Summary

• Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, Sean Astin, and Dominic Monaghan have paid heartfelt tribute to the late Bernard Hill.
• Hill's acting brilliance was evident in his roles, especially as King Theoden in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
• Hill's impact on his friends and colleagues was profound, as shown by the touching words shared by his co-stars.

Following the recent passing of The Lord of the Rings and Titanic star Bernard Hill, his LotR cast mates shared a tribute to the actor whilst on stage at an event. Hill's first major role was way back in 1974, where the actor appeared in an episode of the British series Childhood. Hill then got his big break in the drama series Boys from the Blackstuff in 1982. Hill is most well known for playing King Theoden in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, and as the ship's captain in James Cameron's Titanic. Bernard Hill passed away on May 5, 2024, aged 79.

Whilst appearing at Liverpool Comic Con, Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, Sean Astin, and Dominic Monaghan, who play the four hobbits in the trilogy, paid tribute to their Lord of the Rings cast mate. The pannel took place the day of Hill's passing, and the actors finished the show by saying some kind words about their friend. Sean Astin started, saying:

"So we lost a member of our family this morning, Bernard Hill passed, King Théoden. So we want to take a moment before we walk off the stage to honor him. We love him. He was intrepid, he was funny, he was gruff, he was irascible, he was beautiful."

Billy Boyd, who starred as the hobbit Pippin in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, then added:

"I don't think anyone spoke Tolkien's words as great as Bernard did. The way he grounded those words in a realism. He would break my heart when he was on screen. He was a wonderful man. He will be sorely missed."

Following their appearance at Liverpool Comic Con, Elijah Wood then took to X/Twitter to pay his own respects towards Bernard Hill, sharing a quote from J.R.R Tolkein's work, and a photo taken by Viggo Mortensen.

Other Actors & Cast Members Paid Tribute to Bernard Hill

As Sean Astin mentioned during the pannel, Bernard Hill was scheduled to appear at Liverpool Comic Con at the same time as his former cast-mates. The convention paid tribute to the actor in a tweet, following the news of his passing.

Before appearing in Titanic and The Lord of the Rings, Hill's biggest role was in the acclaimed British series Boys from the Blackstuff. The show's writer, Alan Bleasdale, spoke to the BBC about the actor's passing, saying:

"He was a big soft kid in many ways - very easy and very gentle with children. That was reflected in the performance in Blackstuff of our children [who starred in the show] who were not actors but were at ease with him. I was desperate to work with him and, as I was writing Boys From The Blackstuff, I knew the part had to be an extraordinary character who had to be mesmeric and dangerous. I could only think of one person - it was always Bernard Hill."

The Instagram account @world.of.tolkein captured the beautiful moment and shared it on social media site. You can watch the full clip below.

Bernard Hill's performance in The Lord of the Rings can be streamed on Max.