Bernard Hill: Blackley-born Lord of the Rings actor dies aged 79

Blackley-born Hollywood actor Bernard Hill, best known for his roles in blockbusters Lord of the Rings and Titanic, has died aged 79. 

He died on Sunday morning, his agent Lou Coulson confirmed, with his fiance and son by his side. No cause of death has been given. 

Hill was born in Manchester to a family of miners. He attended Xaverian College and Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama. He lived in Suffolk. 

The veteran actor was due to appear at this year’s Liverpool Comic Con, which took place over the weekend. He also returned to TV screens on Sunday in the BBC drama The Responder, starring Martin Freeman. 

His breakout role came in 1982 BBC drama Boys from the Blackstuff, in which he played Yosser Hughes. His filmography includes Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi (1982), the Scorpion King (2002) and Valkyrie (2008), starring Tom Cruise. 

His most famous roles, however, were as the real-life Captain Edward Smith in Titanic and as Theoden, King of Rohan, in the last two Lord of the Rings films. His Lord of the Rings castmates paid tribute to him, both at Liverpool Comic Con and online. 

Elijah Wood, who played Frodo Baggins, posted a tribute on X, alongside a JRR Tolkein quote and photograph of Hill by fellow castmate Viggo Mortensen. It read: “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.”