Kenneth Branagh Reacts to Breaking Walt Disney and George Clooney’s Oscar Nomination Record With ‘Belfast’

thewrap.com:

“Belfast” writer, director and producer Kenneth Branagh went into Tuesday morning’s Academy Award nominations knowing he had a chance to make some Oscar history as the person nominated in the largest number of categories, but he wasn’t really thinking about that as he watched the announcement from a studio where he’s working in the Twickenham area of London.“It had been pointed out to me, but at the moment of listening to them any such thoughts went out of my head and I was a nervous wreck,” he told TheWrap on Tuesday morning. “Every finger was crossed for anything and everything, hoping that some recognition might come our way.

When the adrenaline descends, you can think of nothing but how surreal is it to even be in the conversation.“You could have asked me my name and I wouldn’t have been able to answer,” he added.Before this year, Branagh had been nominated for Oscars in five different categories: Best Actor and Best Director for 1989’s “Henry V,” Best Live Action Short for 1992’s “Swan Song,” Best Adapted Screenplay for 1996’s “Hamlet” and Best Supporting Actor for 2011’s “My Week With Marilyn.” The record, which was shared by George Clooney, Alfonso Cuaron and Walt Disney, was nominations in six categories – but Branagh tied that record on Tuesday when his “Belfast” script was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and broke it when he received a Best Picture nomination as one of the film’s producers.  (He was also nominated for Best Director, a category in which he’d already been recognized.)“To be in the same company as those people is quite thrilling,” he said of passing Clooney, Cuaron and Disney.