Kenneth Branagh: who is the actor who plays Boris Johnson in This Sceptred Isle - Sky’s new drama about Covid?

The first photos of Kenneth Branagh playing Boris Johnson in upcoming Sky drama This Sceptred Isle, have been released.

The series, directed by Michael Winterbottom, is based on the handling of the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, through Boris Johnson’s eyes.

The drama will begin with Johnson’s election win in July 2019 and is based on testimony from Downing Street, the Department of Health, and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) sources.

So, who is Branagh and what else has he starred in? This is everything you need to know.

Who is Kenneth Branagh?

Kenneth Charles Branagh is a Northern Irish actor, raised as the middle child of three siblings, in Belfast.

Aged nine, Branagh moved to Berkshire and went on to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

He achieved his first taste of success when he was nominated for a SWET (now known as Laurence Olivier) award in 1982, at the age of 22 for Best Newcomer for his role as Judd in Julian Mitchell's Another Country.

The actor’s first decade of performances were generally in plays - including Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing with Judi Dench.

In 1989 he married British actress Emma Thompson and the pair went on to star together in Fortunes of War, Look Back in Anger and Henry V, to name a few.

In 1994, while co-directing and acting alongside Helena Bonham Carter in the film Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994), he pursued an affair with Bonham Carter.

Thompson divorced him in 1995, and he and Bonham Carter remained in a relationship until 1999.

In the early 2000s he turned his hand to directing and playwriting. Branagh directed The Play What I Wrote in 2001.

He also co-directed Macbeth (2013) at Manchester International Festival with Rob Ashford, while also starring in the lead role.

Branagh’s apparent love for Shakespeare’s work would transcend into his on-screen performances also.

What films has he starred in?

Branagh has long been tied to his affiliation with Shakespeare.

He has featured in adaptations of Henry V (1989), followed by Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Othello (1995), Hamlet (1996), Love's Labour's Lost (2000) and As You Like It (2006).

More recently, Branagh starred in a film adaptation of Agatha Christie's detective novel Murder on the Orient Express (2017) as Hercule Poirot.

He has since continued in his role as Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile, a sequel to Murder on the Orient Express.

This was due to be released in 2020 but has since been pushed back until later in 2021.

Branagh has been nominated for five Academy Awards, and was the first man to be nominated for five different categories. He has also been nominated for several BAFTA Awards.

In 2001, he was appointed an honorary Doctor of Literature at the Shakespeare Institute of The University of Birmingham.

What is his role in ‘This Sceptred Isle’?

Branagh plays the role of Boris Johnson, from his appointment as Prime Minister and as he handles the nation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

In pictures released of Branagh in character, he bears an uncanny resemblance to Johnson.

Winterbottom said when the Sky Original series was announced: “The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic will be remembered forever: A time when the country came together to battle an invisible enemy, a time when people were more aware than ever of the importance of community.”

He added that the drama was "weaved through countless true stories", having taken their account from people working with the government, the Department of Health, SAGE and hospital and care home staff.

When can you watch ‘This Sceptred Isle’?

This Sceptred Isle will air in the autumn of 2022 on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.