During the first throes of lockdown, her biggest break aired: in the RTÉ/BBC adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Normal People, she took a major role as the sidelined girlfriend of Connell (Paul Mescal). Depicted as a potentially good force in his life, the stability she offered just couldn’t compete with the complex (and arguably dysfunctional) connection he had with Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones).

Because it aired in pandemic times, she was unable to capitalise on its momentum as she might have done usually; the chat-show tour and promotion were certainly more muted. But at least it meant people tuned in — in the UK, it became the BBC’s most streamed series of the year, with 62.7 million views, and RTÉ’s most streamed series ever.

When it aired, she was hunkering down in London with her parents. Given the much-discussed nudity involved, Hinds “had to tell them that they could watch it if they wanted to, but I wasn’t going to watch it with them”, she says, a little on the embarrassed side. “So I hid up in my room and watched it by myself.”

As fellow actors, did they comment on her acting performance? “Well, because I was hiding in my room, they came up afterwards and said that they watched it and ‘well done’, which was sweet. But it felt more part of the parent-daughter relationship; we don’t necessarily talk as actors-to-actors.”

Hinds’ childhood was mostly spent in Paris, not that you’d be able to tell from her refined English accent. She didn’t so much catch the acting bug as have it in her genes. It was brought out while touring with her mother and accompanying her father on set, which happened often, given he’s one of Ireland’s most prolific actors. A celebrated theatre actor who sidestepped into film in John Boorman’s celebrated movie Excalibur, he’s since been in a myriad of high-profile projects, from Red Sparrow to Justice League to Frozen.

“I remember going to the set of Tomb Raider — The Cradle of Life, and seeing these amazing sets that the art department created. Being in the makeup trailer, seeing everyone put on their costumes — that’s the stuff I really absorbed. Being an actor was a no-brainer for me. It wasn’t even a question,” she says.

Then the teenage years happened and nearly threw her off course. But in the Hinds household, hers was a much more sophisticated rebellion: she turned to music instead, and became highly proficient in violin and piano.

“I think my parents at that point wanted me to be a musician,” she recalls. They were edging you away from acting? “Kind of. I think my dad was always like, ‘Oh God, if she wants to be an actor, it’s going to be so hard.’ As parents, they want to protect their daughter. My mum was always more open to it. She’d say, ‘Right, if you want to do it, then try it, but maybe do this workshop, or try that thing.’ But it was never a real push away, and there was never a real push towards. It was literally just me, and what I thought I wanted to do.”

Putting the decision on hold, Hinds went to university and studied international relations instead. Once she graduated, her decision was made and she was ready to go forth into the world of acting.

Today, she comes across (as much as Zoom allows) as deeply thoughtful, subconsciously buying herself time to articulate her thoughts as she talks, by framing and then reframing her points. As the job demands, it’s a world away from the characters she plays. Alongside theatre roles, she was cast in Derry Girls, as the cocky new girl at school Mae Cheung, whom Erin and the gang want to befriend (“Dull white girls wanting me to join their gang because...well...” Mae sighs).

Next up, later this year, she’ll appear in Anne Boleyn, a reimagining of the story of Henry VIII’s most famous wife, in the last five months before her execution. With Queen & Slim’s Jodie Turner-Smith in the title role, Hinds plays Mary Tudor, Henry VIII’s daughter and a future queen of England. Like Netflix’s Bridgerton before it, Anne Boleyn has done away with the period-drama rule book and cast its actors on merit rather than traditional character aesthetics. For Hinds, whose mother is French-Vietnamese, the impact of this broadening of roles can’t be overestimated.

“It’s been a long time coming. It’s brilliant. Even at a small scale, like for me… I never considered that I’d be in a period drama, let alone playing a queen of England. That feeling is huge. It shows [you] to not limit your dreams because you’ve grown up watching shows where there’s no diversity. Otherwise you’re tricking yourself into thinking it’s never going to happen. I feel like now, there are no rules.”

Hinds has previously talked about the racist remarks she encountered while filming Normal People in Dublin. It may be tempting to put it down to a sign of the times, given the rise of right-wing nationalists in recent years, but for Hinds, “I feel like it’s been going on the whole time. My whole life, really. There are always comments; there’s always something.

“But there, it is quite scary now, with social media and Brexit bringing up two very polarised sides. Also in America, the divide there has gone so far. Maybe there is more emboldened anger.”

What does she consider to be the solution? “That’s the winning question. Whoever has that answer, give it to us, please,” she says, laughing. “I suspect it’s about education. The backbone of society is education, and equal access to it. If there was a one-point solution, that would be it. That’s why it’s so angering when governments cut funding for literally what the basis of society should be.”

The inevitable negative comments are partly why Hinds isn’t on social media — though the main reason, she explains with a welcome honesty, is because she deleted her Instagram account after breaking up with her partner of five years in 2019.

“I didn’t miss it at all, which is strange because there was a time when I was spending too much time scrolling on Instagram. Literally the next day, I didn’t think about checking it. It just wasn’t there anymore.”

As a burgeoning actor, does she not need it to maintain her public profile? “I don’t think it matters in the UK. I think it’s different in America — I have friends who say that, at auditions, they can be asked how many followers they have, which is just mind-blowing and very uncomfortable. I don’t really buy into that.”

Certainly, being raised by famous parents has tempered any desire to be recognised. She recalls the attention that her father often received when they were out. “I remember someone coming up, when I was very young, to me and asking, ‘Is that Ciarán Hinds?’ I replied, ‘No, that’s his brother.’ Which makes absolutely no sense because he doesn’t even have a brother. I think I recognised at that stage that my dad doesn’t particularly enjoy it. It can be a bit… not embarrassing, but it can be a bit uncomfortable sometimes.”

As she leaves her twenties behind and turns 30 in October, Hinds is feeling good about the future. Her recent high-profile projects show that her career is on the ascent and, on a personal note, she’s grown into the skin she’s in. “When I was younger, I used to hate the idea of growing up. Every birthday, I’d be like, ‘Oh God, I’m getting old.’ But these past couple of years, that’s just passed. I’m ready for 30, for the knowing yourself a bit better and being more comfortable in who you are.”

Turning 30 being single has its merits too. “When you’re going through a break-up, as sad as it is, you realise that being single means you’re free to do [whatever] and go wherever you want, and take any job you want. You don’t have to worry about what it’s going to do to your relationship. I think it’ll be all right.”

What are her grand plans for her thirties? “I’d love to do some great work with great people. Meet lots of new people to collaborate with. Take care of the people I love, and look out for my friends and family. And,” she adds, returning her attention to the grounded world around her, “I’d also really like to go on holiday.”

Indeed, as we lift out of lockdown, what once may have seemed a distant dream for Hinds is becoming a reality quicker than she might have expected.