Hinds began his professional acting career at the Glasgow Citizens' Theatre in a production of Cinderella (1976).

See also: List of Ciarán Hinds performances After leaving St Malachy's, he then attended the College of Business Studies before enrolling as a law student at Queen's University Belfast, but was soon persuaded to pursue acting and abandoned his studies at Queen's to enrol at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, finishing in 1975. He was an Irish dancer in his youth and was educated at Holy Family Primary School and St Malachy's College. Raised as a Catholic in north Belfast, he was one of five children and the only son of his doctor father, Gerry, and schoolteacher and amateur actress mother, Moya. Hinds was born on 9 February 1953 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 2020, he was listed at number 31 on The Irish Times list of Ireland's greatest film actors. As a stage actor Hinds has spent periods with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and six seasons with Glasgow Citizens' Theatre, and he has continued to work on stage throughout his career. In addition, Hinds appeared in series 3 of Shetland (TV series) (2016), produced by ITV. His television roles include Julius Caesar in the series Rome, DCI James Langton in Above Suspicion, and Mance Rayder in Game of Thrones. He also portrayed Steppenwolf in Zack Snyder's Justice League (2017) and its 2021 director's cut. He played General Zakharow in Red Sparrow (2018).

Hinds is also known for his voice role as Grand Pabbie, the Troll King in the animated film Frozen (2013) and its sequel, Frozen II (2019). He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the last of these. He has starred in feature films including The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), Persuasion (1995), Oscar and Lucinda (1997), Road to Perdition (2002), The Sum of All Fears (2002), Munich (2005), Amazing Grace (2007), There Will Be Blood (2007), Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Silence (2016), First Man (2018), and Belfast (2021).

Born in Belfast, Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. Ciarán Hinds ( / ˈ k ɪər ə n ˈ h aɪ n d z/ born 9 February 1953) is an Irish actor.

Persuasion ciaran hinds