When he was a young man being lauded for his stage performances and directing adaptations of Shakespeare, Kenneth Branagh almost seemed to be inviting comparisons to Laurence Oliver, who did much the same thing many decades before. Now it appears, according to Production Weekly, that Branagh may be gearing up to play the legendary actor in My Week With Marilyn.
Branagh would be a supporting player in the film, which is based on a diary by Colin Colin Clark, where he details his life shepherding Marilyn Monroe (to be played y Michelle Williams) around London while she was in the UK shooting The Prince and the Showgirl in 1957. Olivier directed and starred in that film, and was apparently driven so mad by Monroe's behaviour that he didn't direct another movie until 1970, so there should be plenty of room for fireworks in My Week With Marilyn.
Branagh, who has that same slighty stagey, verging-on-ham quality as Olivier would seem perfect for the role, with the only question being whether his schedule on Thor will permit it.