Poirot is a show-off, but he’s brilliant. That’s why I brought him back to life

As Murder on the Orient Express brings vintage Agatha Christie back to our cinemas, novelist Sophie Hannah tells how she resurrected the brilliant Belgian detective on the pageWhen I heard that Kenneth Branagh was to star as Hercule Poirot in a new Hollywood film of Murder on the Orient Express, I was quietly pleased. Branagh is a brilliant actor, and I had a sense that he would be a great Poirot. There have already been several – David Suchet, Peter Ustinov and Albert Finney were excellent in their different ways – and I looked forward to seeing Branagh join their ranks.Well, on Thursday night I did, at the Royal Albert Hall, for the movie’s world premiere. It was an impressive and lavish event attended by thousands. The smartest character, of course, was the immaculately dressed Belgian genius, Hercule Poirot. I soon saw that I’d been right to trust Branagh. His portrayal of Agatha Christie’s most loved character is superb. It isn’t so much that his moustache is luxurious and resplendent (though it is both); it is simply that he feels like a real, proper Poirot. That, for me, was the most important thing. Continue reading…
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