Kenneth Branagh on Playing Olivier in ‘My Week with Marilyn’

Fifty five years ago, the great Shakespearean actor Sir Laurence Olivier teamed up with the biggest movie star in the world, Marilyn Monroe for a little comedic film called “The Prince and the Showgirl.” Olivier ,at nearly 50-years-old, directed the film and played the prince. Monroe, at 30, played the showgirl. Olivier was dedicated to old-school British theatric acting. Monroe was dedicated to the method. The two clashed repeatedly. And all the while, a young man, a third assistant director, looked on, took notes, and became close with Olivier, and even closer with Monroe.
That young man’s memoirs became a book called “My Week with Marilyn,” and a new movie of the same name. The film stars Michelle Williams as Monroe and Kenneth Branagh as Olivier. It’s directed by Simon Curtis.