Actor Bernard Hill, best known for playing Captain Edward Smith in Titanic and King Théoden in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, has died at 79.
Every actor dreams about merely appearing in a film that wins Best Picture, let alone playing an important role in one of the most beloved, most popular movies ever. But Bernard Hill didn’t just do that once. He was a big part of two such films in his 50-year onscreen career. In 1997, he played the captain of the ill-fated ocean liner in James Cameron’s historic box office smash hit Titanic. Hill then followed up that feat by playing Théoden in 2002’s The Two Towers. The next year he then reprised his role as the King of Rohan in The Return of the King. Like Titanic before it, the final movie in Jackson’s series took home 11 Oscars, including winning Best Picture.
Born on December 17, 1944 in Blackley, Lancashire, England, Hill’s career was much more than just those blockbusters. His first credit came in 1974 for an episode of Childhood. Other notable roles in his long career include playing Yosser Hughes in the 1982 Britich miniseries Boys From the Blackstuff, Warden Luther Plunkitt in Clint Eastwood’s 1999 film True Crime, and Philos in The Scorpion King. His most recent work came on season two of The Responder, currently airing.
Hill’s family did not reveal the cause of his death. He was set to appear at an event in Liverpool on Saturday before he cancelled. Bernard Hill’s family did say his fiancée Alison and son Gabriel were with him when he died on Sunday, May 5.
Generations of fans who will remember Hill for his place in movie history join them in their mourning. They are also joined by his many co-stars. It is to one of them we give the final word. Elijah Wood shared his goodbye to the King of Rohan on social media.
“So long to our friend, our king, Bernard Hill. We will never forget you. ‘For he was a gentle heart and a great king and kept his oaths; and he rose out of the shadows to a last fair morning.'”
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