Who Played King Lear in King Lear

King Lear is a role in King Lear, a play that opened Off-Broadway in 2024.

Kenneth Branagh plays the title role in a new production of William Shakespeare’s King Lear, set in the barbarous landscape of Ancient Britain. Featuring a cast of rising stars from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art directed by Branagh, this production releases the play’s power and turmoil in a fast-paced staging. In playing Lear, Branagh completes a trifecta of great Shakespearean tragic roles, complementing past appearances as Hamlet in his Academy Award–nominated film version of the play (1996) and on stage as Macbeth in a celebrated immersive production (2014). This strictly limited, exclusive US engagement of King Lear runs for 50 performances only.