Death of Bernard Hill, King Théoden from Lord of the Rings was 79 years old

In addition to this key role with Peter Jackson, he also played the captain of the Titanic for James Cameron.

Bernard Hill was the only actor to be in the cast of two of the most nominated films at the Oscars: The king's return And Titanic, with 11 mentions each. His playing partners on The Lord of the Rings cry this British actor, who died yesterday at the age of 79.

Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, the performers of the Hobbit quartet Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry, were invited this weekend to Liverpool Comic-Con, and they wanted to pay tribute together to this actor talented.

“We lost a member of our family this morning, began Sean Astin as he informed the public of the disappearance of Bernard Hill. We wanted to take a moment to pay tribute to him on stage. Do you know he should have been with us today? We loved him. He was fearless, he was funny, he was gruff, he was grumpy, he was handsome.”

Billy Boyd then takes the floor to add: “When we rewatched the films, I remember saying to Dom: 'I don't think any other actor than Bill could interpret Tolkien's words as well.'“

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A thought shared by Elijah Wood, who posted on his Twitter account one of the famous lines describing his character, King Théoden of Rohan, accompanied by a photo taken of him behind the scenes of the filming by Viggo Mortensen, the unforgettable interpreter of Aragorn – logically, since it is he who says these words in the novels.

“Farewell our friend, our king, Bernard Hill. We will never forget you. 'For he was a noble heart and a great king, and he kept his oaths, and he rose from the shadows to one last fair morning.'“

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Fans of the saga also published extracts from Two towers or Return of the king illustrating Bernard Hill's talent for delivering classic lines:

“The time has come to draw the sword together! Cruelty wake up! No matter the wrath, no matter the ruin and may the dawn be red!”

In addition to his participation in these cult blockbusters, Bernard Hill was famous for directing the Titanic for James Cameron, therefore, but also for a multitude of secondary roles with recognized directors. His first appearance was with Mike Leigh, in 1973, in the TV film Hard Laborthen he played in Gandhi (1982), by Richard Attenborough or Found guilty (1999), by Clint Eastwood. We also came across him at Roger Donaldson (The Bounty), Mathieu Kassovitz (Gothika), Bryan Singer (Valkyrie).

Also a theater actor, Bernard Hill has participated in numerous adaptations of William Shakespeare classics, notably Henry VI And Richard IIIfor British television, but also Antigoneby Sophocles, or Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens. For the TV movie series Boys from the Blackstuffan open criticism of Margaret Thatcher's policies broadcast on BBC2 in 1982, he received a BAFTA for best actor.