“See you later, our friend, our king, Bernard Hill. We will never forget you,” is the heartfelt message that the actor has shared on social networks. Elijah Wood who shared filming in ‘The Lord of the rings’ with the British actor who died yesterday at the age of 79. “For he was kind-hearted and a great king and he kept his oaths; “and he emerged from the shadows to one last beautiful morning,” he added poetically in his public farewell to Wood, who played the protagonist of Tolkien’s work made into a film, Frodo.
The message of Elijah Wood It is accompanied by a photograph taken of the deceased by another of the filming partners of the films directed by Peter Jackson in 2002 (‘The Two Towers’) and in 2003 (‘The Return of the King’), Viggo Mortensen. Mortensen played the character of Aragorn in ‘The Lord of the Rings’, and that same photograph in which the deceased actor appears with a sunset behind him is the one used by actor Karl Urban, (Éomer, nephew of Théoden in the saga) to say goodbye to him on Instagram. “To the king. Rest in peace, Bernard.”
Elijah Wood shared the stage yesterday with the other three actors who played the roles of hobbits in the films, Sean Astin (Sam), Billy Boyd (Pippin), and Dominic Monaghan (Merry). The four were shocked by the news of Bernard Hill’s death while attending a fan convention in Liverpool. “We lost a member of our family this morning, the king Theoden has died. “She’s supposed to be here with us,” they recounted to the fans.I don’t think anyone has expressed Tolkien’s words as well as Bernard“Boyd said at one point during his speech. “He broke my heart, we will miss him very much.”
Monaghan recalled his good times during the long filming of the films. “We loved him. He was fearless, funny, gruff, irascible and beautiful“He said excitedly.
The British actor Bernard Hill, also known for his role in the film ‘Titanic’, died this Sunday at the age of 79, according to his representative, Lou Coulson, to the British network BBC.
Hill played Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 Oscar-winning film about the ocean liner tragedy as well as King Théoden in two of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ films.
Among other performances, that of Yosser Hughes stands out, a character whose life falls apart in the program “Boys from the Blackstuff” of the past 80s.
He also played Sergeant Putnam in the 1982 film ‘Gandhi’, directed by filmmaker Richard Attenborough, while he played small roles in several drama programs on British television, such as ‘I, Claudius’ (1976), as the Gratus character.
Among other jobs, he played Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, in the BBC’s six-part adaptation of writer Hilary Mantel’s novel ‘Wolf Hall’.
Actress Barbara Dickson, who starred with him in a musical based on the Beatles, was among those who paid tribute to him this Sunday and described him as a “wonderful actor” on the social network X.
“It is with great sadness that I learn of the death of Bernard Hill. We worked together on John, Paul, George, Ringo and Bert, (by) Willy Russell, wonderful show 1974-1975. A truly wonderful actor. It was a privilege to have crossed paths with him. Benny x,” he added.
BBC Drama director Lindsay Salt said today that Hill “blazed a trail on screen and her enduring career full of iconic and notable roles is a testament to her incredible talent.”
From ‘Boys from the Blackstuff’ to ‘Wolf Hall’, and many more, “we are truly honored to have worked with Bernard at the BBC. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this sad time,” Salt added.
