Videos of Claudius' speech

Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh both perceive this part of the play very differently. Olivier portrays Claudius as condescending as he doesn't show any eye contact, walks around the rooms, and belittles Hamlets' situation and his fathers death. However, Branagh conveys Claudius as very reasonable and sentimental as he tries to be loving and respectful to Hamlet. Also in Olivier, Gertrude is more of hamlets mother than Claudius' wife and also kisses hamlet very passionately. In Branagh, the family meeting is very personal as Claudius and Gertrude try to be very loving and heartfelt while in reality, Claudius is 2-faced.