First-Time Nominee Spotlight: Ciarán Hinds
With the Oscars right around the corner, we thought we’d feature a nominee who received his first-ever nod this year at the age of 69. The fact that it’s taken until now for Ciarán Hinds to garner a nomination may come as a surprise to those who’ve followed the classically-trained thespian’s storied career. We’re here to provide a look at the Belfast-native’s journey to the career milestone of receiving his first-ever Oscar nod for a film that took Hinds back to his roots: Belfast.
Born in the Northern Ireland capital in 1953, Hinds was one of five children, and he expressed affection for his family during an interview with the Los Angeles Times. But the actor also recalled advice he received growing up in a middle-class home, namely to get a job outside the arts “for when you find out you’re never going to work in the theater.” Hinds initially went to Queen’s University in Belfast to become a lawyer but left that area of study, along with the city, at the age of 19. He moved to London to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and upon graduating in 1975, started building his professional stage experience with the Glasgow Citizens Theatre. Hinds told The Guardian that his first job was there, a production of Cinderella, and he eventually became a part of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The venerated thespian’s theater credits run deep, and he still performs on the stage today, with one more recent example being a pre-pandemic West End production of Uncle Vanya in 2020. And while the list of productions in which Hinds has starred could fill its own article, we still need to cover his transition to the big screen. The actor’s first role in a feature film was playing Lot in Excalibur, John Boorman’s 1981 adaptation of the King Arthur legend, and Hinds went on to work with a notable roster of other auteurs. In 2002, he appeared in Sam Mendes’ Road to Perdition, and then there was Steven Spielberg’s Munich in 2005. Two years later, Hinds collaborated Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood, and 2016 marked the year he worked with Martin Scorsese for Silence. Then there’s his performances in blockbusters like Frozen, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Hinds’ film and TV credits —Game of Thrones fans know him as Mance Rayder — extend beyond the titles he shares with big-name auteurs and franchises. They are all laid out in an arresting display on the actor’s IMDb page, and we can share in summary that the veteran actor built up a tremendous body of work before landing his inaugural Oscar nomination for playing Pop in Belfast.
The film is a semiautobiographical drama written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, which depicts his childhood in the city during the rising tensions of the late 1960s. Hinds not only possesses a shared experience — albeit, as a teenager — but he also lived just half a mile away from Branagh at the time. Hinds revealed the fact to Deadline, as well as why their paths hadn’t crossed at that time. “We were born on other sides of the famous religious divide in Northern Ireland,” the actor recalled. “He [Branagh] was brought up protestant and I was brought up Catholic, so, we would never have met because of the segregation in schools.”
The feature that brought the two Belfast-natives together also led to some Oscar nods for Branagh — he’s up for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture for the film. Time will tell if the Belfast auteur takes home one or more trophies from this year’s Academy Awards ceremony on March 27. You can also find out on that date if Hinds’ first-ever nomination leads to him winning Best Supporting Actor, making for another career milestone. But in the meantime, we think the veteran thespian has certainly earned his place in the spotlight.
Looking to get your big break? Sign up or login to Casting Networks and land your next acting role today!
Related articles:
First-Time Nominee Spotlight: Kristen Stewart
First-Time Nominee Spotlight: Ruth Negga
First-Time Nominee Spotlight: Aunjanue Ellis
