Bernard Hill

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 other film roles include Gandhi (1982), The Bounty (1984), Restless Natives (1985), Shirley Valentine (1989), The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), True Crime (1999), Valkyrie (2008), and ParaNorman (2012).

Bernard Hill studied at Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester School of Theatre and Xaverian College. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is acting. Works named in the authority record are The Lord of the Rings and Titanic.

• Name — Bernard Hill • Born — 17 December 1944 • Birthplace — Blackley, Manchester, England • Died — 5 May 2024 • Place of death — Reydon, Suffolk, England • Education — Xaverian College • Alma Mater — Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1970–2024 • Children — 2

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.

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.

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.

• Year — Programme — Role — Episodes • 1973 — Hard Labour — Edward Thornley • 1976 — I, Claudius — Gratus — 2 episodes • 1977 — Our Flesh and Blood — Bernard Blencoe • 1978 — Pickersgill People — Harry 'Sharky' Finn — Episode: "Under the Moon of Love" • 1979 — Telford's Change — Jack Burton — 2 episodes • 1979 — Play for Today — Yosser Hughes — Episode: "The Black Stuff" • 1980 — Fox — Vin Fox — 13 episodes • 1982 — Boys from the Blackstuff — Yosser Hughes — 5 episodes • 1983 — BBC Television Shakespeare — Duke of York/First Murderer / Sir William Brandon — Four episodes • 1984 — Antigone — Messenger • 1985 — The Burston Rebellion — Tom Higdon — Part of: Screen Two • John Lennon: A Journey in the Life — John Lennon — TV Movie • 1993 — Olly's Prison — Mike — TV Movie • Telltale — Det. Sgt. Gavin Douglas — 3 episodes • Lipstick on Your Collar — Uncle Fred — 6 episodes • 1994 — Once Upon a Time in the North — Len Tollit — 6 episodes • 1995 — The Gambling Man — Frank Nickle — 3 episodes • 1997 — The Mill on the Floss — Mr Tulliver — Television film • 1999 — Great Expectations — Abel Magwitch — TV Movie • The Titanic Chronicles — Captain Stanley Lord (voice) • 2001 — Horizon — Narrator • 2002 — Timewatch — Narrator • 2004 — Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief — Himself • 2005 — A Very Social Secretary — David Blunkett — TV Movie • 2006 — Ocean Odyssey — Narrator • 2007 — Egomania • Bombay Railway • 2008 — Sunshine — Granddad George Crosby • Wild China — Narrator — Documentary Series • 2009 — Folk America — Narrator • Ice Patrol — National Geographic • 2010 — Old Trafford 100 Years — Narrator and Presenter • Five Days — Gerard Hopkirk • Indian Hill Railways — Narrator • Canoe Man — John Darwin • 2012 — Falcón — Ramón Salgado — Episode: "The Blind Man of Seville" • 2014 — From There to Here — Samuel Cotton • Hope And Wire — Len Russell — New Zealand mini-series • 2015 — Wolf Hall — Duke of Norfolk — Miniseries • India's Frontier Railways — Narrator • Unforgotten — Father Robert Greaves • 2024 — The Responder — Tom Carson — Posthumous release

• Year — Play — Role — Theatre • 1974 — John, Paul, George, Ringo... and Bert — John Lennon — Everyman Theatre, Liverpool • 1978 — Twelfth Night — Toby Belch — Young Vic, London • 1983 — Short List — Howard — Hampstead Theatre, London • 1984 — The Plough and the Stars — Fluther Good — Royal Exchange, Manchester • 1986 — Macbeth — Macbeth — Haymarket Theatre, Leicester • 1989 — The Cherry Orchard — Lopakhin — Aldwych Theatre, London • 1990 — Gasping — Sir Chiffley Lockheart — Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London • 1995 — A View from the Bridge — Eddie Carbone — Strand Theatre, London

Bernard Hill is recorded as actor.