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

LONDON (AP) — Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry earlier than main his individuals into battle in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and went down with the ship because the captain in “Titanic,” has died.

Hill, 79, handed away Sunday morning, agent Lou Coulson stated.

Hill joined “The Lord Of The Rings” franchise within the second movie of the trilogy, 2002’s “The Two Towers,” as Théoden, King of Rohan. The next 12 months, he reprised the position in “Return of the King,” a film that gained 11 Oscars.

In one of many movie’s most memorable scenes, Hill’s character fires up his overmatched forces by delivering a battle cry on horseback that sends his troops thundering downhill towards the enemy and his personal imminent demise.

“Come up, come up, riders of Théoden!” Hill hollers. “Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword day, a purple day, ere the solar rises! Experience now! Experience now! Experience! Experience for break and the world’s ending! Loss of life! Loss of life! Loss of life!”

In “Titanic,” Hill performed Captain Edward Smith, one of many solely characters primarily based on an actual individual within the 1997 tragic romance starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The movie additionally gained 11 Academy Awards.

Because the doomed ship takes on water, Hill’s character silently retreats to the wheelhouse. Because the cabin groans beneath the stress of the waves, he takes a last breath and grabs the wheel as water bursts by means of the home windows.

Hill first made a reputation for himself as Yosser Hughes in “Boys From the Blackstuff,” a 1982 British TV miniseries about 5 unemployed males.

He was nominated for an award in 1983 from the British Academy of Movie and Tv Arts for the position, and the present gained the BAFTA for finest drama sequence.

His demise got here the identical day the second sequence of the BBC drama “The Responder” was to air, wherein he performed the daddy of the present’s star, Martin Freeman.

“Bernard Hill blazed a path throughout the display, and his long-lasting profession crammed with iconic and noteworthy roles is a testomony to his unbelievable expertise, stated Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama. “Our ideas are together with his family members at this unhappy time.”