 16 February 2007.

Category:1860 births Category:1904 deaths Category:19th-century theatre Category:Pushkin Prize winners Category:Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery Category:Deaths from tuberculosis Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from Russia Category:Infectious disease deaths in Germany Category:Medical writers Category:Moscow Art Theater Category:Moscow State University alumni Category:People from Taganrog Category:Russian dramatists and playwrights Category:Russian novelists Category:Russian Orthodox Christians Category:Russian physicians Category:Russian short story writers Category:Russian comedy and humour

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name	Dame Judi Dench
birth name	Judith Olivia Dench
birth date	December 09, 1934
birth place	York, England, United Kingdom
occupation	Actress, Author
years active	1957–present
spouse	Michael Williams (1971–2001; widowed)
children	Finty Williams
parents	Reginald Arthur DenchEleanora Olave Jones }}

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Labelstyle	background:#ddf;
Datastyle	background:#DCDCDC;
Header1	Film Awards
data2	{{Infobox | child yes | title Academy Awards | label1 1998 | data1 Best Supporting Actress | label2 | data2 }}

| data3 =

{{infobox | child	yes | title British Academy Film Awards | label1 1997, 2001 | data1 Best Actress | label2 1986, 1988, 1998 | data2 Best Supporting Actress | label3 1965 | data3 Best Leading Newcomer }}

| data4 =

{{infobox | child	yes | title Golden Globe Awards | label1 1997 | data1 Best Actress – Drama | label2 2000 | data2 Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film }}

| data5 =

{{infobox | child	yes | title Screen Actors Guild Awards | label1 2000 | data1 Best Supporting Actress | label2 1998 | data2 Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture }}

}} Dame Judith Olivia “Judi” Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA (born 9 December 1934) is an English film, stage and television actress.

Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in ''Hamlet'', Juliet in ''Romeo and Juliet'' and Lady Macbeth in ''Macbeth''. She branched into film work, and won a BAFTA Award as Most Promising Newcomer; however, most of her work during this period was in theatre. Not generally known as a singer, she drew strong reviews for her leading role in the musical ''Cabaret'' in 1968.

During the next two decades, she established herself as one of the most significant British theatre performers, working for the National Theatre Company and the Royal Shakespeare Company. In television, she achieved success during this period, in the series ''A Fine Romance'' from 1981 until 1984 and in 1992 began a continuing role in the television romantic comedy series ''As Time Goes By''.

Her film appearances were infrequent until she was cast as M in ''GoldenEye'' (1995), a role she has played in each James Bond film since. She received several notable film awards for her role as Queen Victoria in ''Mrs. Brown'' (1997), and has since been acclaimed for her work in such films as ''Shakespeare in Love'' (1998), ''Chocolat'' (2000), ''Iris'' (2001), ''Mrs Henderson Presents'' (2005) and ''Notes on a Scandal'' (2006), and the television production ''The Last of the Blonde Bombshells'' (2001).

Dench has received many award nominations for her acting in theatre, film and television; her awards include ten BAFTAs, (including the Bafta Fellowship in 2001) seven Laurence Olivier Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award. In June 2011, she received a fellowship from the British Film Institute (BFI).

She was married to actor Michael Williams from 1971 until his death in 2001. They are the parents of actress Finty Williams.

Personal life

Dench was born in Heworth, York, England, the daughter of Eleanora Olave (née Jones), a native of Dublin, and Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor who met Judi's mother while studying medicine at Trinity College, Dublin. Dench attended The Mount School, a Quaker Independent Secondary school in York, and became a Quaker. Her brothers, one of whom is actor Jeffery Dench, were born in Tyldesley, Lancashire. Notable relatives also include her niece, Emma Dench, a Roman historian and professor previously at Birkbeck, University of London, and currently at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1971, Dench married British actor Michael Williams and they had their only child, Tara Cressida Frances Williams, known professionally as Finty Williams, on 24 September 1972.

Dench and her husband starred together in several stage productions, and the Bob Larbey British television sitcom, ''A Fine Romance'' (1981–84). Michael Williams died from lung cancer in 2001, aged 65.

Macular Degeneration

In early 2012, Dench discussed her macular degeneration, with one eye "dry" and the other "wet", for which she has been treated with injections into the eye. She said that she was needing someone to read scripts to her.

Career

In Britain, Dench has developed a reputation as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, primarily through her work in theatre, which has been her forte throughout her career. She has more than once been named number one in polls for Britain's best actress.

Early years

Through her parents, Dench had regular contact with the theatre. Her father, a physician, was also the GP for the York Theatre, and her mother was its wardrobe mistress. Actors often stayed in the Dench household. During these years, Judi was involved on a non-professional basis in the first three productions of the modern revival of the York Mystery Plays in the 1950s. In 1957, in one of the last productions in which she appeared during this period, she played the role of the Virgin Mary, performed on a fixed stage in the Museum Gardens. Though she initially trained as a set designer, she became interested in drama school as her brother Jeff attended the Central School of Speech and Drama. She applied and was accepted, where she was a classmate of Vanessa Redgrave, graduating with a first class degree in drama and four acting prizes, one being the Gold Medal as Outstanding Student.

In September 1957, she made her first professional stage appearance with the Old Vic Company, at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool, as Ophelia in ''Hamlet'', then her London debut in the same production at the Old Vic. She remained a member of the company for four seasons, 1957–1961, her roles including Katherine in ''Henry V'' in 1958 (which was also her New York debut), and as Juliet in ''Romeo and Juliet'' in October 1960, directed and designed by Franco Zeffirelli. During this period, she toured the United States and Canada, and appeared in Yugoslavia and at the Edinburgh Festival.

She joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in December 1961 playing Anya in ''The Cherry Orchard'' at the Aldwych Theatre in London, and made her Stratford-upon-Avon debut in April 1962 as Isabella in ''Measure for Measure''. She subsequently spent seasons in repertory both with the Nottingham Playhouse from January 1963 (including a West African tour as Lady Macbeth for the British Council), and with the Oxford Playhouse Company from April 1964. That same year, she made her film debut in ''The Third Secret''.

Prominence

In 1968, she was offered the role of Sally Bowles in the musical ''Cabaret''. As Sheridan Morley later reported: "At first she thought they were joking. She had never done a musical and she has an unusual croaky voice which sounds as if she has a permanent cold. So frightened was she of singing in public that she auditioned from the wings, leaving the pianists alone on stage". But when it opened at the Palace Theatre in February 1968, Frank Marcus, reviewing for ''Plays and Players'', commented that: "She sings well. The title song in particular is projected with great feeling."

After a long run in ''Cabaret'', she rejoined the RSC making numerous appearances with the company in Stratford and London for nearly twenty years, winning several best actress awards. Among her roles with the RSC, she was the Duchess in John Webster's ''The Duchess of Malfi'' in 1971. In the Stratford 1976 season, and then at the Aldwych in 1977, she gave two comedy performances, first in Trevor Nunn's musical staging of ''The Comedy of Errors'' as Adriana, then partnered with Donald Sinden as Beatrice and Benedick in John Barton's "British Raj" revival of ''Much Ado About Nothing''. As Bernard Levin wrote in ''The Sunday Times'': "...demonstrating once more that she is a comic actress of consummate skill, perhaps the very best we have."

One of her most notable achievements with the RSC was her performance as Lady Macbeth in 1976. Nunn's acclaimed production of ''Macbeth'' was first staged with a minimalist design at The Other Place theatre in Stratford. Its small round stage focused attention on the psychological dynamics of the characters, and both Ian McKellen in the title role, and Dench, received exceptionally favourable notices. "If this is not great acting I don't know what is", wrote Michael Billington in ''The Guardian''. "It will astonish me if the performance is matched by any in this actress's generation", commented J C Trewin in ''The Lady''. The production transferred to London, opening at the Donmar Warehouse in September 1977, and was adapted for television, later released on VHS and DVD. Dench won the SWET Best Actress Award in 1977.

Dench was nominated for a BAFTA for her role as Hazel Wiles in the 1979 BBC drama ''On Giant's Shoulders''. In 1989, she was cast as Pru Forrest, the long-time silent wife of Tom Forrest, in the BBC soap opera The Archers on its 10,000th edition.

She had a romantic role in the BBC television film ''Langrishe, Go Down'' (1978), with Jeremy Irons and a screenplay by Harold Pinter from the Aidan Higgins novel, directed by David Jones, in which she played one of three spinster sisters living in a fading Irish mansion in the Waterford countryside.

Dench made her debut as a director in 1988 with the Renaissance Theatre Company's touring season, ''Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road'', co-produced with the Birmingham Rep, and ending with a three month repertory programme at the Phoenix Theatre in London. Dench's contribution was a staging of ''Much Ado About Nothing'', set in the Napoleonic era, which starred Kenneth Branagh and Samantha Bond as Benedick and Beatrice.

She has made numerous appearances in the West End including the role of Miss Trant in the 1974 musical version of ''The Good Companions'' at Her Majesty's Theatre. In 1981, Dench was due to play the title role of Grizabella in the original production of ''Cats'', but was forced to pull out due to a torn Achilles tendon, leaving Elaine Paige to play the role. She has acted with the National Theatre in London where, in September 1995, she played Desiree Armfeldt in a major revival of Stephen Sondheim's ''A Little Night Music'', for which she won an Olivier Award.

Popular success

In 1995, she took over the role of M (James Bond's boss) with the James Bond film series, starting with ''GoldenEye'' replacing Robert Brown. She has appeared in six James Bond films, including Die Another Day (2002),''Casino Royale'' (2006) and its direct sequel ''Quantum of Solace'' (2008), making her the longest-running current cast member of the series. She is currently filming her seventh Bond film, ''Skyfall'', to be released in 2012.

She has won multiple awards for performances on the London stage, including a record six Laurence Olivier Awards. She also won the Tony Award for her 1999 Broadway performance in the role of Esme Allen in David Hare's ''Amy's View''. She has taken on the role of Director for a number of stage productions. Dench won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as Elizabeth I in the film ''Shakespeare in Love''.

Judi Dench has frequently appeared with her close friend Geoffrey Palmer. They co-starred in the series ''As Time Goes By'', where she played Jean Pargetter, becoming Jean Hardcastle after she married Lionel Hardcastle. The program spanned nine seasons. They also worked together on the films ''Mrs. Brown'' and ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', both filmed in 1997. Dench has also lent her distinctive voice to many animated characters, narrations, and various other voice work. She plays the role of "Miss Lilly" in the children's animated series ''Angelina Ballerina'' (alongside her daughter, Finty Williams, as the voice of Angelina) and as Mrs. Calloway in the Disney animated film ''Home on the Range''. She has narrated various classical music recordings (notably Mendelssohn's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', and Britten's ''Canticles-The Heart of the Matter''), and has appeared in numerous BBC radio broadcasts as well as commercials. Her many television appearances include lead roles in the series ''A Fine Romance'' and ''As Time Goes By''. In the United States, ''As Time Goes By'' has been repeated on PBS and on BBC America.

Recent years

Dench returned to the West End stage in April 2006 in ''Hay Fever'' alongside Peter Bowles, Belinda Lang and Kim Medcalf. She finished off 2006 with the role of Mistress Quickly in the RSC's new musical ''The Merry Wives'', a version of ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''.

Dench's more recent film career has garnered six Academy Award nominations in nine years for ''Mrs. Brown'' in 1997; her Oscar-winning turn as Elizabeth I in ''Shakespeare in Love'' in 1998; for ''Chocolat'' in 2000; for the lead role of writer Iris Murdoch in ''Iris'' in 2001 (with Kate Winslet playing her as a younger woman); for ''Mrs Henderson Presents'' (a romanticised history of the Windmill Theatre) in 2005; and for 2006's ''Notes on a Scandal'', a film for which she received critical acclaim, including Golden Globe, Academy Award, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild nominations.

In 2007, the BBC issued ''The Judi Dench Collection'', DVDs of eight television dramas: ''Talking to a Stranger'' quartet (1966), ''Keep an Eye on Amélie'' (1973), ''The Cherry Orchard'' (1981), ''Going Gently'' (1981), ''Ghosts'' (with Kenneth Branagh, Natasha Richardson and Michael Gambon, 1987), ''Make and Break'' (with Robert Hardy, 1987), ''Can You Hear Me Thinking?'' (co-starring with her husband, Michael Williams, 1990) and ''Absolute Hell'' (1991).

Dench, as Miss Matty Jenkins, co-starred with Eileen Atkins, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton and Francesca Annis, in the BBC One five-part series ''Cranford''. The series began transmission in the UK in November 2007, and on the BBC's U.S. producing partner station WGBH (PBS Boston) in spring 2008.

Dench became the voice for the narration for the updated Walt Disney World Epcot attraction Spaceship Earth in February 2008.

In February 2008, she was named as the first official patron of the York Youth Mysteries 2008, a project to allow young people to explore the York Mystery Plays through dance, film-making and circus. This culminated on 21 June with a day of city centre performances in York.

She worked on the 22nd Bond adventure ''Quantum of Solace'' and reprised her role as M.

She is interested in horse racing and in partnership with her chauffeur Bryan Agar owns a four-year-old horse, "Smokey Oakey", who won the 2008 Brigadier Gerard Stakes.

She returned to the West End from 13 March – 23 May 2009, playing Madame de Merteuil in Yukio Mishima's ''Madame De Sade'', directed by Michael Grandage as part of the Donmar season at Wyndham's Theatre. A year later, Dench renewed her collaboration with Sir Peter Hall at the Rose Theatre in Kingston upon Thames in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' which opened in February 2010, when she played Titania as Elizabeth I of England in her later years: Queen of the Forest of Arden. On 31 July 2010, Dame Judi performed ''Send in the Clowns'' at a special celebratory Promenade Concert from The Royal Albert Hall as part of the Proms Season, in honour of composer Stephen Sondheim's 80th Birthday, the entire concert in honour of his music.

Public life

Dench was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1970 and promoted to Dame Commander of the order in 1988. She was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in 2005. In June 2011, she became a fellow of the British Film Institute (BFI).

Dench is a patron of The Leaveners, Friends School Saffron Walden and the Archway Theatre, Horley, UK. She became president of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London in 2006, taking over from Sir John Mills, and is also president of the Questors Theatre. In May 2006, she became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was also patron of Ovingdean Hall School, a special day and boarding school for the deaf and hard of hearing in Brighton, which closed in 2010, and Vice President of The Little Foundation.

Dench is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. In 1996, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (D.Univ) from Surrey University and in 2000–2001 she received an Honorary DLitt from Durham University. In July 2000, she was awarded a Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) by Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, where she actively supported their Drama School at the Gateway Theatre on Elm Row. On 24 June 2008, she was honoured by the University of St Andrews, receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) at the university's graduation ceremony.

Dench has worked with the non-governmental indigenous organisation, Survival International, campaigning in the defence of the tribal people, the Bushmen of Botswana and the Arhuaco of Colombia. She made a small supporting video saying the Bushmen are victims of tyranny, greed and racism.

On 22 July 2010, Dench was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by Nottingham Trent University.

Dr Hadwen Trust announced on 15 January 2011 that Dench had become a patron of the trust joining existing high profile personalities, Joanna Lumley and David Shepherd.

On 19 March 2012 it was announced that Dench was to become honorary patron of the charity "Everton in the Community", the official charity of Everton F.C.. It was also revealed that Dench is a supporter of Everton.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	He Who Rides a Tiger''	Joanne
1968	''''	Titania
1973		Katherine
1974		Laura Davidson
1978		Imogen Langrishe	BBC television film
1979	''On Giant's Shoulders''	Hazel Wiles	Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress
1985	''''	Narrator
1985		Marcia Pilborough	Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1985	''''	Eleanor Lavish	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1987		Nora Doel	Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1988	''''	Mrs. Beaver	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1989		Mistress Quickly
1989		Bridget Mayor	Channel 4 television serialNominated – British Academy Television Award for Best Actress
1993–1997		Announcer
1995	''Jack and Sarah''	Margaret
1995	''GoldenEye''
1996		Hecuba
1997	''Mrs. Brown''	Queen Victoria	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleBAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actress in a FilmGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressLondon Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the YearOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressSatellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated – Academy Award for Best ActressNominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1997	''Tomorrow Never Dies''	M
1998	''Shakespeare in Love''
1999	''Tea with Mussolini''	Arabella
1999	''''	M
2000	''Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport''	Narrator	Documentary
2000	''''	Elizabeth	British Academy Television Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television FilmNominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a MovieNominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2000		Armande Voizin	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting RoleNominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting RoleNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureNominated – Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
2001		Iris Murdoch	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleLondon Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the YearNominated – Academy Award for Best ActressNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressNominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading RoleNominated – Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
2001	''''	Agnis Hamm	Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting RoleNominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
2002		Lady Bracknell
2002	''Die Another Day''	M
2002–05	''Angelina Ballerina''	Miss Lilly	Voice role
2003	''Bugs!''	Narrator	Short subject
2004		Mrs. Caloway	Voice role
2004	''''	Aereon
2004	''Ladies in Lavender''	Ursula Widdington
2005		Lady Catherine de Bourgh
2005	''Mrs Henderson Presents''	Laura Henderson
2006	''''	Narrator
2006		M	Nominated – National Movie Award for Best Actress
2006		Barbara Covett	British Independent Film Awards 2007
2007	''[[Go Inside to Greet the Light''	Narrator
2007, 2009		Miss Matty	Nominated – British Academy Television Award for Best ActressNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television FilmNominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a MovieSatellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
2008		M
2009		Mona Carvell
2009		Liliane La Fleur	Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion PictureNominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best CastNominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureNominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
2011		Mrs. Fairfax
2011	''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides''	Noblewoman	Cameo
2011	''My Week with Marilyn''		Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
2011	''J. Edgar''	Anna Marie
2012	''The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel''	Evelyn
2012		M	Filming
2012		Cameo role

She has also lent her likeness and voice for the role of M in James Bond video games:

''Everything or Nothing''

''GoldenEye: Rogue Agent''

''Quantum of Solace''

''GoldenEye 007''

''Blood Stone''

Theatre work

Source: "Judi Dench: With a Crack in her Voice" by John Miller

As an actress

St Mary's Abbey

1957

:''York Mystery Plays'' – Virgin Mary Old Vic Company

1957

:''Hamlet'' – Ophelia :''Measure for Measure'' – Juliet :''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' – First Fairy

1958

:''Twelfth Night'' – Maria (also USA tour) :''Henry V'' – Katharine (also USA tour)

1959

:''The Double Dealer'' – Cynthia :''As You Like It'' – Phebe :''The Importance of Being Earnest'' – Cecily :''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' – Anne Page

1960

:''Richard II'' – Queen :''Romeo and Juliet'' – Juliet (also Venice Festival) :''She Stoops to Conquer'' – Kate Hardcastle :''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' – Hermia ::Also walk-on roles in ''King Lear'' and ''Henry VI (Parts 1 and 2)'' Royal Shakespeare Company RSC

1961

:''The Cherry Orchard'' – Anya, Aldwych Theatre

1962

:''Measure for Measure'' – Isabella, Stratford :''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' – Titania, Stratford :''A Penny for a Song'' – Dorcas Bellboys, Aldwych Nottingham Playhouse Company

1963

:''Macbeth'' – Lady Macbeth (also West Africa tour) :''Twelfth Night'' – Viola (also West Africa tour) :''A Shot in the Dark'' – Josefa Lautenay, Lyric Theatre The Oxford Playhouse Company

1964

:''Three Sisters'' – Irina :''The Twelfth Hour'' – Anna

1965

:''The Alchemist'' – Dol Common :''Romeo and Jeannette'' – Jeannette :''The Firescreen'' – Jacqueline Nottingham Playhouse Company

1965

:''Measure for Measure'' – Isabella :''Private Lives'' – Amanda

1966

:''The Country Wife'' – Margery Pinchwife :''The Astrakhan Coat'' – Barbara :''St Joan'' – Joan Oxford Playhouse Company

1966

:''The Promise'' – Lika :''The Rules of the Game'' – Silia

1967

:''The Promise'' – Lika, Fortune Theatre Palace Theatre

1968

:''Cabaret'' – Sally Bowles RSC

1969

:''The Winter's Tale'' – Hermione and Perdita, Stratford :''Women Beware Women'' – Bianca, Stratford :''Twelfth Night'' – Viola, Stratford

1970

:''London Assurance'' – Grace Harkaway, Aldwych :''Major Barbara'' – Barbara Undershaft, Aldwych

1971

:''The Merchant of Venice'' – Portia, Stratford :''The Duchess of Malfi'' – Duchess, Stratford :''Toad of Toad Hall'' – Fielfmouse, Stoat and Mother Rabbit, Stratford No Company

1973

:''Context to Whisper'' – Aurelia, Royal, York :''Fanfare'' – Royal Opera House (with Laurence Olivier) :''The Wolf'' – Vilma, Oxford Playhouse (also at Apollo, Queen's & New London) West End

1974

:''The Good Companions'' – Miss Trant, Her Majesty's

1975

:''The Gay Lord Quex'' – Sophy Fullgarney, Albery RSC

1975

:''Too True to Be Good'' – Sweetie Simpkins, Aldwych

1976

:''Much Ado About Nothing'' – Beatrice, Stratford :''Macbeth'' – Lady Macbeth, Stratford (also Donmar Warehouse and Young Vic) :''The Comedy of Errors'' – Adriana, Stratford :''King Lear'' – Regan, Stratford

1977

:''Pillars of the Community'' – Lona Hessel, Aldwych

1978

:''The Way of the World'' – Millamant, Aldwych

1979

:''Cymbeline'' – Imogen, Stratford

1980

:''Juno and the Paycock'' – Juno Boyle, Aldwych No Company

1981

:''A Village Wooing'' – Young Woman, New End National Theatre

1982

:''The Importance of Being Earnest'' – Lady Bracknell, Lyttelton

:''A Kind of Alaska'' – Deborah, Cottesloe

1983

:''Pack of Lies'' – Barbara Jackson, Lyric RSC

1984

:''Mother Courage'' – Mother Courage, Barbican :''Waste'' Amy O'Connell, Barbican and Lyric West End

1986

:''Mr and Mrs Nobody'' – Carrie Pooter, Garrick National Theatre

1987

:''Antony and Cleopatra'' – Cleopatra, Olivier :''Entertaining Strangers'' – Sarah Eldridge, Cottesloe

1989

:''Hamlet'' – Gertrude, Olivier RSC :''The Cherry Orchard'' – Ranevskaya, Aldwych

1991

:''The Plough and the Stars'' – Bessie Burgess, Young Vic National Theatre

1991

:''The Sea'' – Mrs Rafi, Lyttelton

1992

:''Coriolanus'' – Volumnia, Chichester Royal Shakespeare Company

1992

:''The Gift of the Gorgon'' – Helen Damson, Barbican and Wyndham's National Theatre

1994

:''The Seagull'' – Arkadina, Olivier

1995

:''Absolute Hell'' – Christine Foskett, Lyttelton

:''A Little Night Music'' – Desirée Armfeldt, Olivier

1997

:''Amy's View'' – Esmé, Lyttelton

1998

:''Amy's View'' – Esmé, Aldwych West End and Broadway

1998

:''Filumena'' – Filumena, Piccadilly

1999

:''Amy's View'' – Esmé, Barrymore, New York

2001

:''The Royal Family'' – Fanny Cavendish, Theatre Royal Haymarket

2002

:''The Breath of Life'' – Frances, Theatre Royal Haymarket RSC

2003

:''All's Well That Ends Well'' – The Countess, Stratford and Gielgud West End

2006

:''Hay Fever'' – Judith Bliss, Theatre Royal Haymarket RSC

2006

:''The Merry Wives – The Musical'' – Mistress Quickly, Stratford Donmar Warehouse

2009

:''Madame de Sade'' – Madame de Montreuil, Donmar at Wyndham's Rose Theatre, Kingston

2010 ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' – Titania (as Elizabeth I, Queen of the Forest of Arden)

Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park

2010 ''Into The Woods – Stephen Sondheim'' – Voice of The Giant

As a director

1988 – ''Much Ado About Nothing'', Renaissance Theatre Company

1989 – ''Look Back in Anger'' – Renaissance Theatre Company

1989 – ''Macbeth'' – Central School of Speech and Drama

1991 – ''The Boy from Syracuse'', Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

1993 – ''Romeo and Juliet'', Regent's Park Open Air Theatre

Discography

''Cabaret'' (1968), Original London cast album CBS (1973)

''The Good Companions'' (1974), Original London cast recording (1974)

''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1995); from ''Felix Mendelssohn'' as Recitant. Conducted by Seiji Ozawa

''A Little Night Music'' (1995) by Stephen Sondheim, Royal National Theatre Cast

''Nine'' (2009) Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Awards and nominations

Theatre

; Awards

1977: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Revival – ''Macbeth''

1980: Evening Standard Award for Best Actress – ''Juno and the Paycock''

1980: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Revival – ''Juno and the Paycock''

1982: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress – ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' and ''A Kind of Alaska''

1982: Evening Standard Award for Best Actress – ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' and ''A Kind of Alaska''

1984: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play – ''Pack of Lies''

1987: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress – ''Antony and Cleopatra''

1987: Evening Standard Award for Best Actress – ''Antony and Cleopatra''

1987: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress – ''Antony and Cleopatra''

1996: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress – ''Absolute Hell''

1996: Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Entertainment – ''A Little Night Music''

1997: Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress – ''Amy's View''

1999: Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play – ''Amy's View''

2004: Laurence Olivier Award: Special Award for Outstanding Contributions to British Theatre''

Television

; Awards 1967: BAFTA Television Award for Best Actress – ''Talking to a Stranger''

1982: British Television Academy Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance – ''A Fine Romance'', Going Gently and The Cherry Orchard

1982: Broadcast Press Guild Award for Best Actress – ''A Fine Romance''

1985: British Television Academy Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance – ''A Fine Romance''

2001: British Academy Television Award for Best Actress – ''The Last of the Blonde Bombshells''

2001: Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film – ''The Last of the Blonde Bombshells''

; Nominations

1979 British Academy Television Award for Best Actress - ''On Giant's Shoulders''

1983: British Television Academy Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance – ''A Fine Romance''

1984: British Academy Television Award for Best Actress – Saigon: Year of the Cat

1984: British Television Academy Award for Best Light Entertainment Performance – ''A Fine Romance''

1990: British Academy Television Award for Best Actress – ''Behaving Badly''

1998: British Television Academy Award for Best Comedy Performance – ''As Time Goes By''

2001: American Comedy Award for Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special – ''The Last of the Blonde Bombshells

2001: Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie – ''The Last of the Blonde Bombshells

2001: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie – ''The Last of the Blonde Bombshells''

2008: British Academy Television Award for Best Actress – ''Cranford''

2008: Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie – ''Cranford''

2008: Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film – ''Cranford''

2008: Satellite Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film – ''Cranford''

2010: Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie – ''Return to Cranford''

References

Further reading

Dench, Judi. ''And Furthermore''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2010. ISBN 9780297859673.

Lavery, Alison (ed.). ''The Judi Dench Handbook''. Emereo, 2010. ISBN 9781742446592.

Miller, John (ed.). ''Darling Judi: A Celebration of Judi Dench''. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004. ISBN 0-297-84791-0.

Trowbridge, Simon. ''The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company''. Oxford: Editions Albert Creed, 2010. ISBN 9780955983023.

External links

Judi Dench Biography

Judi Dench at the Royal Shakespeare Company performance database

As Time Goes By Central website

Judi Dench on Acting Regal

University of Bristol Theatre Collection, University of Bristol

The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the RSC: Online database

Dame Judi Dench at Emmys.com

Category:1934 births Category:Living people Category:Actresses awarded British damehoods Category:Alumni of the Central School of Speech and Drama Category:European Film Awards winners (people) Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actress Golden Globe winners Category:Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners Category:British racehorse owners and breeders Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Category:English film actors Category:English musical theatre actors Category:Former Methodists Category:English Quakers Category:English writers Category:English radio actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:Evening Standard Award for Best Actress Category:Honorary Fellows of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge Category:Interactive Achievement Award winners Category:Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour Category:Laurence Olivier Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from York Category:British people of Irish descent Category:Royal National Theatre Company members Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Shakespearean actors Category:Tony Award winners Category:Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners Category:People educated at The Mount School, York

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name	Kenneth Branagh
birth name	Kenneth Charles Branagh
birth date	December 10, 1960
birth place	Belfast, Northern Ireland
years active	1981–present
occupation	Actor, film director
spouse	Emma Thompson (1989–95; divorced)Lindsay Brunnock (2003–present) }}

Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including ''Henry V'' (1989) (for which was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Director), ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993), ''Hamlet'' (1996) (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay), ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (2000), and ''As You Like It'' (2006).

He has also starred in numerous other films and television series including ''Fortunes of War'' (1987), ''Wild Wild West'' (1999), ''The Road to El Dorado'' (2000), ''Conspiracy'' (TV) (2001), ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' (2002), ''Warm Springs'' (TV) (2005), ''Valkyrie'' (2008), ''Wallander'' (TV series) (2008–present), and ''My Week with Marilyn'' (2011) as Laurence Olivier (Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor); and directed such notable films as ''Dead Again'' (1991) (also starring), ''Swan Song'' (1992) (Academy Award nominated for Best Live Action Short Film), ''Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'' (1994) (also starring), ''The Magic Flute'' (2006), ''Sleuth'' (2007), and the blockbuster action film ''Thor'' (2011).

Branagh has been nominated for five Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards, and has won an Emmy Award and three BAFTA Awards.

Early life

Branagh, the middle of three children, was born and brought up in Belfast, the son of working-class Protestant parents Frances (née Harper) and William Branagh, a plumber and joiner who ran a company that specialised in fitting partitions and suspended ceilings. At the age of nine, he relocated with his family to Reading, Berkshire to escape the Troubles. He was educated at Grove Primary School, Whiteknights Primary School, then Meadway School, Tilehurst, where he appeared in school productions such as ''Toad of Toad Hall''" and ''Oh, What a Lovely War!''. At school, he acquired an English accent to avoid bullying. On his identity today he has said, "I feel Irish. I don't think you can take Belfast out of the boy," and he attributes his "love of words" to his Irish heritage. He is known to have attended the (Amateur) Reading Cine & Video Society (now called Reading Film & Video Makers) as a member.

Branagh went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career

Stage work

Branagh achieved some early measure of success in his native Northern Ireland for his role as the title character in the BBC's ''Play for Today'' trilogy known as the ''Billy Plays'' (1982–84), written by Graham Reid and set in Belfast.

He received acclaim in the UK for his stage performances, first winning the 1982 SWET Award for Best Newcomer, for his role as Judd in Julian Mitchell's ''Another Country'', immediately after leaving RADA. Branagh was part of the 'new wave’ of actors to emerge from the Academy. Others included Jonathan Pryce, Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman, Anton Lesser, Bruce Payne and Fiona Shaw. In 1984 he appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Henry V, directed by Adrian Noble. The production played to full houses, especially at the Barbican in London. It was this production that he adapted for the film version of the play in 1989. He and David Parfitt founded the Renaissance Theatre Company in 1987, following success with several productions on the London 'Fringe', including Branagh's full-scale production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' at the Lyric Studio, co-starring with Samantha Bond. The first major Renaissance production was Branagh's Christmas 1987 staging of ''Twelfth Night'' at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, starring Richard Briers as Malvolio and Frances Barber as Viola, and with an original score by actor, musician and composer Patrick Doyle, who two years later was to compose the music for Branagh's film adaptation of ''Henry V''. This ''Twelfth Night'' was later adapted for television.

Branagh became a major presence in the media and on the British stage when Renaissance collaborated with Birmingham Rep for a 1988 touring season of three Shakespeare plays under the umbrella title of ''Renaissance Shakespeare on the Road'', which also played a repertory season at the Phoenix Theatre in London. It featured directorial debuts for Judi Dench with ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (starring Branagh and Emma Thompson as Benedick and Beatrice), Geraldine McEwan with ''As You Like It'', and Derek Jacobi directing Branagh in the title role in ''Hamlet'', with Sophie Thompson as Ophelia. Critic Milton Shulman of the London ''Evening Standard'' wrote: "On the positive side Branagh has the vitality of Olivier, the passion of Gielgud, the assurance of Guinness, to mention but three famous actors who have essayed the role. On the negative side, he has not got the magnetism of Olivier, nor the mellifluous voice quality of Gielgud nor the intelligence of Guinness."

A year later in 1989 Branagh co-starred with Emma Thompson in the Renaissance revival of ''Look Back in Anger''. Judi Dench directed both the theatre and television productions, presented first in Belfast then at the London Coliseum and Lyric Theatre.

In 2002, Branagh starred at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield as Richard III. In 2003 he starred in the Royal National Theatre's production of David Mamet's ''Edmond''. Branagh directed ''The Play What I Wrote'' in England in 2001 and directed a Broadway production in 2003. From September to November 2008, Branagh appeared at Wyndham's Theatre as the title character in the Donmar West End revival of Anton Chekhov's ''Ivanov'' in a new version by Tom Stoppard. His performance was lauded as the "performance of the year" by several critics. It won him the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Male Performance but did not get him a Laurence Olivier Award nomination, to the surprise of critics.

Film work

Branagh is known for his film adaptations of William Shakespeare, beginning with ''Henry V'' (1989), followed by ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993), ''Hamlet'' (1996), ''Love's Labour's Lost'' (2000) and ''As You Like It'' (2006). ''As You Like It'' premiered in theatres in Europe, but was sent directly to television in the U.S., where it aired on HBO in August 2007. Branagh was also in Oliver Parker's ''Othello'' playing Iago.

Notable non-Shakespeare films in which Branagh has appeared include ''Dead Again'' (1991) and ''Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'' (1994), both of which he also directed, ''Wild Wild West'' (1999), ''Rabbit-Proof Fence'' (2002) and ''Valkyrie'' (2008). He starred as Gilderoy Lockhart in ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' (2002). He also played the Minister, Dormandy, (a parody of PMG Tony Benn) in the film ''The Boat That Rocked'' (2009). From 1989 to 1996 Branagh mostly directed his own films, but the commercial and critical failure of ''Love's Labour's Lost'' ended his directorial career for a time. In 2006, the same year that Branagh's film version of ''As You Like It'' was released, he also directed a film version of Mozart's opera ''The Magic Flute''. Branagh has also directed the thriller ''Sleuth'' (2007), a remake of the 1972 film. At a film promotion for ''Valkyrie'' in 2008, Branagh confirmed that he would be directing ''Thor'', a film based on the Marvel superhero. ''Thor'', Branagh's return to big-budget directing, released on 6 May 2011. In 2011, Branagh portrayed Sir Laurence Olivier in ''My Week with Marilyn''.

Television

Branagh has also been involved in several made-for-TV films. Among his most acclaimed portrayals is that of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the film ''Warm Springs'' (2005), for which he received an Emmy Award nomination. Though the film received 16 Emmy nominations, winning five (including Best Made-For-Television Film), Branagh did not win the award for his portrayal. He did, though, receive an Emmy for his portrayal of SS leader Reinhard Heydrich in the TV film ''Conspiracy'' (2001), a depiction of the Wannsee Conference, where Nazi officials decided on the Final Solution. In 2002 Branagh starred in the two-part television movie ''Shackleton'', a dramatization of the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition's battle for survival, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA award and an Emmy. Branagh also narrated the BBC documentaries ''Walking With Dinosaurs'', ''World War 1 in Colour'', ''Walking With Beasts'' and ''Walking With Monsters'', and the BBC miniseries ''Great Composers''.

Branagh is the star of the ''Wallander'' television series, adaptations of Henning Mankell's best-selling ''Wallander'' crime novels. Branagh plays the eponymous Inspector Kurt Wallander and also serves as the executive producer of the series. The first three films were broadcast on BBC One in November and December 2008. Branagh won the award for best actor at the 35th Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Awards (2009). It was his first major television award win in the UK. He received his first BAFTA TV on 26 April 2009 for the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series. For his performance in the episode ''One Step Behind'', he was nominated in the Outstanding Actor, Miniseries or Movie category of the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards. The role also gained him a nomination for Best Actor at the 2009 Crime Thriller Awards. The second season of three episodes were filmed in 2009 and aired in January 2010 on the BBC and October/November 2010 on PBS in the US. Plans have been announced for a third season of six episodes—the last three Mankell novels, as well as three original Wallander stories.

Radio

Branagh has also played the title role in BBC radio broadcasts of ''Hamlet'' and ''Cyrano de Bergerac'',and the role of Edmund in King Lear.

Other work

Branagh has narrated several audio books, such as ''The Magician's Nephew'' by C. S. Lewis.

Personal life

Branagh was married from 20 August 1989 until 1995 to actress Emma Thompson, with whom he starred in ''Fortunes of War'' among other projects. After their divorce, he was in a well-publicised relationship for several years with actress Helena Bonham Carter, whom he directed and starred with in ''Mary Shelley's Frankenstein''. In 2003, he married film art director Lindsay Brunnock, to whom he was introduced by Bonham Carter in 1997.

He is a lifelong supporter of Belfast football team Linfield, as well as Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers.

He speaks Italian.

Honours

Branagh has been nominated for five Academy Awards, the first man to be nominated for five different categories. His first two nominations were for ''Henry V'' (one each for directing and acting). He also received similar BAFTA Award nominations for his film work, winning one for his direction. His first BAFTA TV award came in April 2009, for Best Drama Series (Wallander). Branagh's two other Academy Award nominations were for the 1992 film short subject ''Swan Song'' and for his work on the screenplay of ''Hamlet'' in 1996. His most recent is for his portrayal of Lord Laurence Olivier in ''My Week With Marilyn''. Branagh has co-starred several times with actress Emma Thompson, to whom he was married from 1989 to 1995. They appeared together in ''Look Back in Anger'', ''Henry V'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Dead Again'', and ''Peter's Friends''. More recently, they both appeared in ''The Boat That Rocked'', though with no shared scenes.

He is Honorary President of NICVA (the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action). He received an honorary Doctorate in Literature from Queen's University of Belfast in 1990. He is also a patron for the charity Over The Wall.

In 1994, Branagh declined an appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Branagh was the youngest actor to receive the Golden Quill (also known as the Gielgud Award) in 2000.

Alongside Roberto Benigni, he is one of only two non-American actors to be nominated for Oscars for acting, writing, and directing, and one of nine actors to have achieved this honour. The other seven are Orson Welles, Woody Allen, Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, George Clooney, John Huston and John Cassavetes.

On 10 July 2009, Branagh was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the RomaFictionFest.

Filmography

Actor

1982	''The Billy Plays'' trilogy in the BBC's ''Play for Today''	Billy Martin	Television series
1983		Charles Tansley	Television series
1985	''Coming Through''	D.H. Lawrence	Television
1987		Guy Pringle
1987	''''	James Moon
1987		Rick
1988		Various roles	Television series: 6 episodes
1988	''Strange Interlude''	Gordan Evans	Television
1989		Jimmy Porter
1989
1991	''Dead Again''
1992	''Peter's Friends''	Andrew Benson
1993		Benedick
1993		Herr Knopp, Gestapo	Uncredited
1994		Victor Frankenstein	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor
1995		Iago	Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
1996			San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best ActorNominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
1998	''''	Rick Magruder
1998	''''	Richard
1998		Lee Simon
1998		Father Michael McKinnon
1998	''''	Col. Evans	Short film
1999	''''	Periwig-maker	Short film; voice only
1999	''Wild Wild West''	Dr. Arliss Loveless	Nominated — Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor
1999	''Alien Love Triangle''	Steve Chesterman	Short film
2000		Berowne
2000	''''	Miguel	Voice only
2000	''How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog''	Peter McGowan
2001		Reinhard Heydrich
2001	''Schneider's 2nd Stage''	Joseph Barnett	Short film
2002		A. O. Neville
2002		Ernest Henry Shackleton
2002		Professor Gilderoy Lockhart
2004		Uncle Albert
2005		Franklin D. Roosevelt
2007		Other Man on TV	Uncredited
2008		Henning von Tresckow
2008	''10 Days to War''		Television series: 1 episode
2008–present		Kurt Wallander
2009	''''	Minister Dormandy
2011	''My Week with Marilyn''	Laurence Olivier	London Film Critics Circle Award for Supporting Actor of the YearCapri Award for Best Ensemble CastNominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleNominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated — Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion PictureNominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion PictureNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting RoleNominated — Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting ActorNominated — Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor

Director

! Year	! Title	Notes
1989
1991	''Dead Again''	Nominated — Golden Bear, 42nd Berlin International Film Festival
1992
1992	''Peter's Friends''	Also producer
1993
1994		Also co-producerNominated — Saturn Award for Best Horror or Thriller Film
1995	''''
1996
2000		Also writer and producer
2003		Short film; also writer
2006	''''	Also writer
2006		Also writer and executive producer
2007
2011		Empire Award for Best Sci-Fi/FantasyPending — Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film

Narrator

''Anne Frank Remembered'' (Documentary) (1995)

''Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood'' (Six-part TV special) (1996)

''Great Composers (TV mini-series)'' (1997)

''Cold War'' (CNN TV series) (1998)

''The Making of Walking with Dinosaurs'' (UK version) (TV series) (1999)

''Walking with Dinosaurs'' (UK version) (TV series) (1999)

''The Science of Walking with Beasts'' (Australia) (Two-part TV special) (2001)

''The Ballad of Big Al'' (UK version) (TV special) (2001)

''Walking with Beasts'' (UK version) (TV series) (2001)

''The Tramp and the Dictator'' (Documentary) (2002)

''Walking with Monsters: Life Before Dinosaurs'' (TV series) (2005)

''Goebbels-Experiment, Das'' (Documentary) (2005)

''IMAX: Galapagos'' (Documentary)

''World War 1 in Colour'' (Documentary) (2005)

Awards and nominations

! Award	! Year	! Project	! Category	! Outcome
	rowspan=2	rowspan=2
	''My Week With Marilyn''
rowspan=8	1987
	rowspan=2
2008	rowspan=2
2009
2011	''My Week With Marilyn''
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards		''My Week With Marilyn''
Cannes Film Festival			Palme d'Or
rowspan=2	1989
1996
	2001
2002
2005
2009
		rowspan=3
Young European Film of the Year
	''My Week with Marilyn''
Independent Spirit Awards	1993
	1993		British Producer of the Year
		British Supporting Actor of the Year
	''My Week with Marilyn''	Supporting Actor of the Year
	''My Week with Marilyn''
Saturn Awards	1994		Saturn Award for Best Actor
	''My Week with Marilyn''

Discography and audiobooks

Shakespeare's ''Richard III'' (complete) for Naxos Audiobooks

''In the Ravine & Other Short Stories'' by Anton Chekhov (unabridged) for Naxos Audiobooks

Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music for ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (speaker) live recording for Sony Classical, conducted by Claudio Abbado

''The Diary of Samuel Pepys 1660–1669'' (abridged) for Hodder Headline Audio Classics

''The Magician's Nephew'' by C.S Lewis for Harper Books

Shakespeare's "Sonnet 30" for the 2002 compilation album, ''When Love Speaks'' (EMI Classics)

Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' [Abridged]

Joseph Conrad's ''The Heart of Darkness'' for Audible.com.

Further reading

Kenneth Branagh (1990 [1989]) ''Beginning'', London: Chatto and Windus, ISBN 0-7011-3388-0; New York: W W Norton & Co, ISBN 0-393-02862-3

Ian Shuttleworth (1994) ''Ken & Em'', London: Headline. ISBN 0-7472-4718-8

Mark White (2005) ''Kenneth Branagh'', London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-22068-1

Theatre Record and its annual Indexes

See also

Breathnach

References

External links

Biography on Tiscali film section

Kenneth Branagh interview from Premiere (1996)

Branagh Collection at Queen's University, Belfast

Branagh's Wallander - Website relating to the BBC's English-language Wallander starring Kenneth Branagh

Category:1960 births Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Category:European Film Award for Best Actor winners Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English-language film directors Category:Film actors from Northern Ireland Category:Living people Category:Northern Ireland stage actors Category:People from Belfast Category:People from Reading, Berkshire Category:People of the Year Awards winners Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members Category:Screenwriters from Northern Ireland Category:Shakespearean actors Category:Television actors from Northern Ireland Category:Venice Best Director Silver Lion winners

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