05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
On this day: Titanic actor Bernard Hill dies aged 79
His breakout role was playing the character of Yosser Hughes in the Liverpool-set drama series Boys from the Blackstuff back in 1982.
Throughout his career, he had major roles in television and film including Sergeant Putnam in the Oscar-winning 1982 film Gandhi, Cole in The Bounty and Joe Bradshaw in Shirley Valentine.
Hill also featured as Captain Edward J. Smith in James Cameron's Oscar-winning film Titanic.
Audiences also knew Hill for playing the role of King Théoden in two of The Lord of the Rings trilogy films.
Hill was set to feature in the second series of The Responder on the BBC, with the first episode set to air the same day, May 5.
Lou Coulson, his agent, confirmed to BBC News that he had died in the early hours of the morning.
Hill was born in Blackley, Manchester and was brought up in a Catholic family of miners.
He attended Xaverian College, and then Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama where he graduated with a diploma in theatre in 1970.
From there he started making appearances in television and theatre before coming to prominence playing Yosser Hughes.
Hill was married to the actor Marianna Hill, with whom he has a son named Gabriel.
This story was first reported on by Carlo Simone on May 5, 2024.
