The remarkable Oscars record set by Kenneth Branagh
One wonders if winning an Oscar is the be-all and end-all of being a star, and while some actors might tell you it’s their lifelong goal to take home a golden statuette, or at least be recognised with a nomination, there are others who couldn’t care less.
We all love to be praised, no matter what we do for work, so you can hardly blame an actor for aspiring to win the most prestigious of prizes in Hollywood, but really, they have little bearing on talent, as the Academy Awards are just one big popularity contest that has played host to a barrage of diversity and favouritism issues over the years.
Despite the fact that the Oscars started crowning filmmakers with the title back in the late 1920s, think about why it took 80 years for a woman to win a ‘Best Director’ accolade, such that when Kathryn Bigelow took home the prize for 2009’s The Hurt Locker, she was only the fourth woman to ever be nominated in the category!
Moreover, so many great movies have been snubbed by the Academy over the years, not even getting a look in in spite of their brilliance, so you really have to take their decisions with a large grain of salt. But, with that said, it’s still fascinating to discover the records set by certain stars, because while some of the most incredible filmmakers can go their whole careers without a single Oscar nomination, others can rack up a seemingly endless amount that warrants attention.
Kenneth Branagh, the British filmmaker and actor who seems to have a particular penchant for the Bard, has balanced his time in the spotlight in front of and behind the camera, which has greatly benefited his chances of earning Oscar success, such that, by spreading himself over various behind-the-scenes roles as well as acting, he has set a world record as the first person to be nominated across seven different categories.
Clearly a jack of all trades, Branagh has secured his place in Hollywood by winning such vast acclaim, with his first nominations coming in 1989 when he earned ‘Best Director’ and ‘Best Actor’ nods for Henry V. He didn’t win either, but he would soon be recognised by the Academy again in 1992 for ‘Best Live Action Short Film’, which he was nominated for following the release of his 23-minute-long Anton Chekhov adaptation, Swan Song.
In 1996, he was nominated in the ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ category for Hamlet, yet again, but he was unsuccessful in cinching it, and while there was a big gap between his subsequent nominations, his next nod came in 2011 after he starred in My Week With Marilyn as a ‘Best Supporting Actor’ which he ultimately lost out to Christopher Plummer for Beginners.
Ten years later, however, he wound up with three nominations for Belfast, which saw another ‘Best Director’ alongside ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Original Screenplay’, and it was the latter that he actually won.
Finally, after eight nominations, Branagh was triumphant, and in earning the award, not only did he finally get to call himself an Oscar winner, but he could also crown himself the person with the most nominations across different categories, which is pretty impressive.
