Actor Bernard Hill, best known for his roles in Titanic and Lord of the Rings, has died aged 79.
He was meant to be at Comic Con Liverpool on Saturday, but had to cancel at the last minute, the convention said in a post on X. Upon hearing the news of his death, the organizers announced on the platform that they were “heartbroken”, and wished his family “lot of strength”.
He portrayed Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 film “Titanic” directed by James Cameron and King Théoden in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which includes “The Two Towers” (2002) and “The Return of the King” (2003) with the latter winning 11 Oscars, tying the record for the most Academy Awards won by a single film.
Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd, the hobbits actors Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, paid tribute to their co-star at Comic-Con in Liverpool.
Astin said of Hill: “We love him. He was intrepid, he was funny, he was gruff, he was irascible, he was beautiful.”
“I don’t think anyone spoke Tolkien’s words as great as Bernard did. He would break my heart. He will be solely missed,” Boyd remarked.
Scottish musician Barbara Dickson also paid tribute on the X platform, saying he was a “really marvelous actor”.
She added: “It was a privilege to have crossed paths with him. RIP Benny x.”
