When a so-called ‘characteristic’ actor dies, one of those whose specialty is secondary characters, the echo of his farewell usually remains in the obligatory obituary in the press and in some manifestations of mourning. But, if the one who says goodbye to this world is an interpreter with a career in Bernard Hill, things change.
It is not just that the Briton, who died on May 5 at the age of 79, had participated in two films with 11 Oscars. We must also consider that, if one of them was Titanic, the other was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. In the adaptation of the work of JRR Tolkien in charge of Peter Jackson, Bernard Hill played Theoden, king of the horsemen of Rohan and one of those characters whom the English writer graced with some of his most epic phrases.
In this way, the Tolkienian fandom has begun to mourn Hill on social networks as if eorlingas will be about, remembering some of his best moments in The return of the King and The two Towers, second chapter of the trilogy. A funeral procession led, in addition, by another of the most prominent faces of the Middle Earth.
This is how Tolkien fans say goodbye to Bernard Hill
The very same Frodo (that is to say, Elijah Wood) He said goodbye to Hill emotionally with a tweet in which he called him “our friend, our king.” “We will never forget you,” she added.
In the message, furthermore, Viggo Mortensen was present twice. In addition to including a photo of Bernard Hill taken by his partner during filming, Elijah Wood included the epitaph that Aragorn dedicated to Theoden in the novel: “For he was a kind heart and a great king, and he kept his oaths; and he rose from the shadows on one last beautiful morning.”
The rest of Hill’s admirers in The Lord of the rings They have honored his memory by invoking his character’s stellar moments. One of them, of course, Battle of Helm’s Deep: “Courage, awake now, for wrath, holocaust and red dawn!”
And the memory of that speech addressed to his riders in the Pelennor Fields before one of the most overwhelming cavalry charges ever seen on the big screen. “Ride to desolation and the end of the world!” It is still a good war cry with which to face desperate situations, it is clear.
However, Theoden’s appeal as a character would not be the same if we did not associate him with some of the most tragic moments of The Lord of the rings. For example, the death of Theodred It led him to pronounce a phrase as simple as it was accurate: “No parent should bury their children.”
And, although the Witch King mortally wounded him in his last battle, we can also say that the horseman king had the best farewell possible. After having seen first-hand the warrior courage of his niece Eowyn, Theoden said goodbye to this worthy successor stating: “I return to my parents, in whose powerful company I will not feel ashamed.”
So, let’s say goodbye to Bernard Hill, an actor whose very long career (130 titles between film and TV) reached a peak that moved millions of spectators: for many, he will always be the king who, when the beacons of Gondor, He did not hesitate to say: “Rohan will respond.”
Do you want to be up to date with all the latest movie and series news? Sign up for our newsletter.
