Bernard Hill death: Lord of the Rings and Titanic actor dies, aged 79

Bernard Hill, the actor best known for roles in Titanic and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has died at the age of 79.

Hill played Theoden, King of Rohan, in the Oscar-winning fantasy trilogy, and the part of Captain Edward Smith in James Cameron’s disaster-hit Titanic.

The news was confirmed to the BBC by the actor’s agent Lou Coulson, who said that he died in the early hours of Sunday morning (5 May).

A statement from Hill’s family is expected shortly.

The actor was also known for his iconic role as Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale’s seminal British drama Boys from the Blackstuff.

Between Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Hill was the only actor in history to have appeared in multiple films with 11 or more Oscar wins.

He had been set to appear at Liverpool Comic-Con this week, with the event issuing a statement on Twitter. “We’re heartbroken to hear the news of Bernard Hill’s passing of him. A great loss. Thinking of his family at this very sad time, and wishing them a lot of strength,” read the post.

Folk musician Barbara Dickson also shared the news on Twitter, writing: “It’s with great sadness that I note the death of Bernard Hill. We worked together in John, Paul, George, Ringo and BertWilly Russell marvelous show 1974-1975.

“A really marvelous actor. It was a privilege to have crossed paths with him. RIP Benny x.”

Born in Blackley, Manchester on 17 December 1944, Hill was raised in a Catholic family of miners, and studied at what is now the Manchester School of Theatre.

After small parts in the BBC’s I, Claudius and Hard LaborHill’s breakthrough role came in 1979, playing a working-class Scouse man pushed to the brink by the brutality of the British welfare state in The Black Stuff. He then reprized the role three years later in the serialized sequel, Boys from the Black Stuff.

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His character’s catchphrase, “gizza job”, became widely recognizable throughout the British public viewing.

Film parts followed, including Gandhi, Mountains of the Moon, Skallagrigg and Madagascar Skin (nineteen ninety five).

In the 1990s, Hill’s profile in Hollywood continued to grow, with major parts in films such as The Ghost and the Darknessopposite Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas.

in TitanicHill played the captain of the doomed vessel that sinks in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean.

In 1999, Hill starred in the Clint Eastwood film true crime. He later described the experience as “great fun”, commenting: “[Eastwood is] consider yourself a director; “he knows how actors think and he’s massively quiet on the set and he’s got a gentle way in which he approaches the directing.”

Hill’s character was introduced in the second Lord of the Rings film, The Two Towers. In the film, Theoden is a king who leads the people of Rohan. I have reprised the role in the trilogy-capperReturn of the King.

Asked about his fondest memory, Hill later reflected: “I loved every minute of every day that I was on Lord of the Rings.”

The actor’s other note-worthy roles include Philos in the Dwayne Johnson-starring supernatural thriller The Scorpion Kingand Thomas Howard in the BBC’s six-part adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.

Hill’s most recent role comes in the Martin Freeman police drama The Responderwhich begins on BBC One this Sunday.