The British actor Bernard Hill, known for his roles in the film hits ‘Titanic’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’, has died at the age of 79, as confirmed by his agent to the BBC. Hills played Captain Edward John Smith in James Cameron’s 1997 film and King Théoden in the trilogy of adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien’s novels directed by Peter Jackson.
Singer and actress Barbara Dickson confirmed the news on social media: “It is with great sadness that we note the death of Bernard Hill. We worked together on John Paul George Ringo and Bert, Willy Russell’s wonderful show 1974-1975. A truly wonderful actor. It was a privilege to have crossed paths with him. RIP Benny x.”
In addition to these great film successes—record winners of Oscar awards—the actor participated in another notable film that won the statuette: Gandhi (1982), alongside Ben Kingsley. He also appeared in a small role in the memorable I, Claudius, before rising to fame in 1979 with The Black Stuff, in which he plays a working-class man during the Thatcher era.
Born in Manchester in 1944, the actor grew up in a Catholic family of miners and from a very early age was inclined towards the dramatic arts, which led him to study at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama.
According to ABC, the actor’s last work before his death was in the second season of the series ‘The Responder’, a BBC drama starring actor Martin Freeman.
