Bernard Hill

Bernard Hill (17 December 1944 – 5 May 2024) was an English actor. He was known for his versatile roles in both television and film, and his career spanned over fifty years.

Hill first gained prominence as the troubled hard man Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale's ''Play for Today'' drama ''The Black Stuff'' (1980) and its sequel serial ''Boys from the Blackstuff'' (1982), the latter earning him a nomination for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He received an additional nomination for his role as David Blunkett in the drama ''A Very Social Secretary'' (2005), for which he was also nominated for an International Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor. He also appeared on television in ''I, Claudius'' (1976), the BBC Television Shakespeare productions of '' Henry VI, Part 1'', '' 2'', and '' 3'', and ''Richard III'' (all 1983), ''Great Expectations'' (1999), and ''Wolf Hall'' (2015).

Hill gained international recognition for his film roles as Captain Edward Smith in ''Titanic'' (1997) and Théoden, King of Rohan, in the second and third films of ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2002–2003). His appearances in ''Titanic'' and '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (2003), two of only three films to receive 11 Academy Awards, make him the only actor to appear in more than one film which holds that record. His other film roles include ''Gandhi'' (1982), '' The Bounty'' (1984), '' Shirley Valentine'' (1989), ''The Ghost and the Darkness'' (1996), ''True Crime'' (1999), ''Valkyrie'' (2008), and ''ParaNorman'' (2012).

Early life and education

Bernard Hill was born in Blackley, Manchester, on 17 December 1944. He was brought up in a Catholic family of miners.

After attending Xaverian College in Rusholme, Hill initially started training to be a teacher. However, a classmate, Mike Leigh, who would later become a renowned writer and director, persuaded him to pursue acting. Hill enrolled at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama at the same time as Richard Griffiths. In 1970, Hill graduated with a Diploma in Theatre.

Career

Hill first came to prominence in 1980 as Yosser Hughes, a working-class Liverpudlian man ultimately driven to the edge by an uncaring welfare system, in Alan Bleasdale's BBC ''Play for Today'' programme, '' The Black Stuff'', and its series sequel, ''Boys from the Blackstuff''. His character's much-repeated phrase ''Gizza job'' ("''Give us a job''") became popular with protesters against Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government, because of the high unemployment of the time.

Hill then appeared as Sergeant Putnam in ''Gandhi'' (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough. Next for him was Roger Donaldson's '' The Bounty'' (1984), a fourth dramatisation of the mutiny on HMS ''Bounty''. He had previously taken smaller parts in a number of British television dramas, appearing in '' I, Claudius'', in 1976, as the character Gratus.

In 1985 he played the lead role in a TV dramatisation of John Lennon's life, ''A Journey in the Life''. In addition to TV roles, Hill appeared on stage in ''The Cherry Orchard'', as ''Macbeth'' and in ''A View from the Bridge''.

Hill appeared in '' Shirley Valentine'' (1989), as Joe Bradshaw the husband of Liverpool housewife ( Pauline Collins), a former anti-establishment rebel who engages in an extramarital affair. Hill added more prominent films to his resume, including '' Mountains of the Moon'' (1990), '' Skallagrigg'' (1994) and '' Madagascar Skin'' (1995).

In the mid-1990s, Hill began appearing in films more regularly. His first major role came in ''The Ghost and the Darkness'' (1996), starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas. Hill then portrayed Captain Edward J. Smith in ''Titanic'' (1997), by James Cameron. He then played Luther Plunkitt, the Warden of San Quentin Prison, in the Clint Eastwood film ''True Crime'' (1999).

Hill played Philos in '' The Scorpion King'' (2002), starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Michael Clarke Duncan and Kelly Hu.

Hill played King Théoden of Rohan in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's epic trilogy, ''The Lord of the Rings'', which were released in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

Hill played a minor role in the 2008 film ''Valkyrie'', as the commanding general of the 10th Panzer Division of the German Afrika Korps, and was a voice actor for the character Sir Walter Beck in the video game ''Fable III'' (2010).

Hill was the voice of The Judge in the American stop motion animated comedy horror film ''ParaNorman'' in 2012. He played Samuel Cotton, who ran a sweet factory with his son in the 2014 three-part BBC drama series about Manchester '' From There to Here''.

Hill appeared as Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, in the 2015 six-part BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel's novels, ''Wolf Hall''. Later in 2015, he starred as John Claridge in the British gangster movie ''North v South''.

Personal life and death

Hill had a daughter from a relationship with Sue Allen, and a son from a relationship with Annabel Turner.

Hill was a longtime supporter of Manchester United. In 2019, he received an honorary degree from the University of East Anglia.

Hill, who was living in Reydon, Suffolk, died on 5 May 2024, aged 79. Tributes were paid to him by his ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy co-stars, ''Boys from the Blackstuff'' writer Alan Bleasdale and musician Barbara Dickson.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

References and notes

External links

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Interview with BBC Suffolk

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Bernard
1944 births
2024 deaths
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Alumni of the Manchester School of Theatre
English male film actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male voice actors
English Roman Catholics
Male actors from Manchester
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
People from Blackley
People associated with the University of East Anglia