Sir Kenneth Branagh said he has been meditating with his good friend Brian Blessed to help him with the stresses of Hollywood.
The 61-year-old, who is currently being lavished with critical acclaim for his partly autobiographical drama Belfast, said he turns to the booming thespian to help quieten his mind.
Sir Kenneth has been going for walks and meditating with Brian once a week for almost four decades, and he said it has helped him cope with the stresses of Hollywood.
“We couldn’t be more opposite, but he introduced me to a meditation from which I’ve benefited enormously,” the actor and director said, according to the Daily Star.
“He’s had a big impact on what you might call my spiritual growth. He is this loud-voiced, larger than-life figure, but I also know him as a very deep, very quiet, intelligent and cultured man,” Sir Kenneth added.
The actors met when Brian was cast in Sir Kenneth’s adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Henry V back in 1989, and in 2020, the Flash Gordon star joked about their close friendship.
“It’s a father-son relationship. He’s the father and I’m the son!” he told the Guardian.
Brian has previously said he’s a loner, as he declared Sir Kenneth as his only friend, and said the actor thinks he’s the “quietest man” he’s ever met.
The 85-year-old actor has also been hired by the kids’ meditation app Moshi, as he reads a calming story about Brian the Booming Moshling, who journeys to the moon and back in an effort to find a way to calm his loud voice.
Sir Kenneth has previously spoke about how he asked Brian for help during one of the most turbulent times in his career.
Back in 2001, his mother had fallen ill, and he was directing a play in London’s West End, as well as filming his role as Professor Gilderoy Lockheart in the second adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s books, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Sir Kenneth told Oprah.com that his usual “problem-solving attempts” weren’t working during this particularly stressful time, and he turned to Brian after he couldn't stop his mind from spinning.
He said his friend had brought him along to his meditation group, and despite initially thinking the process was “silly”, he found himself feeling enlightened after just 30 minutes.
“I've learned to acknowledge my problems and then let them go. My mind no longer gets congested, because each morning and night I start fresh again,” Sir Kenneth explained.
