British actor Bernard Hill, captain of the film “Titanic”, has died aged 79 – News

Hill played Captain Edward Smith in the Oscar-winning film “Titanic” in 1997, and King Theoden in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, having been the only actor to have appeared in two films that won eleven Oscars each.

Born in Blackley, in the north of England, on December 17, 1944, the actor grew up in a Catholic family from Minas Gerais and from an early age felt attracted to theater, which led him to study at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama.

He also played Sergeant Putnam in the 1982 film “Gandhi”, directed by filmmaker Richard Attenborough, and played small roles in several British television dramas, including “I, Claudius” (1976), as the Roman Gratus.

Actress Barbara Dickson, who starred with him in a musical based on the Beatles, was one of the people who paid tribute to him on the social network X, describing him as a “wonderful actor”.

Director of BBC Drama, Lindsay Salt, told the television station that Hill “has blazed a trail on screen and her enduring career, full of iconic and notable roles, is testament to her incredible talent.”