KENNETH BRANAGH, fresh from his Best Original Screenplay Oscar win, on how Belfast helped him reconnect with his past

[ EDITED BY CHRIS HEWITT]

Jude Hill as Buddy, brandishing his makeshift sword and shield as his pals look on.

Kenneth Branagh on set.

Alamy

KENNETH BRANAGH MADE HISTORY when he received three Oscar nominations for his work on Belfast, the often heartwarming — and occasionally heartbreaking — black-and-white, semi-autobiographical tale of Buddy (Jude Hill).

It’s the story of a young boy growing up in the Northern Irish capital at the tail end of the ’60s, just as tensions in the country were flaring up and on their way to turning into The Troubles.

Being something of an overachiever from a very young age, Branagh had been nominated for Best Director before, for his debut, Henry V, back in 1990, but the nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay were brand-new, making him the first person in the history of the Oscars to receive nominations in seven separate categories. (It also brought him his first Academy Award, at the eighth time of asking.) That he should make history with a film that explores his own history is, of course, rather delicious. Here, Branagh takes time out from the post- Oscar euphoria to explore the metaphorical streets of Belfast with Empire’s own resident Northern Irishman, Chris Hewitt…

First of all, congratulations on the Oscar. You’re no stranger to winning awards, but this one must be particularly special.

Absolutely. Very, very, very chuffed. For the black-and-white film about The Troubles, that really had to travel a long way to get from North Belfast to North Hollywood, it was a hell of a night.

One of the things that’s going to occupy my time for the next few months is writing thank you cards and letters to all the people from back home. Perhaps one of the most satisfying elements is to have received messages from people who used to live in the same street who said, “I recognised that, you got that right.” And some added in their own stories. A friend from five doors down, who now lives in Manchester, said, “You remember that every summer your hair used to be very greasy because your mother put butter in it?” And I suddenly remembered. I was the Butter-Headed Child Of Old Belfast Town. And I’d never have known or been reminded of that, but for winning the Oscar.