A native of Drumcondra, Dublin, Arkins has been a professional musician from the age of 15, He left school at 17 to front his band, Housebroken. He is a vocalist, Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who counts piano, bass and trumpet in his repertoire. Housebroken won the Sunday World Bandslam competition in 1988, after only having been established for three months.

He has composed and produced work for a number of commercial clients, television projects, and for two short films. In 1998, he did briefly return to acting, in a short film entitled What Are You Looking At? In 2011, he joined fellow various cast members from The Commitments to perform a series of concerts across Ireland, to celebrate the film's 20th anniversary. This was followed by three dates in the UK in 2012.

With no prior acting experience, Arkins heard of the filming of The Commitments from his sister. Following seven auditions, Arkins was cast as "Deco Cuffe", the band's lead singer, but was replaced in that role after Parker discovered newcomer Andrew Strong. Despite not featuring as a singer in the film Arkins did provide lead vocals for two tracks – Treat Her Right and Slip Away – on the accompanying Soundtrack album. Following the release of The Commitments Arkins moved back into music and signed a record deal with MCA Records in 1993, although he did not finish recording the consequent album.