LONDON – Actor Bernard Hill, who gave a stirring scream before leading his people into battle in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and went down with the ship as captain in “Titanic,” has died.
Hill, 79, died Sunday morning, said Officer Lou Coulson.
Hill joined the “Lord of the Rings” franchise in the second film in the trilogy, 2002’s “The Two Towers,” as Théoden, King of Rohan. The following year, he reprized the role in “The Return of the King”, a film that won 11 Oscars.
In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, Hill’s character activates his outmatched forces by emitting a war cry from horseback that sends his troops hurtling downhill toward the enemy and his own imminent death.
“Arise, arise, knights of Théoden!” Hill shouts. “Spears will be shaken, shields will be shattered! A day of sword, a day of red, before the sun rises! Ride now! Ride now! Ride on! Ride towards ruin and the end of the world! Death! Death! Death!”
In “Titanic,” Hill played Captain Edward Smith, one of the only characters based on a real person in the 1997 tragic romance starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
As the doomed ship takes on the water, Hill’s character retreats silently to the wheelhouse. As the cabin groans under the pressure of the waves, he takes his last breath and grips the steering wheel as water pours in through the windows.
Hill first made his name as Yosser Hughes in “Boys From the Blackstuff,” a 1982 British TV miniseries about five unemployed men.
He was nominated for a 1983 British Academy of Film and Television Arts award for the role, and the show won the BAFTA for best drama series.
His death occurred on the same day as the second series of BBC drama “The Responder”, in which he played the father of the show’s star, Martin Freeman, was airing.
“Bernard Hill blazed a trail on screen, and his long career filled with iconic and notable roles is testament to his incredible talent,” said Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama. “Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this sad time.”
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