The Belfast native is taking on the role of the mysterious Dark Wizard who is searching for Daniel Weyman’s The Stranger.
When chatting to Geek Ireland, the Englishman was full of praise and awe for Hinds, and while he couldn’t reveal if he got to share any scenes with him, he did say he got to meet him in the parking lot.
Daniel shared: "Well, I definitely met him in the parking lot. He was definitely filming on days when I was on set. And, you know, Ciarán is [one of those] actors that you come across, who you've seen the work of, and you're the less venerable actor, and you see them, and it's just always a joy to see people like that.
"Even if you can say, 'Hello, good morning. What are you having for breakfast?' You know, you just hope some of their magic can rub off on you."
Daniel then went on to recall a similar experience he had on another project that had him wear a costume once donned by three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis.
"I remember once wearing a costume for a different film, and as I was given it by the costume designer, I saw Daniel Day Lewis's name in it, and I was sort of like, “Oh my goodness me. I hope they haven't washed it since he used it. I hope there's something of him that can sort of [transfer to me]."
"So, it's a bit like that with Ciarán. I think everybody was really, really pleased that we were able to get him on the show. I hope that everybody gets to see him in it, because he's going to be extraordinary I think."
Hinds’ first scenes are in episode two of the second season, and while he doesn’t say much, his presence is certainly felt. The mysterious and sinister Dark Wizard is hidden away in an area called Rhûn, which is as mysterious as the character himself, and fans are starting to wonder who he might turn out to be.
Like with the mystery surrounding Weyman’s The Stranger, who fans believe to be Gandalf, rumor is rife that this Dark Wizard may in fact be the early iteration of Saruman, who was played by Christopher Lee in Peter Jackson’s cinematic trilogy.
Fans have been taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share their ponderings, with one person saying: "I can get behind Ciaran hinds as Saruman", while another shared: "To me he certainly looks identical to Saruman but younger and we know Ciaran hinds can do the voice."
Even the production notes are alluding to the fact that Hinds is playing a character fans of "The Lord of the Rings" will be familiar with.
The notes share: "Tom Bombadil exists as one kind of mirror to The Stranger, but a different season two character known only as the Dark Wizard represents another. (If the name 'the Dark Wizard' didn’t tip you off, this has the potential to be a much more sinister reflection.)
"This unnamed new character played by Ciarán Hinds is likely to be the subject of another round of guessing games from Tolkien fans because there really were only a few wizards hanging around Middle-earth.
Ciaran Hinds.
As for Weyman’s mysterious character, he shared how regardless of whether he knows who The Stranger is or not, it’s important to play the role ‘in the present’ and not worry about what lies ahead.
He explained: "When the showrunners give me scripts, they're saying, play the present. Play what's happening in this, in the scene. We don't need to worry about the future. The future will be written.
"But as in our lives, day to day, you know, we don't need to worry too much about that. We just we be as committed as we can to the to the present and let the future take care of itself."
So will we find out who these two mysterious characters are in season two? We’ll have to keep watching "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" on Prime video to find out.
* This article was originally published on Geek Ireland.
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