Bernard Hill, ‘Lord Of The Rings’ and ‘Titanic’ actor, dies at 79
Lord Of The Rings and Titanic, has died at the age of 79.The news was confirmed by his agent Lou Coulson to the BBC, who said that he had passed away early on Sunday morning (May 5). No cause of death has been given.Hill played Captain Edward Smith in James Cameron’s 1997 Oscar-winning epic, and Théoden, King of Rohan, in the second and third instalment of Peter Jackson’s Tolkien trilogy in 2002 and 2003.He had risen to prominence in Alan Bleasdale’s critically acclaimed 1982 miniseries Boys From The Blackstuff, where he portrayed Yosser Hughes, a man struggling through the unemployment crisis in Liverpool in the ‘80s.Born on December 17, 1944 in Manchester, Hill had a long career in television and film, including roles in I, Claudius, Gandhi, Wolf Hall and Valkyrie.He is also due to appear in the second season of the BBC police drama The Responder, the opening episode of which airs on BBC One tonight, just hours after the announcement of his death.In the show, he plays Tom, the father of Martin Freeman’s character Chris Carson.