BELFAST Actor Shares What Drew Him to the Script
By Movieguide® Contributor
Actor Ciarán Hinds felt a personal connection to his latest role in writer and director Kenneth Branagh’s BELFAST. The movie centers around a young boy living in the Irish town – a character based on Branagh’s own upbringing there during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Hinds plays “Pop,” a fictional version of Branagh’s grandfather. The actor was excited to join the cast, especially because he grew up just down the street from the writer and director.
“We come from the same part of the world,” Hinds shared in an interview with Deadline. “We grew up half a mile away from each other. I don’t know if Ken knew that…we were born on other sides of the famous religious divide in Northern Ireland. He was brought up Protestant and I was brought up Catholic, so we would never have met because of the segregation in schools.”
When asked about his first impressions of the script, Hinds was quick to praise the movie.
“I understood that this had come from someone who really knows the city and obviously has a huge emotional memory of the time then,” the actor said. “And because it communicated itself to me in such a manner that it placed me back in my childhood as well and the people that I was surrounded by. So, I connected it with it almost straight away. And I saw how beautifully structured and scripted it was and the rhythm of the speech and the color of the characters.”
He also talked about what it was like to bring Branagh’s childhood memories to life, saying, “He was just looking for the spirit of the people [his family] to live again. I think that’s what his aim was.”
According to the Movieguide® review: “BELFAST is brilliant, life-affirming, dramatic, funny, and sometimes heartbreaking. Beautifully written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, the movie has a strong Christian, morally uplifting worldview. It extols family, doing the right thing, faith, compassion, Godly love, gratitude, peace, courage, and joy. However, the movie contains strong foul language, violence and a universalist comment that undermines the New Testament biblical warning against being unequally yoked. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children and young teenagers. That said, BELFAST is a wonderful movie for mature viewers.”
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
