Hollywood was born and raised in Glasgow, where he attended St. Robert Bellarmine Secondary School.
Hollywood has worked in television since his first appearance in Taggart in 1993 and starred in the STV soap opera Take the High Road between 1995 and 2002.
He completed his first American film, playing the title role in Lawrence R. Hott's biopic about the Scots-born founder of Yosemite National Park, The Boyhood Of John Muir (1998).
His film credits also include The Winter Guest, where he played alongside Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, directed by Alan Rickman, and The Flying Scotsman with Jonny Lee Miller and Brian Cox.
He also played alongside Conor McCarron in the feature film Neds as PC Muir, directed by Peter Mullan.