Kenneth Branagh has revealed he was "completely and utterly made up" by the city's response to his semi-autobiographical film Belfast following its premiere at the Waterfront Hall last November.
Branagh appeared on The Graham Norton Show on Friday night to mark the film's release in cinemas from this weekend.
The film, which is largely based on Branagh's own upbringing, follows nine-year old Buddy and his family during the onset of The Troubles in Northern Ireland.
It stars Jamie Dornan, Ciaran Hinds, Caitriona Balfe, Judi Dench and Jude Hill.
The 61-year-old director recalled the premiere of the film last November.
He told the host: "We were there on November 4 at the opening night of the Belfast Film Festival, 1,400 people at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast and I reckon 50 per cent of them were Jamie Dornan's family.
"I thought we were related to most of Belfast. The other half were Ciaran Hinds' and Jude Hill's (family). It was an amazing evening and they were on their feet at the end. It was absolutely amazing and I was completely and utterly made up."
Asked what prompted him to tell the story now, Branagh said: “During lockdown everything became about re-establishing human connection.
"That sent me right back to my childhood at a very uncertain time in Northern Ireland and the need for human contact, for laughter and dance, and all the daftness we could grab at a dark time, and I tried to write it as truthfully as I could.”
As well as talking about the film and what it meant to revisit his youth, the North Belfast man also joked about another memorable family occasion in his early career.
Recalling the only stage performance his own grandmother saw, Kenneth said the role involved him being naked, and that his grandmother defended him when an audience member criticised his appearance.
He said: “It took a lot to get her to leave Ireland, but we finally persuaded her. I was playing St Francis of Assisi and had to be ‘reborn’ naked. My granny was in the front row with opera glasses, but I really went for it.
"When someone at the back shouted, ‘I’ve seen more meat on a dirty fork,’ my grandmother stood up, turned around and said to him, ‘Use the binoculars – it’s like a hot dog!’ she was always protecting me!”
Asked about working with Judi Dench again, he said: “We have worked together 12 times now. We’ve practically done everything; we’ve been married, I’ve been her son, she’s now my grandmother in this film – it’s like the incest theatre company!
“I did a complete read through for her before she agreed to do the part and about halfway through, I got very emotional and got choked up. She held the pause while I composed myself and then said, ‘I would be delighted to do it.’”
Belfast is out now in cinemas.
