CIARÁN HINDS

Date of Birth: February 9, 1953

Ciarán Hinds was born in Belfast, Ireland to a doctor father and a mother who dabbled in amateur theater. As the only son in a family of five children, his father hoped Ciarán would follow in his footsteps, but his mother's influence eventually won out. Hinds trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, then landed his first job at the Glasgow Citizens' Theater, where he had the opportunity to play various roles over the next several years, including the lead in the classic play Arsenic and Old Lace.

Hinds made his feature film debut in Excaliber (1981), filmed in Ireland. His next movie wasn't for several years, when he landed the role of Cory in The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (1989), starring Helen Mirren. Hinds made a smooth transition into television with a role in the British mini-series The Mahabharata (1989). For the next few years, he worked steadily in British television, opposite stars such as Kathy Bates and Colin Firth in Hostages (1993) and Helene Bonham Carter in A Dark Adapted Eye (1994). Hinds returned to film with a role in A Circle of Friends (1995), a U.S./U.K. co-production starring Chris O'Donnell and Minnie Driver. He had the opportunity to work alongside Julia Roberts and John Malkovich in Mary Reilly (1996), filmed in Scotland and England, then accepted the plum role of Mr. Rochester in A&E's version of Jane Eyre (1997).

Other career highlights include Oscar and Lucinda (1997) starring Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett, Titanic Town (1998) with Julie Walters, The Weight Of Water (2002) with Sean Penn, The Sum Of All Fears (2002) starring Morgan Freeman and Ben Affleck, The Road to Perdition (2002) starring Tom Hanks, The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and Steven Spielberg's Munich (2005).

Hinds has a daughter, Aoife, with a French-Vietnamese actress named Héléne Patarot. Although he travels frequently to the United States to make films, his permanent home is in London.

FILMOGRAPHY:

Race to Witch Mountain (2009)
The Tale of Despereaux (2008) (voice)
Ca$h (2008)
The Tiger's Tail (2008)
Stop-Loss (2008)
Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day (2008)
In Bruges (2008) (uncredited)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Margot at the Wedding (2007)
Hallam Foe (2007)
The Nativity Story (2006)
Amazing Grace (2006)
Miami Vice (2006)
Munich (2005)
Mickybo and Me (2005)
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
The Statement (2003)
Calendar Girls (2003)
Veronica Guerin (2003)
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)
Road To Perdition (2002)
The Sum Of All Fears (2002)
The Weight Of Water (2002)
The Lost Son (2000)
Lost Lover (1999)
A Time to Love (1999)
Titanic Town (1998)
Oscar and Lucinda (1997)
The Life of Stuff (1997)
Some Mother's Son (1996)
Mary Reilly (1996)
Rules Of Engagement (1995)
Persuasion (1995)
Circle of Friends (1995)
December Bride (1990)
The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
Excalibur (1981)