Bernard Hill, best known as Captain Edward Smith of the ill-fated Titanic in the 1997 film and as King Théoden in 2002’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, has died at age 79.

According to his family, Hill died in the early hours of Sunday, May 5. His fiancée Alison and his son Gabriel were by his side.

The actor was originally supposed to make an appearance at a comic-book event in Liverpool, Saturday. However, he cancelled last minute.

Bernard Hill, Théoden King, dies at 79

Liverpool Comic Con then released a statement on X (formerly Twitter), “We’re heartbroken to hear the news of Bernard Hill’s passing. A great loss. Thinking of his family at this very sad time and wishing them a lot of strength.”

Hill’s breakout role was in the 1982 BBC miniseries Boys from the Blackstuff. He played “hard man” Yosser Hughes, who struggled with unemployment in Liverpool. His catchphrase from the show, “gizza job” is famous across England.

The actor has appeared consistently in both the small and big screens as Gratus in the 1976 miniseries I, Claudius, as Sergeant Putnam in the 1982 film Gandhi, as Warden Luther Plunkitt in 1999’s True Crime starring Clint Eastwood, as Egeus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as Philos in 2002’s Scorpion King and in 2008’s Valkyrie.

While he may be have been known to international audiences as the soft-spoken captain of the much-lauded (11 Oscar wins) in Titanic, he’s more famous for playing Théoden King, Lord of the Mark in both The Two Towers and The Return of the King. The latter installment also won 11 Oscars. Due to his roles in both Titanic and the LOTR movies, Hill was in two of the three films with the most Oscar Awards of all time.

Tributes from co-stars expected to pour in for Hill

In 2015, he played Thomas Howard, the third Duke of Norfolk, Anne Boleyn’s (Henry VIII’s second wife and mother of Queen Elizabeth) uncle, in BBC’s Wolf Hall. The series won several BAFTAs as well as a Golden Globe.

Most recently, Hill was in the BBC police drama The Responder with Martin Freeman. Its second season is set to begin on BBC One this weekend.

Director Lindsay Salt wrote as a tribute, “Bernard Hill blazed a trail across the screen, and his long-lasting career filled with iconic and remarkable roles is a testament to his incredible talent.”

Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson posted on his Facebook page, “It is hard to imagine a world without Bernard Hill in it – to say he was full of life is an understatement. He was one of the funniest and quickest witted people we ever had the good fortune to work with. His performance as Theoden, King of Rohan is beloved by millions and stands testament to his brilliance as an actor.”

“But we will remember him as a deeply loyal and loving friend. Our hearts go out to his partner Alison, and son Gabriel during this time… Farewell mighty warrior. On behalf of the entire cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings trilogy – we miss you so very much. Peter, Fran and Philippa,” the post continued.

The filmmaker also included a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Return of the King, “Hope he rekindled, and in hope, ended; over death, over dread, over doom lifted out of loss, out of life, unto long glory.”

The passage is from the song by the minstrel of the King’s House of Rohan to mourn the passing of Théoden.