"I think A Midsummer Night's Dream would be terrific because of the transformations that occur. Or The Tempest, things like that. Extraordinary larger than life or supernatural element"
About this Quote
Branagh isn’t just name-checking Shakespeare here; he’s telegraphing the engine of his own screen persona: transformation as spectacle with feelings attached. When he singles out A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest, he’s pointing to plays where identity is unstable on purpose. People become fools, lovers, monsters, spirits; power shifts with a potion, a storm, a prank. That’s catnip for an actor-director who’s built a career translating stage-sized emotions into camera-readable intimacy.
The phrase “terrific because of the transformations” is doing quiet double duty. On the surface, it’s a pitch for cinematic possibility: illusions, weather, bodies, and worlds that can be made visible. Underneath, it’s a statement about why Shakespeare keeps returning in Branagh’s orbit. These plays let performance be the point. They’re about how easily we’re rewritten by desire, authority, and environment - and how thrilling it is to watch that rewriting happen in real time.
His framing, “extraordinary larger than life or supernatural,” also sidesteps the museum-glass version of Shakespeare. Branagh’s intent is to keep the work popular, kinetic, and sensuous, not merely prestigious. In context, coming from a mainstream actor who moves between art-house and blockbuster registers, it reads like a manifesto: give audiences wonder, not homework. The magic isn’t an escape from reality; it’s a way of staging what reality does anyway - changing us, often against our better judgment.
The phrase “terrific because of the transformations” is doing quiet double duty. On the surface, it’s a pitch for cinematic possibility: illusions, weather, bodies, and worlds that can be made visible. Underneath, it’s a statement about why Shakespeare keeps returning in Branagh’s orbit. These plays let performance be the point. They’re about how easily we’re rewritten by desire, authority, and environment - and how thrilling it is to watch that rewriting happen in real time.
His framing, “extraordinary larger than life or supernatural,” also sidesteps the museum-glass version of Shakespeare. Branagh’s intent is to keep the work popular, kinetic, and sensuous, not merely prestigious. In context, coming from a mainstream actor who moves between art-house and blockbuster registers, it reads like a manifesto: give audiences wonder, not homework. The magic isn’t an escape from reality; it’s a way of staging what reality does anyway - changing us, often against our better judgment.
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
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