Belfast-born and RADA-trained Ciaran (pronounced KEER-awn) Hinds has become best known for his appearances in several period dramas. Immediately after finishing drama school, the tall, swarthy actor traveled throughout Europe finding work wherever he could. Eventually he landed in Paris where Peter Brook cast him in "The Mahabharata" in 1987. But it was his portrayal of Shakespeare's "Richard III" in 1993 that catapulted Hinds to the front ranks in costume epics.

Hinds made his film debut as one of the medieval knights in "Excalibur" (1981), John Boorman's take on the Arthurian legend. He went