Sunday, February 03, 2008

By Julian Brouwer

Ciaran Hinds may be one of the world's most respected actors - but his mum doesn't think he can top the time he dressed up as a woman when he was 12!

The Belfast-born star of Road To Perdition, Miami Vice and Calendar Girls recalled his first taste of acting at St Malachy's College in the city.

Hinds (54) told Sunday Life: "They always got the younger boys to play women and my mother still believes that's the best thing I've ever done."

These days Hinds is winning rave reviews as the star of Broadway play The Seafarer, but mum Moya, who lives in the Glens of Antrim, still talks about his star turn as Lady Macbeth.

"I was 12 when I played Lady Macbeth," he said. "It's hard to keep pushing on into your fifties thinking: 'Wow, I'll never beat that!'"

In addition to stage work, Hinds - who won Irish Film and Television Awards for his performances in Rome and The Mayor Of Casterbridge - can currently be seen in two big movies, In Bruges and There Will Be Blood. But the busy star gets back to see his mum in Cushendall as often as he can.

"She's been living there 20 years now. My father died 15 years ago and they had moved there right after he retired.

"She's 87. She can't move as she once did but she's still very much in the game. She was involved in amateur dramatics when she was younger.

"I saw her perform once, when I was 10 or 11, with an amateur group based on the New Lodge Road in Belfast.

"She was playing an old woman reminiscing over her life. It was fun to watch . . . very exciting."

The interview continues...