He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAstwo Emmy Awards and one golden Globe Price.
However Kenneth Branagh‘s acting as Boris Johnson in This England can be seen as a career flop, as it is panned by critics.
The 61-year-old actor and filmmaker played the former UK Prime Minister in the six-part docudrama series on Sky Atlantic, which chronicles Johnson’s time in the role.
Kenneth, who is best known for his film adaptations of Shakespeare plays, apparently gave a “failed” performance as Boris.
The Irish-born actor, director and writer would most likely not be used to bad reviews, as his glittering career – which has spanned decades on stage and screen – has earned him a lot of credit and accolades.
However, writing for the TelegraphAnita Singh gave the drama just two stars, saying Branagh’s “bad wig and prosthetics overshadow what could have been a serious drama about the pandemic and lockdown”.
Kenneth Branagh’s performance as Boris Johnson in This England could be viewed by critics as a career flop
The disappointing reviews for the This England series come after Kenneth personally broke a new record at the Oscars for Belfast this year. Pictured posing in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles
Kenneth, who is best known for his film adaptations of Shakespeare plays, apparently gave a “failed” performance as Boris. Pictured, some of the reviews
She continued: ‘This is a story of deaths in care homes, inadequate personal protective equipment, relatives having to facetime on their deathbeds to say goodbye to their loved ones.
“The problem is that other dramas have told this story much better – think of Jack Thorne’s great Help, starring Jodie Comer as the caretaker.”
Nick Hilton from the Independent gave the series two stars, calling it a “wasted performance.”
He said: “Anyone who gets through the full six-hour episode series deserves the nation clapping them in their driveways.
‘And ‘endures’ is the word for it. Displaying the miserable past two years as a form of entertainment was an inexplicable decision, and the failed execution is simply a byproduct of that central commissioning error.”
A far cry from Branagh’s glory days, his new series was also branded as ‘dated’ by the Financial times – despite the reviewer giving it three out of five stars.
The program “achieves the unusual feat of feeling premature and dated at the same time,” while turning “the floundering former prime minister into a tragic theater hero,” Dan Einav said.
For many viewers, watching a dramatization of the pandemic, while the realities of illness, loss and lockdown remain raw, will seem like a pointless or masochistic endeavor.
“Those who are drawn by the Sky miniseries’ focus on the goings on at number 10 will find an abbreviated story.”
The disappointing reviews for the series come after Kenneth personally broke a new record at the Oscars this year.
He was the first person to receive seven nominations in seven different categories during his career.
Branagh’s Belfast received seven Oscar nominations in seven categories: Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench), Best Sound, Best Original Screenplay (Kenneth Branagh), Best Supporting Actor (Ciaran Hinds), Best Song (“Down To Joy” by Van Morrison, Best Director (Kenneth Branagh), and the Oscars most coveted award, Best Picture.
He won his first Oscar and took home the award for Best Original Screenplay.
The 61-year-old actor and filmmaker played the former UK Prime Minister in the six-part docudrama series on Sky Atlantic, which chronicles Johnson’s time in the role.
Kenneth Branagh and Ophelia Lovibond (right) play Boris and Carrie Johnson (left) in the series
The Daily Mail said Ophelia Lovibond was ‘great’ as Carrie Johnson, but warned that some episodes showed ‘miserable situations in hospitals’ during the peak of the pandemic
The actor also achieved success in 1989, when he brought Henry V to the screen. The film received critical acclaim and Branagh was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director and another for Best Actor.
But his new TV series has also been criticized by viewers online – people rushing to Twitter to voice their own opinions about Branagh’s program and performance.
One person wrote: ‘I’m having a hard time seeing #ThisEngland because Boris looks like some Spitting Image doll and Kenneth Branagh who I thought was a good actor but apparently not….’
Another said: ‘Look at this England… It’s a bad imitation despite prosthetics and thick suit.’
Despite the negative response from critics, some fans have come online in defense of Kenneth Branagh.
The TV series has also been criticized by viewers online – people are rushing to Twitter to voice their own opinions about Branagh’s program and performance
Despite the negative response from critics, some fans have come online in defense of Kenneth Branagh
One person said, ‘I was about to watch #Blonde but got sucked into #ThisEngland… omg Kenneth Branagh is brilliant, he makes having Boris Johnson on your TV… acceptable.’
Another said: ‘Kenneth Branagh as Boris Johnson is great to watch.’ While another wrote: ‘Kenneth Branagh as Boris in This England is doing well. His scruffy appearance is completely finished!’
Meanwhile, the BBC wrote: ‘The performances are great.
Granted, Branagh, who apparently spent two hours in makeup every day, looks less like Boris Johnson than a man who spent two hours in makeup, but it doesn’t matter because he has the politician’s speech patterns. and physicality and is completely convincing.
“Lovibond as Symonds is great. ‘
Elsewhere, the Times’ Carol Midgley wrote: ‘Let’s be clear: it’s brilliantly realistic. Too brilliantly realistic. At times, especially in later episodes, I found its heartbreaking authenticity unbearable, and I doubt I’ll be alone in that.
“One death scene was so unbearable that I had to turn it off. It feels too early to be plunged into that horror again.
“Michael Winterbottom does a masterful job of intertwining the parallel stories of Covid approaching like a bullet train and Johnson being distracted by his domestic dramas.”