‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Titanic’ actor was 79

Bernard Hill, the actor known for his roles as King Théoden in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and Captain Edward Smith in ‘Titanic’, has died. He was 79.

Hill died early Sunday morning, his agent Lou Colson confirmed Variety. He was with his fiancée Alison and his son Gabriel. No cause of death was given.

Hill first came to fame as Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale’s 1982 miniseries “Boys From the Blackstuff”; his character was known for his catchphrase ‘gizza job’. That same year, he played Sergeant Putnam in the Richard Attenborough-directed film ‘Gandhi’. Hill appeared in several British television series between the 1970s and 1980s, including ‘I, Claudius’, ‘Crown Court’, ‘Rooms’, ‘Fox’ and ‘Jackanory’.

In 1997, Hill played Captain Smith in James Cameron’s Titanic, which won eleven Oscars. He then joined Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” franchise as King Théoden, appearing in 2002’s “The Two Towers” ​​and in 2003’s “The Return of the King,” which also won 11 Oscars. Hill appeared in two of the three films with the most Academy Awards of all time to date (“Ben-Hur” also held the record).

In 2015, Hill played Duke of Norfolk, an uncle of Anne Boleyn, in the BBC miniseries ‘Wolf Hall’, which won the BAFTA for best drama series.

Hill was born on December 17, 1944 in Blackley, Manchester. During his acting career, which spanned more than five decades, he worked on other notable films such as ‘Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” (1996), “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1999), “True Crime” (1999), “The Scorpion King” (2002), “Valkyrie” (2008) and “ParaNorman” (2012).

Hill will appear opposite Martin Freeman in the police drama ‘The Responder’, which airs its second season on BBC One this weekend.