Bernard Hill, Titanic And Lord Of The Rings Actor, Dies At 79

British actor Bernard Hill, is no more. He passed away early morning, on Sunday May 5. He was 79. The news of his passing was confirmed by his agent Lou Coulson. A statement from his family, is expected soon.

Bernard Hill passes away

Bernard Hill's most keynote role across his career spanning decades, has been that of Captain Edward Smith in 1997 Oscar winning classic, Titanic. Right up there in terms of eminence, is his role of King Théoden in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. His breakout role was in the TV drama Boys from the Blackstuff. He had essayed the role of Yosser Hughes, best characterised by his struggle to obtain and hold employment in Liverpool.

Yet another of Hill's memorable TV performances came in the 2015 drama series Wolf Hall. Wolf Hall was adapted from Hilary Mantel's book centered around the court of Henry VIII. Hill essayed the role of the Duke of Norfolk, an uncle to Anne Boleyn and an enemy of Cardinal Wolsey. Hill also had a project lined up for him prior to his demise. He was set to return to television series two of The Responder, a drama starring Martin Freeman, set to start airing soon.

Barbara Dickson pays tribute to Bernard Hill

One of the earliest reactions to the news of Bernard Hill's demise, came from his John Paul George Ringo and Bert co-star, Barbara Dickson. Sharing an old picture of the two together, Barbara reminisced about their time on set in Hill's "marvelous" presence. 

The caption to the post read, "t’s with great sadness that I note the death of Bernard Hill. We worked together in John Paul George Ringo and Bert, Willy Russell marvellous show 1974-1975. A really marvellous actor. It was a privilege to have crossed paths with him. RIP Benny x" Tributes from fans of the actor, have also been pouring in on social media.