Bernard Hill, who starred in The Lord of the Rings movies and Titanic among others in a glittering career, has died aged 79.
His agent Lou Coulson confirmed the news of his death to the BBC today.
Many will know him best for his role as King Théoden of Rohan in the latter two Lord of the Rings movies, The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
The films gained worldwide fame and Hill brought a great presence to the role, and he and fellow Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen received a tribute from the movie’s stunt team in the form of a haka as they were the actors who had portrayed Middle Earth’s kings.
Several years previously Hill had also portrayed Captain Smith in Titanic, with the film depicting the iconic moment when the captain decides to go down with his ship.
Older readers, and indeed many of those already sharing tributes to Hill’s memory and talent on social media, are remembering his work in Boys from the Blackstuff.
Bernard Hill at Manchester Comic Con in 2022. (Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images)
In the series, Hill played Jimmy ‘Yosser’ Hughes, an unemployed tarmac layer who came to represent the mood of many Brits during the 80s.
As for more recent work in his career, Hill will be appearing on TV screens across the UK over the next few weeks as he has a major part in the second season of Martin Freeman-led drama The Responder.
Fans of Hill have called him ‘an incredible, raw actor’ and ‘one of the greats’, with tributes flooding into social media from people who saw and loved his performances.
One viewer of Boys from the Blackstuff said that Hill’s performance ‘made me laugh, shed a tear and the first time I became aware of mental health issues on a TV show’.
Many fans have paid tribute to Hill, and plenty are remembering an iconic series he was in during the 80s. (Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images)
Another said that his performance in the series made him ‘an everyman for a scrapheap generation’, with his character’s phrases of ‘gizza job’ and ‘I could do that’ becoming very popular.
Others have been sharing iconic moments from The Lord of the Rings which featured Hill, in particular his incredible speech in The Return of the King before Théoden led a cinematically stunning cavalry charge.
“A sword day, a red day, ere the sun rises. RIP Bernard Hill and thank you for my most beloved of all cinematic moments,” one fan wrote, while someone else said the iconic moment ‘still sends shivers down my spine’.