Bernard Hill, ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Titanic’ actor, dead at 79

Bernard Hill, an actor who starred in movies like “Lord of the Rings” and “Titanic,” has died. He was 79. The English actor died in the early hours of Sunday morning, his agent, Lou Coulson, confirmed to the BBC over the weekend. Fans and colleagues took to X to mourn the actor. 9 Actor Bernard Hill has died at the age of 79.PA Images via Getty Images 9 He died Sunday, his agent confirmed to the BBC. 9 Hill played Captain Edward J. Smith in “Titanic.” “So very sad to hear about the passing of #bernardhill I had the pleasure of filming with him on BBC’s ‘From There to Here,’” wrote Neil Ashton. “He was incredibly lovely & we had a lot of laughs filming our scene. Such a phenomenal actor. God bless him. So many thoughts & love to his family & friends.” Hill’s “Lord of The Rings” co-stars Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan and Sean Astin paid tribute to the actor during an event in Liverpool Sunday, according to Daily Mail. “So we lost a member of our family this morning, Bernard passed, like King Théoden did. So we want to take a moment before we go off the stage to honor him,” Astin told the crowd. “He was supposed to be here yesterday. We love him. He was intrepid, he was funny, he was gruff, he was irascible, he was beautiful.” Boyd added, “We were watching and talking about the movies and I said to Dom, I don’t think anyone spoke Tolkien’s words as great as Bernard did. The way he grounded those words, he would break my heart on screen. He was a wonderful man and he will be solely missed.” Hill, who was born in Manchester, starred in many British television series but began appearing in films more frequently by the mid-1990s. 9 He played King Théoden of Rohan in the second and third “Lord of the Rings” movies.New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection 9 Hill was set to appear at a Comic-Con event this week.New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection One of his first breakthrough roles was in the 1995 drama “The Ghost and the Darkness” opposite Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas. Hill then portrayed the doomed Captain Edward J. Smith in “Titanic” and King Théoden of Rohan in the second and third films of Peter Jackon’s hugely successful “The Lord of the Rings” series. 9 Hill had many other movie credits, including “The Ghost and the Darkness.”Moviestore/Shutterstock 9 He also appeared in “The Scorpion King.”Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection Between “Titanic” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” he is the only actor in history to have appeared in two movies with 11 or more Oscar wins. Hill, still beloved by fans, was set to appear at Liverpool Comic-Con this week. The event issued a statement via X. 9 Hill was remembered on X by colleagues and fans.New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection 9 One former colleague called him “incredibly lovely.”“We’re heartbroken to hear the news of Bernard Hill’s passing. A great loss. Thinking of his family at this very sad time, and wishing them a lot of strength,” read the post. He also played Philos in “The Scorpion King” opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Hill was married to actress Marianna Hill, with whom he shared a son, Gabriel.