Bernard Hill Biography

Date of Birth: December 17, 1944

Born in Manchester, England, Bernard Hill has appeared in theater productions, as well as television and films on both sides of the Atlantic, but perhaps his best known role is as King Théoden in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the second two films of the trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's classic books.

Hill's screen acting career began in 1973, when he made his English television debut in the TV movie Hard Labour. He quickly made a name for himself as a character actor in productions such as the miniseries I, Claudius (1976), regular roles in two television programs (Telford's Change in 1979 and Fox in 1980), in the Oscar®, BAFTA and Globe award-winning feature film Ghandi (1982) and The Bounty (1984) opposite Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. In 1983 Hill won a BAFTA Award for Best Actor for the miniseries Boys from the Blackstuff (1982) as well as a Broadcasting Press Guild Award for Best Actor.

He has played a number of unforgettable roles in films including Joe Bradshaw in Shirley Valentine (1989), Captain Smith in Titanic (1997—a role he got to relive in 2012 when the film was re-released in 3D, Egeus in the all-star cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) and Philos in The Scorpion King (2002). As well as being a multifaceted actor, Hill is an experienced horseback rider, a skill that came in handy in the Lord of the Rings films, playing the King of Rohan - leader of a kingdom of horseback riders. Some of his more recent film titles include Valkyrie (2008), The Kid (2011) and a voice-over part in the animated film ParaNorman (2012).

Hill lives in Suffolk, England, with his wife and children.