Who is Ciarán Hinds? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Age: 71 Years, 71 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Hélène Patarot (1987–)

father: Gerry Hinds

mother: Moya Hinds

children: Aoife Hinds

Born Country: Northern Ireland

Actors Irish Men

Height: 6'1" (185 cm), 6'1" Males

City: Belfast, Northern Ireland

More Facts

education: Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art

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Childhood & Early Life

Born on February 9, 1953, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Ciarán Hinds is the son of amateur actress Moya Hinds and doctor and schoolteacher Gerry Hinds. He has four sisters: Caitriona, Bronagh, Gerardine, and Moya. The family was Catholic, residing in North Belfast.

Hinds started taking dance lessons when he was quite young. He attended Holy Family Primary School and St. Malachy's College.

At first, he wanted to pursue a legal career and enrolled at Queen's University, Belfast. However, he was later convinced that his true calling in life is acting. He subsequently dropped out of Queen’s to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, from where he graduated in 1975.

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Theatre Career

Ciarán Hinds made his stage debut in ‘Cinderella’ in 1976. Through the late 1970s and mid-1980s, he was making regular appearances on various productions at Citizens' Theatre. In Ireland, he enjoyed spells with the Abbey Theatre, the Field Day Theatre Company, the Druid Theatre, the Lyric Players' Theatre and at the Project Arts Centre.

In 1987, he joined the cast of Peter Brook’s production of ‘The Mahabharata’ as Ashwattaman. Based on the Sanskrit epic ‘Mahabharata’, the original 1985 French play was nine hours long. It was contracted to six hours for a TV miniseries and to about three hours for the big screen and DVD. Hinds has also been affiliated with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In 1999, for his performance as Larry in the London and Broadway productions of Patrick Marber's ‘Closer’, Hinds received the Theatre World Award for Best Debut in New York and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Special Achievement.

His other prominent theatre credits include ‘The Yalta Game’ (2001), ‘The Seafarer’ (2007-08), and ‘The Birds’ (2009).

Film Career

Ciarán Hinds followed up his debut cinematic appearance in ‘Excalibur’ (1981) with the drama film ‘December Bride’ (1991), romance drama ‘Circle of Friends’ (1995), and French-Italian erotic drama ‘Il tempo dell'amore’, (1999).

In the 2002 crime film ‘Road to Perdition’, Hinds shared screen space with Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. He played former Israeli soldier and cleaner Carl in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 historical drama ‘Munich’.

He worked with Daniel Day-Lewis in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 biographical drama film ‘There Will Be Blood’.

In the final film of the Harry Potter franchise, ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2’ (2011), Hinds essayed Aberforth Dumbledore, the brother of Albus Dumbledore. He was cast as Roy Bland ("Soldier") in the 2011 Cold War spy thriller ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’.

In the massively successful Disney 3D computer-animated musical fantasy film ‘Frozen’, Hinds lent his voice to the troll king Grand Pabbie. He also voiced the main antagonist Steppenwolf in the live-action superhero film ‘Justice League’ (2017). He is set to appear in the upcoming comedy film ‘The Thin Man’.

Television Career

Following his TV debut in the 1977 episode of ‘Out of the Past’, Hinds appeared in the TV movie ‘The Long March’ in 1980. In the 1994 television miniseries ‘Seaforth’, Hinds portrayed John Stacey. He played Fyodor in the four-part BBC television drama series ‘Cold Lazarus’ (1996).

Between 2005 and 2007, Hinds portrayed Gaius Julius Caesar in 13 episodes of the HBO series ‘Rome’. In unarguably his greatest on-screen performance, Hinds brought out the natural charisma, bravura, and political genius of the character. He also masterfully and subtly demonstrated his incapability to compromise, which ultimately led to his downfall.

He played DCS James Langton in ITV’s ‘Above Suspicion’ (2009-12), Bud Hammond in USA Network’s miniseries ‘Political Animals’ (2012), Mance Rayder in HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ (2013-15), and Walter in BBC Studios’ ‘MotherFatherSon’ (2019).

Family & Personal Life

Ciarán Hinds became acquainted with actress Hélène Patarot in 1987 while they were both members of the cast of ‘The Mahabharata’. She was playing Gandhari in the project. They have been together since and reside in Paris. In 1991, the couple welcomed their daughter Aoife into the world.

Ciarán Hinds Biography