Actor Bernard Hill, known for his roles in Titanic and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has died at the age of 79. In Titanic, the film directed by James Cameron, Hill played Captain Edward Smith. In the Lord of the Rings saga, he was Theoden, king of Rohan. The news of his death was confirmed to the BBC by the actor’s agent, Lou Colson. Hill held the distinction of starring in two of the only three films in cinema history that won 11 Oscars.
Born in Manchester on 17 December 1944, he made his film debut in 1982 in “Gandhi” (1982) by Richard Attenborough (1982), and then had one of his first co-starring roles in “The Bounty” (1984) by Roger Donaldson. His other films include: “Mountains of the Moon” (1990) by Bob Rafelson, “Spirits in the Dark” (1996) by Stephen Hopkins (1996), “Until Proven Otherwise” (1999) by Clint Eastwood, of A Midsummer Night” (1999) by Michael Hoffman, “The Scorpion King” (2002) by Chuck Russell, “Wimbledon” (2004) by Richard Loncraine. After a cameo in “Valkyrie” (2008) by Bryan Singer (2008), among his latest appearances is “Golden Years” (2016) John Miller.
