‘I've always loved a GOOD STORY'

Sir Kenneth Branagh reveals how telling tall tales is in his nature

- GABRIELLE DONNELLY

A much-loved face rarely off our screens, Sir Kenneth Branagh has directed and starred in some great British films, including Henry V, Murder on the Orient Express and the Harry Potter series.

Now the 59-year-old reveals it was his childhood in Belfast that spawned his love of storytelling.

‘There were a lot of us. My mother had 11 siblings, my father had five, so I had dozens of cousins. We would all meet in each other’s houses and, of course, this is in the pre-internet, pre-large-numbers-of-television-channels age, so when we did meet, the members of the family would start telling stories.’

He affectionately recalls that the tales would grow taller as the gatherings wore on, starting at ancient Belfast and ending at giants and trolls.

He adds, ‘I grew up with a real sense of delight in storytelling, along with a complete lack of concern about whether the story in question was true or not – as they say, the Irish have never let the truth get in the way of a good story!’