Actor Bernard Hill, of ‘Titanic’ and ‘Lord of the Rings,’ has died at 79
Bernard Hill during The 59th Annual Golden Globe Awards - New Line After Party at Beverly Hills Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, United States. (Photo by J. Vespa/WireImage for InStyle Magazine) (Getty Images)
LONDON (AP) - Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and went down with the ship as the captain in "Titanic," has died.
Hill, 79, passed away Sunday morning, agent Lou Coulson said.
Hill joined "The Lord Of The Rings" franchise in the second film of the trilogy, 2002’s "The Two Towers," as Théoden, King of Rohan. The following year, he reprised the role in "Return of the King," a movie that won 11 Oscars.
In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, Hill’s character fires up his overmatched forces by delivering a battle cry on horseback that sends his troops thundering downhill toward the enemy and his own imminent death.
"Arise, arise, riders of Théoden!" Hill hollers. "Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now! Ride now! Ride! Ride for ruin and the world’s ending! 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. The film also won 11 Academy Awards.