Actor Bernard Hill dies aged 79: Lord of the Rings and Titanic star set to appear opposite Martin Freeman in BBC drama tonight passes away

Bernard Hill, who starred in Titanic and Lord of the Rings, has died at the age of 79.

The actor, who played Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 Oscar-winning film, died in the early hours of this morning, his agent has said.

A father-of-one, he became known to a generation for his portrayal of the embattled King Theoden in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

In the process he starred in two films - Titanic and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King - which won 11 Oscars and crossed $1billion at the box office.

Hill had first become familiar to many in the UK for his emotive and bold performance as Yosser Hughes in the 1980s drama Boys from the Blackstuff, a role that also brought him to the attention of Hollywood.

His passing comes hours before he was due to return to TV in Martin Freeman drama The Responder, which airs on BBC One tonight.

Tributes have been paid to the thespian, with praise for his 'incredible talent' and a career that saw him 'blaze a rail across the screen'. 

Bernard Hill, pictured here in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, played King Theoden in the epic fantasy trilogy

The thespian is set to return to our screens tonight in the Martin Freeman drama The Responder. Pictured: Hill (left) on set with Freeman (right) during filming for the BBC programme

The actor also portrayed Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 Oscar-winning film Titanic (pictured)

Bernard Hill had a varied screen career, coming to prominence acting in small down to earth dramas before going on to star in films that made billions worldwide. Pictured: Hill at the premier of 'Gods Own Country' in Edinburgh in June 2017

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, said: '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.

'From Boys from the Blackstuff, to Wolf Hall, The Responder, and many more, we feel truly honoured to have worked with Bernard at the BBC. Our thoughts are with his loved ones at this sad time.'

The Manchester native had a varied on-screen career, coming to prominence acting in small realistic dramas, before going on to star in films that made billions worldwide.

Born in Blackley into a family of coal miners, he would attend acting school with Richard Griffiths, before moving into television.

After bit roles in Hard Labour and the poorly received but now acclaimed I, Claudius, he got his first major break in the early 1980s.

The actor was cast as Yosser Hughes, a working class Liverpudlian in The Black Stuff and its sequel, Boys from the Blackstuff, in 1982.

His character was a man left struggling to do the right thing after becoming unemployed and coined the phrase 'gizza job' - meaning 'give us a job' - became a common refrain among protesters in Thatcherite Britain.

The sequel won a Bafta for best drama series in 1983 and was listed as the seventh best TV show ever made on a British Film Institute list in 2000. 

The same year he took the role of Sergeant Putnam in Richard Attenborough's Oscar-winning biopic Gandhi, before starring in the BBC's 1983 adaptation of Shakespeare's classic play Henry VI, in which he played the Duke of York.

He would later be cast as Captain Edward Smith in James Cameron's gargantuan film, Titanic. 

The 1997 movie saw him play the captain of the infamous vessel on what would be its maiden and only voyage across the Atlantic, before going down with the ship after it hit an iceberg.

The actor, pictured as King Theoden, won plaudits for his portrayal of the ageing monarch trying to protect his people from the forces of evil 

The actor also portrayed the Duke of Norfolk in the 2015 adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall. Pictured: Bernard Hill on the Wolf Hall set in Gloucester in 2014

Hill also won plaudits for his portrayal of Captain Edward Smith in 1997 drama Titanic. Pictured: The actor on set as Captain Smith

The actor pictured with Steven MacKintosh in From There to Here, a 2013 series about the IRA Manchester bombing 

Bernard Hill pictured with his wife Marianna Hill at the premier of the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers in 2002

It marked the start of a late career renaissance for Hill, who was then chosen by Peter Jackson in the role of King Theoden in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The actor was praised for his portrayal of the embattled King of Rohan who valiantly fights to save his people from the forces of evil.

Hollywood kept calling, with Hill making appearances in Dwayne Johnson vehicle The Scorpion King, Halle Berry horror film Gothika and the tennis-themed romantic comedy Wimbledon.

He continued to make regular appearances on British television, before being cast in the 2015 BBC drama Wolf Hall. 

An adaptation of Hilary Mantel's historical fiction about the rise of Thomas Cromwell, Hill portrayed the Duke of Norfolk in the first series of the show, before being replaced by Timothy Spall in the second.

He had been due to return to our screens once more tonight, with a role in Martin Freeman's BBC show The Responder.

The thespian lived in Suffolk and is survived by his wife Marianna Hill and their son Gabriel.