Kenneth Branagh, the multi-talented actor and filmmaker is basking in the warmth of the reception for his semi-autobiographical film Belfast which dominated the awards scene last year, earning eight Oscar nominations amongst others. From unlikely beginnings he has had a richly diverse career, being hailed as the “new Laurence Olivier”, ranging from Shakespeare, behind and in front of camera, to Agatha Christie, with a few failures along the way – “Henry V”, “Dead Again”, “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein”, “Hamlet”, “Love’s Labour’s Lost”, “Warm Springs”, “Wallander”, “Thor”, “Cinderella” , “Murder on the Orient Express”.
His obsessively workaholic tendencies did not improve the chances of his first marriage to Emma Thompson but he seems settled now with a film art director.
He was born 10 December 1960 4.50pm (biography) in Belfast, Northern Ireland, into a working class Protestant family, which moved to England when he was 10 to avoid the Troubles. He acquired a received pronunciation non-accent to avoid being bullied at school and started acting young.
The film Belfast was inspired by his early childhood during the Troubles which is reflected in his chart with an unsettled Uranus on his IC just into his 4th house of home and childhood roots with a high-tension, scary Pluto Moon North Node also in his 4th. He has a Sagittarius Sun in the workaholic 6th house which is in an innovative trine to Uranus. His creative and filmic Neptune sits in his performing 5th house on the focal point of a mini Grand Trine of Pluto in a confident trine to a 7th house Jupiter in Capricorn – he’s practical as well as imaginative. His Jupiter is conjunct Saturn in Capricorn in is 7th in a hard-edged opposition Mars in Cancer which will make him a hard taskmaster of himself as well as others.
He’s also got an intense Venus in Aquarius in the 8th which isn’t heavily aspected, which will accentuate his obsessive, single-minded streak. It’s his only Air planet which is surprising in a way for someone who has worked in a fairly intellectual arena.
His get-it-together 5th harmonic is strong as is his creative 7H. His enduring and influential 11th and 22nd harmonic are marked as is his leaving-a-legacy 17H.
He is a formidable talent who has cut swathes through a chaotic business and coped with the lows as well as the highs.
He picked up the highly successful tr Jupiter through his 10th from April 2021 which showered him with awards and it continues on till May 2023. Tr Saturn is also hovering above his Midheaven exactly now starting a decade of a peak as it moves through his upper quadrant. He’ll be working extra hard, consolidating his reputation and not disappearing into retirement any time soon.
Lovely to be reminded of the gift true performers give us. These long steady careers are a marvel ( in chaotic waters no less, as Marjorie points out ). Phillip Seymour Hoffman flashed to mind, with all that quality work piling up.
Taking a moment to bask in the warmth of Branagh during this tragic winter of discontent.
I hadn’t seen much of him since his earlier days – which mostly left me with an sense of campiness in his work – so I was surprised and impressed by his maturity in Wallander. Rewards of Saturn (I have similar Jup-Sat conjunction, lots of perseverance might bring luck, but never count on the latter)