“Spear will be shattered, shield will be shattered, a day of swords, a day of blood, before the sun rises“: King Théoden’s martial speech from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is one of the most iconic scenes in the entire fantasy trilogy. Many fans of the franchise and the film in general will mourn these words today, because Théoden actors and Titanic- star Bernard Hill is died on May 5, 2024.
Before The Lord of the Rings: Bernard Hill celebrated his breakthrough in the early 80s
As the New York Times announced, citing a statement from Hill’s family, the actor died last Sunday circumstances that have not yet been published. His relatives include his fiancée Alison and his son Gabriel.
Warner Bros.
Bernard Hill as Théoden in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
In addition to the Lord of the Rings appearances and his role as Captain Edward J. Smith in Titanic, Hill has appeared in Gandhi, The Ghost and the Darkness and Clint Eastwood’s True Crime, among others. However, according to an interview with the Oxford Student, Hill owed his breakthrough to Role of the unemployed Yosser Hughes in the TV film The Black Stuff from the drama series Boys from the Blackstuff.
Hill was born in Manchester on December 17, 1944, into a Catholic family of miners. After completing his theater training in 1970, he acted between 1974 and 2024 in over 100 plays, cinema and TV films with.
20th Century Studios
Bernard Hill in Titanic
He was the only actor to appear in Titanic and The Return of the King two of the three films to ever win 11 Oscars. He is also the first actor to ever appear in two films that grossed more than $1 billion globally.
Even though his Theoden role made him internationally known to millions of fans, his status as a fantasy fan favorite never went to his head. “It’s like running a marathon in a fur coat“The New York Times quotes him from a BBC interview. “It’s hard work, but from the outside it looks glamorous.”