J. David Hinze

An American/German character actor known for his authentic, naturalistic acting style, wide range and magnetic on-screen-presence, but he is perhaps best known internationally for his iconic character, the diabolical, dangerous and mysterious eye-patch-donning priest, Leopold Essence in Oscar winning director Paolo Sorrentino's The New Pope (2020) (Jude Law, John Malkovich, Sharon Stone and Cécile de France).

He has also recently worked with Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Nick Nolte, Matt Dillon and Emily Mortimer as well as appearing in Guns Akimbo (2019) (Daniel Radcliffe and Samara Weaving).

At the age of 49, J.David Hinze was neither frequenting movie/TV sets nor was he running lines with international stars of the screen. He was a Senior Management Consultant, directly advising industry leaders such as CFOs, CROs and Country-Managers of Fortune Global 100 companies in Europe and the US. But a major shift was rapidly approaching that had been many years in the making.

In his early 20s, as a post-graduate student in Opera Production, he was asked by an instructor to stay and have a talk after an advanced acting class. The instructor (Judy Dickerson) caught him completely off guard as she explained that she was convinced that he had the talent to make it as a working actor, that she was sure that he could at least pay the rent and perhaps much more if he were to make acting his career choice. She insisted that he promise her that he would seriously pursue acting in his future life. He promised.

At the age of 50, after a period of intensive soul-searching, he decided he had no choice but to make good on that promise. It was the quiet, persistent insistence over two-and-a-half decades of a voice inside that didn't explain itself, the voice of the heart, that finally won out. While other endeavors had been worthwhile, necessary and rewarding, he finally surrendered to the fact that despite years of spirited resistance and a consistent campaign of outright denial, acting, in all of its facets, would be and had always been his true vocation.

As a complete unknown, starting out in middle-age with no credits and no industry connections, the odds of success were abysmal. But with the skills, self-discipline and penchant for exhaustive preparation developed over years in the worlds of business and IT, coupled with a long pent-up immense reservoir of unexpressed youthful passion, he proceeded to secure roles in short-films and student-projects to amass footage for a reel. That video-reel would have one purpose, to do what no collection of words ever could. It would attempt to show the casting director, director and producer that he could act.

And one by one, they began to notice.

Since returning to acting, J.David Hinze has worked on three continents, appearing in TV and film productions shot in the U.K., the U.S., Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and South Africa.

With major projects in planning, it would seem that "If it's truly from the heart, perhaps, it's never too late."